With the release of Astro Bot on the PlayStation 5, a lot of people are wondering. "What is Astro Bot?"
While those in the know know it to be a fun action platforming game that doubles as a throwback to PlayStation as a whole, even they may not realize it is a part of a series. The reality is, Astro Bot currently has "five" titles under it's belt, with the simply named "Astro Bot" being the fifth entry.
So today we are going to take a quick moment to run through the series in general, and catch everyone up to speed. It's not a long series by any means, but it is a fun one, and all of the games within it are worth checking out.
Although, the first entry is a little different.
The Playroom
The first game in the Astro Bot series is a little tech demo called The Playroom.
This game is bundled with all PlayStation 4 consoles, and is simply a way to show off the console's capabilities with it's new controller and camera. This part of The Playroom really isn't much a game, but rather a way that new owners can learn the basics. Astro Bots were featured as little robots that came out of the controller, and you could slightly interact with them using motion if you had the PS4 Camera. Again, this wasn't much of a game, but streamers were able to use it to capture video of themselves, and interact with their fans.
On the other hand, The Playroom did include multiple mini games for players to try out. Again, each of these were mainly there to test out the new controller and Augmented Reality capabilities of the PlayStation 4, but they were not full blown games. They were mini games, along with a "virtual pet" like add on. They were nice freebies, but The Playroom as a whole was something the vast majority would skip out on entirely. (Or maybe not even realize it existed.)
Thankfully, that's not where Astro Bot's journey ended.
The Playroom VR
As a sequel to The Playroom, The Playroom VR was another free title for the PlayStation VR. Unlike the previous game however, it was a full blown collection of games that showcased the capabilities of VR and on screen hybrid gameplay.
The multiplayer entries in the title had the VR player and TV player taking on different roles to either help each other, or fight. One such mini game has the VR player as a cat, while the TV user is a mouse. It's a fun versus mode, but it's not what makes this title an entry within the Astro Bot series; that honor belongs to the Robots Rescue mini game.
In Robots Rescue, players take on the role of "themselves" (a floating robot) as they follow along behind Astro Bot who is on a mission to save the other robots. The game makes use of motion control and the VR headset to guide Astro Bot through a series of levels. Astro Bot is controlled by the player, but it's also important to move your physical body to peak around corners and discover secrets. The game is a full on perfect example of how VR can be used for other genres, and not just "first person" games.
Astro Bot Rescue Mission
Astro Bot Rescue Mission is the first full on Astro Bot title. Taking Robots Rescue as a base, the game expands the concept into a full on VR adventure.
Once again the player views the world through the VR headset, but the actual game is played by controlling Astro Bot. The game is a full on throw back to PlayStation as a whole, and uses the PSVR's unique capabilities in every single level. Using 3D audio, players can listen for clues on where other robots are hidden throughout the stages, and as the game progresses different tools are unlocked to help Astro Bot on his way.
There are hundreds of robots to find and save throughout the game, and each world has a main boss to fight at the end. These boss fights are also unique and rely on PlayStation VR to take down, and are also quite the spectacle.
Overall the game is a simple, but fun, platforming adventure that also puts "you" into the world. It goes on to further prove the point that VR gaming can be more, and that sometimes having your point of view act as the camera is all you really need. VR games do not have to necessarily make "you" the main character.
Astro's Playroom
The next entry in the series returned to the "Playroom" branding, but is not like the previous two Playroom games. Instead, Astro's Playroom was released bundled with the PlayStation 5, and acts as a follow up to Rescue Mission.
Ditching the mini games to focus on a main adventure, Astro's Playroom has players taking on the role of Astro Bot as he explores worlds based on PlayStation's history. Each "world" within the game is a series of unique platforming stages, with hidden relics of PlayStation's past to find in each. Enemies are dealt with by using simple attack combos, but some stages have unique upgrades and weapons to use as well.
Instead of saving other robots (as in Rescue Mission), the others are instead placed around the worlds and reenact characters and scenes from different games. Robots can be found hidden under boxes, a Dante robot is juggling an enemy in the air, Kratos can easily be spotted, and there's even unique robots like the Locoroco one... Or an iconic title screen.
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From start to finish the platforming experience is filled with PlayStation charm from throughout the ages, and at the end of the day players can enjoy everything they discovered back at the home base. It's a short yet fun platformer, and it does a great job showing off what the PlayStation 5 can do with it's new controller.
Astro Bot
Astro Bot is the first "full" game in the series that does not require the PlayStation VR to play. Taking Astro's Playroom as a base, this game greatly expands it into a full action platforming adventure. Multiple worlds, new unique ways to use the controller and PlayStation 5 hardware, and even more throw backs and references to the gaming world.
Although it is the fifth entry in the overall series, it is very much it's own game, and does not require knowledge of the previous ones to play. While long time fans will get more of what they love out of it, newcomers can jump in and enjoy it as is.
And that's the series!
Overall, the series has always been about showing off PlayStation's new technology in a fun way, but it's really the later entries that make Astro Bot stand out. Rescue Mission was the first full blown platforming game in the series, and offered dozens of hours of fun. Astro's Playroom was a nice, but short, follow up to it that all PlayStation 5 owners have access to. Astro Bot itself is the "main stream" core release to the series, and the first full game that does not require special hardware to play.
As good as Rescue Mission was, being a PSVR game limited it to that audience, and caused so many players to miss out on an excellent title. Thankfully, Astro Bot fixes that problem, and is a perfect jump in point.
(Although we recommend playing Astro's Playroom first as it is free!)
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