As we’re speaking about video games from 2024 that did one thing rather well, for me, one sport stood excessive above the remaining (and can be a sport I bear in mind enjoying this 12 months that really launched this 12 months – sorry, Resident Evil 4 Remake, my mind forgot you launched in 2023!). Astro Bot bought me proper within the feels this 12 months. Different video games undoubtedly had extra affecting storylines and characters, however as somebody who clearly loves video video games an amazing deal, Sony’s PS5 nostalgia-fest drilled proper into whichever a part of my mind processes pleasure. And let’s be trustworthy, that half has been used much less and fewer lately.
I’ve owned each PlayStation system because the platform burst onto the scene 30 years in the past – I make that seven consoles and two handhelds, plus a couple of refreshes. But, regardless of that fanboy-level of possession, I by no means thought I had a lot of an emotional connection to Sony’s console. Do not get offended, but when I used to be pressured to select the gaming manufacturers I’ve essentially the most fondness for, I would go together with Sega and Xbox. I did ask you to not get offended. Sega was every little thing after I was a younger lad and Xbox offered an thrilling new future for gaming at in regards to the time I ventured into my profession. PlayStation was simply the cool console in between, so I believed. I used to be improper.
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I’ve lengthy believed that my love of retro video games is not in regards to the video games themselves, however the way in which they take you again in time. Within the spare room/workplace I work from at house, the very first thing I see after I stroll in is a stunning boxed copy of Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Mega Drive. I can not say I am determined to play it, however each time I look at it, I am reminded of the form of unbounded glee that is just about reserved just for kids as of late. I felt that, as soon as, I remind myself. Late nights making an attempt to defeat Robotnik – me, my brother, and cousin leaving the Mega Drive turned on in a single day so we did not lose our progress. Higher instances, perhaps. Easier instances, for certain.
Astro Bot has taken criticism for being a giant advert that you need to pay for, a cynical method for Sony to faucet into an viewers that loves the PlayStation. I’ve no downside with folks pondering that (I, personally, do not perceive the recognition of Animal Crossing, if we’re sharing unhealthy opinions). I simply do not care. Perhaps I ought to be analysing it extra deeply and really feel deeply ashamed of myself, however I merely do not need to.
From a gameplay perspective, Astro Bot is prime notch. Mechanically it is tremendous tight (if not as ripe for god-level mastery as among the 3D Mario video games), the degrees are bathed in creativity, and it is a feast for the eyes and ears. It is sensible. Nevertheless it’s not only a sport. It is a portal – like my copy of Sonic the Hedgehog, it is a gateway to a different time. So much was made from the basic character Bots you acquire all through the sport, and these are nice, getting into the hub/interactive museum as soon as discovered. However there’s one second that bought to me greater than the rest.
I will not spoil it in full, however in direction of the top of Astro’s journey the sport shifts gears and you end up in a 3D homage to basic shm’ups, the side-scrolling shooters from the previous. Throughout this sequence, a second is highlighted by the enjoying of the unique PlayStation boot jingle. I actually do not know what it was about this tune, performed at the moment, on the finish of a wonderful jaunt by means of my very own gaming historical past, however my eyes began to water.
Video video games imply rather a lot to me, greater than most I would count on. I’ve constructed my complete working life round them, my profession devoted to celebrating the most effective and highlighting the worst. As a job, it is as tiring and exhausting, typically exasperating, as another, and it is easy to lose sight of why I selected this path all these years in the past. Only for a second, within the darkened early hours, a dim mild from the DualSense portray the room in an ethereal glow, I used to be 12 once more, and it was unimaginable. For that, I really like Astro Bot, and I assume I really like PlayStation too.
