It’s fascinating how a game like Astro Bot has gone and captured the hearts and imaginations of so many people since its release last month. After all, the game is a 3D platformer featuring a character that isn’t technically a Sony mascot but is quickly getting elevated to that status. The reason why it’s so fascinating is simply because it’s not the most complex game out there. It’s not the hardest to control or the hardest to beat; it’s simply a game that you need to put some good effort into to win and get through levels, and people are having a blast with it. Plus, it’s filled with references to past PlayStation titles, and gamers love that, too.
Thankfully, for those who have bought the game, your fun isn’t ending anytime soon. We know that there will be some DLC coming later this year, but for right now, you have a new free update with a new speedrun level to go enjoy! The newest one is called “Let It Slide,” and it’s available now, with the next ones in the line being dated so you know when to expect them.
The thing that many people are saying and have been saying is that they can spend a lot of time in a game like this simply because they want to have a “perfect run” in it or get the fastest time possible. That’s the level of fun they’re having within it. They don’t just want to play it; they want to beat it to the best of their abilities. We salute that kind of determination. Plus, with the new levels being a weekly thing for about the next month, that ensures that they’ll have something to look forward to for a while.
The love for Astro Bot is so great that it’s one of the frontrunners for Game of the Year! It is currently tied for the best review score of 2024 on Metacritic, so it has a chance to pull it off.
While we can’t speak for Sony, we would also say that this game is a clear indicator of how it should approach making first-party titles from now on. The reason we say this is that the game took less than three years to make, didn’t have that big of a team on it, and thus didn’t cost a lot of money, yet it could make a serious profit depending on sales figures.
That’s in contrast to numerous other Sony projects, where they spent a lot of money on development and didn’t live up to expectations.