Astro Bot is set to receive even more free downloadable levels and special bots across the coming weeks, building on a series of time trial levels and an adorable Christmas stage that may be the happiest I’ve ever felt playing a video game. Team Asobi’s platformer is on one hell of a hot streak right now, and it would be foolish not to take advantage of that continued popularity. However, I hope it comes to an end before it becomes too much of a good thing.
I feel like a bit of a hypocrite for writing this article, given I previously waxed lyrical about how these speedrun levels should go on forever. Astro Bot is so fun to play that logging into loads of new levels every few months and experiencing the magic and whimsy of this masterpiece all over again could never be perceived as negative. But the more I think about it, the more I value how much of a complete package Astro Bot was, and breaking that up into smaller and smaller pieces will inevitably come back to bite us.
Astro Bot Isn’t And Should Never Be Considered A Live Service
Chances are that we are merely witnessing a regular rollout of downloadable content that Team Asobi and Sony had planned for months or even years. So far, it’s been a successful attempt to keep eyes locked onto Astro Bot longer after its initial launch while attracting plenty of new players. It was universally beloved, and so releasing new levels and bots — not only for free, but with such frequency — is only going to make it more of a platformer darling.
What worries me is the lesson Sony will take away from this successful post-launch strategy, and whether it will begin to perceive Astro Bot as a way to revive its failed live service ambitions. But it succeeded because it was a complete experience from day one, and building upon it after the fact only makes it better and better.
Astro Bot succeeds because it embraces the past while looking toward the potential future of video games, and I sincerely hope it acts as a catalyst to Sony developing similar gems in the years to come.
A lot of discussion has been made about the sort of game Astro Bot 2 (Astro Bot 4?) will be, and what sort of identity it will develop after leaving its reliance on PlayStation nostalgia behind. I think this will always be a part of it in some way. It feels near impossible to remove entirely, but it’s just as exciting to consider how many visual and mechanical ideas Team Asobi left on the cutting room floor and are ready to pick up and implement into a sequel.
But this can only be done if the original game is left behind and every single ounce of creative energy is placed into what awaits us on the horizon. It will likely be a familiar experience that improves its fundamentals as it introduces a number of creative new mechanical ideas and concepts.
Platforming Sequels Are Often The Most Inventive
Sequels to platformers are so magical because, unlike other genres, they aren’t necessarily bound to continue a narrative in the same universe, and if they are, nothing restricts them from going a buck wild with eccentric characters, level design, and mechanics.
Just look at Super Mario Galaxy 2. It’s a traditional sequel, but the original game taught us that Nintendo could go anywhere and do anything so long as it took place on something slightly resembling a planet in the middle of space. Or LittleBigPlanet 2 and its DIY personality, in which most of its levels were patchwork delights across every genre under the sun.
This is the sort of game I want Astro Bot 2 to be. By that I mean I have no idea what form I want the inevitable sequel to take. So long as it represents the same boundless creativity and imagination the original game dealt out in spades, I’ll be a happy gamer.
But if Sony decides to morph Astro Bot into a platform for endless downloadable content and expansions instead of developing a traditional sequel, I fear that will never be possible. It succeeded so significantly because it reminded us of the sort of video games PlayStation used to make, and how it began life as one of the most versatile console names in the world. It left that behind in favour of failed live services and narrative prestige, yet now it has a chance to reclaim that image and do something wonderful. That is, only if the future of Astro Bot heads in the right direction.
- Released
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September 6, 2024
- ESRB
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E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence