After a slew of narrative-heavy first-party Sony titles, Astro Bot comes in as a breath of fresh air as a 3D platformer that prioritizes smooth-as-butter gameplay and a bubbly kid-friendly aesthetic. Much like a lot of properties made for all ages, there is a lot of logic that slips through the cracks.
The entries below range from small leaps in logic to threads that, if pulled, perhaps reveal a much darker truth behind the cutesy world in which Astro Bot takes place. Will a sequel ever cover up some of this lack of narrative cohesion, or do we simply have too much time on our hands to ponder these logical fallacies?
7The Other Bots Are Okay With Astro Smacking Them Around
Maybe It’s Just A Part Of Their Culture?
As you collect bots, they populate the crash site where the broken PS5 awaits repair. You can walk around this area and watch it slowly fill up with new bots as you progress through the game, and you can also punch them to your heart’s content and they don’t seem bothered by this in the slightest.
Friendly robotic creatures, distinguishable by their blue eyes, also don’t mind if you smack them up a bit. Considering this game is approved for most kids by various rating boards, this could instill some harmful lessons in them.
6There’s No Way To See What Games Are Being Referenced
Just In Case You Didn’t Get It
Some bots are generic, but many are decked out in garb that references numerous properties from PlayStation’s past and present. It’s a joy to see your favorite game get a shoutout.
However, unless you are a true video game historian, some of the references will fly over your head. It’s mysterious, then, that there is no way to pull up a menu and see to which game a certain bot is paying tribute. It would be a helpful feature to add in a future update.
5What Does The Antagonist Have Against The Bots?
Did Nebulax Just Wake Up On The Wrong Side Of The Bed?
The game has zero dialogue. Each character lets out various grunts to describe emotions. Space Bully Nebulax, the antagonist, has no way to express their motivation. Do they just hate bots having a good time, or is there a deeper story behind the animosity?
The monster is green, so perhaps there is a deeper allusion to a certain competitor that uses green as its primary color. The game is fun enough without being bogged down by explanations, so we are satisfied just knowing it hates Astro. We don’t need to know why.
4The Levels Don’t Make Sense
Why Are The Environments Like This?
A lot of level-based 3D platformers either select a certain theme for each world or choose several themes, make several levels in each, and then mix them up to make sure the variety remains consistent. Astro Bot doesn’t seem to follow either logic.
Every level feels unique, but the journey lacks cohesion; some might see this as a weakness, but just as many gamers don’t care.To be fair, certain bossesand friendly creatures reappear throughout the levels, showing at least some form of progression.
3How Do Parts That Run A Game Console Power A Spaceship?
Don’t Think About It Too Hard
Astro is ultimately on a journey to recover the scattered parts of the flying PlayStation 5. It sounds like an idea one could only conjure up with the help of hallucinogens, but it’s the real plot of a AAA PS5 exclusive.
How do these parts that render graphics ultimately power up a spaceship? We could see it rendering a simulation of space flight, but powering flight of any kind is a bit absurd. We also don’t want kids to think they can take their own PS5 for a test flight after beating this game.
2Animals Are Just Power-Ups To Astro
Dogs Are A Bot’s Best Friends
Several of the powers are robotic animals strapped onto Astro’s back.This includes a dog that rams Astro forward, a chicken that shoots the bot into the air, a monkey that helps Astro climb, and many more. Are these animals sentient? Do they have the same feelings and emotions as the other bots?
If so, they feel too disposable to Astro and the other bots. They wait in small treasure chests and we as players never really know where they go after the level. Is it the same dog, chicken, and monkey in the separate levels where you use the same power-up again?
There is one level where you can see the dog in a small doghouse during the victory screen.
1It’s A Celebration Of Games Sony Has Abandoned
Bots Are Nice, But Reviving Classic Series Is Even Better
On the surface, Astro Bot is all good vibes. What could be more positive in video games than a publisher and console manufacturer celebrating all the IPs it has nurtured throughout the decades? It gets dour when you remember how many of these IPs have been abandoned unceremoniously.
Sony used to be known for games that indulged in wild, unique ideas, a far cry from the over-the-shoulder prestige epics Sony is known for today. That’s not where it ends, either, as several of the consoles and accessories featured were released and had their support cut short before their time. That’s particularly hurtful considering the financial investment in a console.
