"We want Astro Bot to have its own identity"says Nicolas Doucet, Game Director of "Astro Bot". Sounds good. But hand on heart - does "Astro Bot" even have a real identity that goes beyond "cute PlayStation fan service for a younger audience"? Or is Sony simply clinging to a cuddly mascot because Mario and Sonic are unfortunately already taken?
Astro's identity crisis between nostalgia and independence
After the charming "Astro's Playroom", which began as a tech demo for the DualSense controller and surprisingly turned out to be the secret star of the PS5 launch, was followed by "Astro Bot" - a game that condensed the entire history of PlayStation into a colorful, nostalgic flash of sugar. A loving celebration for fans of the brand. For everyone else? Well. A game with floating platforms, bright colors and a main character who doesn't speak, but winks all the more sweetly. One Mario Galaxy to go, please - only in blue and white.
Doucet and Team Asobi are now faced with a real dilemma: Astro Bot is not a character that carries itself. Without PlayStation references, Tons of cameo appearanceswithout DualSense gimmicks, without an easteregg-fed nostalgia factor, what remains is a game that is technically clean, but stylistically on a par with a Saturday morning cartoon. And that is perhaps the real problem: "Astro Bot" is primarily aimed at a younger audience - or adults who like to pretend they are eight again. This makes it diametrically opposed to the rest of the PlayStation portfolio, which tends to focus on darker adventures (The Last of Us, God of War) or cinematic blockbusters.
Why Astro doesn't fit the classic PlayStation profile
The fact that Doucet nevertheless speaks of a "independent identity" in favor of Astro seems almost naive. Or courageous. Or both. Because what is "Astro Bot" without PlayStation fanservice? No "Horizon", no "Uncharted", no "God of War". And, above all, no game that gets the PS5's core audience off the couch. The idea of one day seeing "Astro Bot" in a series with the big franchises is nice - but realistic? The only justification so far: We want a broadly diversified portfolio!
Sure, "Astro Bot" is competent, charming and technically flawless. But it also remains a game that relies heavily on the fact that you already love the PlayStation brand. That's not a bad thing - many mascots work that way. But you shouldn't fool yourself into thinking that there's more to it than an excellently produced but ultimately tame platformer that can't decide whether it just wants to celebrate or be something of its own.
Perhaps the truth is: "Astro Bot" is not overrated - it's overambitious. And sometimes just being cute isn't enough. For my part, I can hardly understand the hype. Sony should of course be granted its success, but to me it seems more like wishful thinking and a desperate attempt to charge a mascot with meaning that has so far mainly shone through third-party references.
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