I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but I have a PS5 and-
takes punch in face
One of the many quirks of the PS5 is that it actually comes with a free game. I can’t remember this being the case before, but feel free to correct me if there’s been a modern(ish) console that came with its own game (most pre PS3 wouldn’t have had the memory, but equally I did play on a Master System and so know all about Alex Kidd thankyouverymuch).
In this particular case, Sony have continued to use the Astro robot introduced in the VR Playroom freebie on the PS4 (more a set of VR minigames than a full blown game), who also got his own VR release in AstroBot Rescue Mission (one of a fair few VR games I need to get and play). However, Astro’s Playroom is not exactly the cutesy kid oriented platformer it may look like – it is in fact a genius platformer that presents and demonstrates the DualSense’s amazing new features, which very cleverly ties in the many new features of the PS5 in its storyline, and also provides nostalgia and historical references to all the previous PlayStation consoles (along with many notable games).
The premise
Essentially, Astro is inside the PS5 (woah – he’s “inside” the PS5 and the game’s “inside” the PS5 – HEAVY), and the game’s world is split between different areas named after different features of the PS5 itself. For instance, there’s GPU Jungle and a whole world focused on raytracing, while another drops you into the solid state disk. It’s a very clever, very knowing way to set up a game already – and on completing each level or series of levels, you unlock artifacts – these are previous PlayStation consoles and peripherals, with the peripherals basically found within the levels as secret coins to grab, and the consoles the end of level achievement.
Just for this alone, this game is worth playing. You get the twin joys of an incredibly rendered world “inside” the PS5, which educates you on the new console’s new elements, and you also get that nostalgia rush from encountering memorable and esoteric peripherals. One example of the former is a Daft Punk style song about GPU is so catchy that you’ll laugh, laugh again then get it caught in your head – and the lyrics have been written to make the song both a love song AND an explanation of what the GPU does for the console.
Ah, nostalgia
What really makes the different elements so great though is that other robots are to be found around the levels acting out scenes from famous PlayStation games of old – once you start noticing them you can’t stop, and it’s remarkable the attention to detail that’s been put in. But the big success is the unlocking of the different consoles – an end of level area utilises the musical sounds that we all associate with each console, turning them into little dance tracks but giving you that rush of memory back to booting up the PS1, or the menu music for the PS3 as you aimlessly drift through the various options.
DualSense education
This is precision targeted nostalgia wrapped in an educational and excellently fun – and challenging at times! – platformer. But that previous mention I made of the game being made to educate you about the PS5 and its controller undersells what each level brings in terms of the latter. As Astro proceeds through the different environments, you’re taught to utilise the controller’s new adaptive, rumble and reactive elements – which only one other game I’ve played so far has taken advantage of.
The controller provides more pushback and resistance, allowing for – say – a bowstring to be taut, so when you push the trigger down it feels like you’re straining on the bowstring. Another example is walking through mud – the controller’s functions make this feel like the struggle it should be. Each part of the game forces you to learn the myriad functions of the controller, almost as a primer for the games coming down the track that will fully utilise these features.
This is such a genius way to splice together game and peripheral – I can’t remember anything since the Wii that did something similar. This game could easily have been just a platformer without any of these other elements, and it would have been better than most modern attempts at the genre. But Sony really cared about how this would allow the company to provide both references back to the past and also on how the new console is a new era for the company – and it really shows in the way the game plays.
My only quibble is the absolutely BASTARD HARD end boss of the game, which is remarkably difficult and just goes to show that cutesy robot does not mean kid’s game. Many of the references will go completely over the head of any child playing it, and to be honest some of the platforming elements were tough enough for me to play, let alone anyone under the age of 10 (above that age I’m sure I would be slaughtered in any game by a teen, no illusions on that).
If you do get a PS5, congratulations are due at first; but my second comment would be to dive into this game before anything else. Its sheer level of depth and replayability are very satisfying (you never get a game over until said end boss), and being able to actually visit a “lab” full of the peripherals and consoles of PlayStations past – as well as interact with all of them – is a brilliant little touch for those of us old enough to remember the PS1 fondly, not to mention everything since. If Sony can do this for a platformer and a free game, I am genuinely excited to seeing what their studios can produce for this console and controller going forward.
a minority of one 