Review for ASTRO BOT: Rescue Mission. Game for PlayStation VR and PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 03/10/2018
In recent months, many users' PlayStation VRs have been locked up in some closet collecting dust. It wasn't that there was a lack of titles to play, rather there was poor quality. This changed recently with Firewall: Zero Hour. What is certain is that the latter is not a game for everyone, especially not for those who do not like multiplayer. But now Astro Bot: Rescue Mission has arrived, directly from Sony's Japan Studio, which promises to significantly change the cards on the table.
The title is a delightfully fascinating platformer whose hero will be instantly familiar to PlayStation VR owners. Playing the same tiny robot from the Robot Rescue minigame, Astro Bot: Rescue Mission expands the novel and interesting ideas presented in that demo to deliver one of the best VR games of the year, and it does so in a way that it will leave an indelible smile, leaving us with the feeling of having just experienced the magic.
As in the best platformers, there is very little in the way of narrative: this time the villain is an alien who destroyed Astro Bot's tiny spaceship and scattered hundreds of his robotic friends and parts of the ship across the galaxy, leaving the protagonist (i.e. to us) the task of resolving the situation. Each of the 25 levels of the game contains eight hidden robots, which we will have to find, and a chameleon that will unlock the challenge level connected to it. We will also be able to collect coins in order to then unlock nice gadgets in the playroom, very similar to the demo version they were talking about previously.
As in Moss, we will be able to interact with the world. We will control Astro Bot traditionally, but we will use our presence in the world to throw soccer balls or hit wooden planks to find hidden areas. The microphone will also be used creatively, allowing us for example to solve some puzzles by blowing.
The Dualshock, always visible in the game, is sometimes completely interactive: inserting it in the appropriate slot of a trunk, for example, will unlock a gadget that makes the controller more functional and indispensable to complete the level. At our disposal we will have other gadgets that will allow us to interact directly in other ingenious ways, making every game truly enjoyable.
3D platformers really shine in virtual reality, because instead of having a fixed camera, we ourselves become the camera. We just have to get used to it, as we will have to look back and beyond things to find the hidden robots. You will have to look not only in front of you, but behind, above and below. The level design is beautiful and engaging and often frighteningly intelligent. The themed worlds are also visual delights, as well as the very catchy soundtrack.
Astro Bot is an amazing looking game - and not in the derogatory way we usually say when a VR game looks good. This time it doesn't look good for VR, it looks good in everything. This largely depends on artistic design more than any technical skill - everything looks captivating, whether it's a verdant forest, an underwater playground, or a cave filled with giant luminescent mushrooms.
The game isn't particularly challenging, especially if you don't want to find every single robot or hidden chameleons that unlock the additional challenge levels. There's a bit more of a challenge to the imaginative boss battles though, and each of them is a pleasure to face, whether it's a sharp-toothed gorilla or an Octopus throwing boulders of fire. These are all sorts of boss fights that we would expect in Nintendo classics, certainly not from the Sony home console.
Astro Bot stands alone as a classic platformer, but uses VR technology to elevate itself further. Delightful and joyful, it is one of the best VR games to date and an essential part of any PSVR library. We do not yet know if Sony will focus strongly on its virtual robot in the future, but surely the foundations for a rivalry with Mario are all there.
► ASTRO BOT: Rescue Mission is an Adventure-Platform game developed by SCE Japan Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation VR and PlayStation 4, the game was released on 03/10/2018
