Whilst I don't have a PS5 anymore, I still remember this one little small game that was 100% free.
Released in 2020 alongside with the PS5 by Sony's Team Asobi, Astro Bot is a 3D platformer that serves as a tech demo for the DualSense controller, and it's one hell of a tech demo.
The game starts with a short introduction to the DualSense controller, which I've used to showcase it to my friends who came over. Wasn't ever enough to make them buy a PS5, but they loved the new tech.
This "tech demo" is so good that I actually got a platinum on it, and so did my little brother on his profile. Astro's main abilities are jumping, hovering, punching and spinning by holding the punch button.
But those are not all, he can wear certain suits that transform him into other things, such as a monkey, which allows him to jump higher and hang on to ledges, and the way you hang on to those ledges and go to other ledges is by using the DualSense's motion control capabilities. You even get inside the suits by zipping Astro up with the touchpad, everything is so tactile and feels so nice to play.
In total there are 4 worlds with 4 levels each, and then a final boss battle. The worlds are all well made and have lots of hidden things to uncover, not to mention all the references to other franchises that have been on Playstation throughout the years!
The final boss battle is also a great reference to the PS1's first tech demo of the dinosaur. That level is just superb, and a really fun and actually kind of challenging boss battle.
The Graphics
This game's graphics are just absolutely stunning, they run at what seems to be 4K, with HDR and the framerate never drops from 60FPS. All the assets and levels look incredible, and if you have a good enough TV or monitor, you can see individual spots of grass on levels that have it.
The Artifacts and Puzzle Pieces
This game is filled to the brim with things to collect. From Playstation artifacts of times gone by, to puzzle pieces that fill up an entire wall in your collection room.
And most of these artifacts are interactive, you can for instance jump on the PS1's lid button and the lid will actually open, or jump on the Power button and it'll turn on and do the classic PS1 boot sound! It's just awesome. And with the latest updates, they've even introduced more artifacts, such as the PSVR2, the PS5 Slim, and more.
Getting the platinum on this game is really fun and actually quite easy. This game uses Sony's Playstation help system, in which you can press the PS button and see guides on how to get all puzzle pieces and artifacts in a level. There are also some hidden things such as going through the PS home's portal in your collection room.
Overall,
this is a great game/tech demo and I highly recommend it to anyone who's picking up a PS5 or has the chance to play on one. It's just a few gbs and is a game I simply refused to delete from my PS5 when I had it. It's fun, it's beautiful and it's innovative.
Seeing all this, it makes sense why Astro Bot won game of the year, because that is pretty much an expanded version of this and it's a game I'll definitely play once I get another PS5 or if my friend who lives nearby buys it.
10/10, it's great.
