Astro's Playroom

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⭐9/10

Astro Bot the Mario killer! After like 80 hours with KCD, a deep rpg with mature themes and complex mechanics, it was nice to kick back with a short platformer.  This is technically a demo that comes free with every PS5, but I put a good 5 hours into this to 100% it. 

After a long time of grappling with my innermost thoughts, I have come to admit that I'm a Mario fan. This game is as similar to Mario Odyssey as it can get: super tight controls with unique and creative platforming challenges. It takes place in a silly world with lots of secrets and side-challenges. Every level presents a new little gimmick to master, and the only element of progression is becoming better at the moveset. 

Yeah, this was absolutely awesome. The platforming was consistently fun, and they never hung on to an idea for too long. In fact they may have even left a little meat on the bone, but that's totally acceptable for a demo. I'm 100% on board to play the proper game that won GOTY in 2024, and curious to explore how they iterate on these ideas. They have a terrific formula here and I'm excited to get into it a bit more. I suppose my only complaint is that it was too easy, and it never presents any challenges that could be considered difficult. It's certainly not a baby game, but nothing took me more than a handful of tries. 

So that's it. A perfect 3D platformer with cool ideas and a cute world. Very excited for what's next. 


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