I haven't actually beaten a game in a long time (and thus haven't been on backloggd in months), but I forgot to log this back over Christmas. Astro's Playroom is surprising for what it is. I thought it would just be a PS5 controller tutorial disguised as a platformer, but it was more than that. It definitely shows off what the PS5 controller can do, but instead of doing a generic tutorial builds a clever platform game that utilizes every single one of these controls. It's a perfect introduction to the PS5 system at a great length. As a platformer it's nothing mind-blowing. Everything in this is pretty solid, but not a platforming highlight. But what makes it unique and fun is what it does with the new features of the PS5. It's great for what it is and it's fun to go for all the collectibles. Also Astro you are amazing and I want a funko pop of you. Or just every piece of merch I can get for you. You are goated Astro!

i forgot to log this game. but it was a fun 3-4 hour experience. i got my ps5 for final fantasy 16 but i had more fun with the 4 hours with this game than that games 50 hours i spent on ff16. there are some flaws, though. the monkey controller gimmick kinda sucked. you just shimmy the dualsense around and press the triggers to grab edges. also, i feel the game needed some more content; the game feels like a demo, which is pretty much the point of the game. if astro bot is the quality of this game, though, we might have a goty contender.

In honor of the announcment of Astro Bot a sequel to this game I thought it'd be a good idea to revisit it, and I gotta say it still great. I guess you can technically say this is a $500 game, but jokes aside I think Astros Playroom offers a lot of promise as a 3D platformer, it's so polished and it being a love letter to all sony fans it's really amazing how this is just a tech demo of the ps5's core features. Astro is a cute mascot which I think is fitting for a 3D platformer game and overall this game oozes with style and charm. I think where it kind of falters a bit is when the game uses its gimmicks for the controller. Some are definitely fun but others I could do without, still cool but its mainly why i'm giving this game a 4 instead of a 5. It's not perfect but if you're one of the few who has a ps5, I'd recommend giving this a shot. I mean its free!

Non sono un grande fan di Playstation. Nel corso della mia vita ho avuto ogni singola playstation uscita anche se la mia ps3 mi ha abbandonato e psvita l'ho venduta, nonostante ciò ho sempre avuto la puzza sotto il naso con Sony, questo perché di base l'ho vista vendere come il pane anche in momenti in cui non aveva senso la cosa. Un esempio è proprio il lancio di Ps5, una console senza nulla di concreto, disponibile in poche scorte, la gente si è ammazzata ed ha aperto i mutui per reperirla dai bagarini e tutto questo per cosa? Per avere la prima e probabilmente difettosa versione di una console che non aveva ancora nulla da offrire? Questo polemismo è importante perché vi fa capire quanto io di Sony Playstation non nutra una grandissima simpatia, nonostante abbia iniziato a giocare proprio su ps1, nonostante ps2 sia stata la prima console che mi sono goduto a pieno, e nonostante ps3 sia stata per tanti anni la cosa che più desideravo e che più vedevo come inarrivabile (e alla fine dovetti pure prendermi una 360). Allora mi spiegate come faccia io, un giocatore che ha vissuto tutte le playstation e che ne ha preso le distanze, ad avere i brividi ripercorrendo tutta la storia del brand e provare feels anche quando vedo degli omini rappresentare giochi che mai mi hanno particolarmente affascinato come Horizon? Semplice, la magia è possibile perché Astro's Playroom è stato costruito con una cura e con un amore incredibili, perché riesce ad abbattere la 4 parete e farti interagire ludicamente con quegli oggetti che sono diventati parte della propria vita quotidiana. Il tutto lo fa con un gameplay che sfrutta appieno il dualsense. Non mi piacciono solitamente le trovate di marketing becere ma il dualsense lo amo e lo possiedo da prima ancora della ps5 e ne adoro ogni caratteristica, giocare un titolo che le sfrutta tutte e che lo fa in maniera riuscitissima è una goduria e ti fa capire di quanto i giochi, almeno le esclusive, dovrebbero impegnarsi di più sotto questo punto di vista. Chiaramente non possiamo parlare di un vero e proprio gioco quanto di una demo per la console tuttavia è stata gettata la base per un futuro estremamente roseo e l'amore con cui Astro tratta la storia di playstation è così pervasivo che alla fine mi ha fatto riflettere e sono giunto alla conclusione che, nonostante l'antipatia per il sonaro medio, una parte di me ama Playstation e negarlo è da ipocriti.

This will be more of a comment on the Playstation division today and how Team Asobi fits into its context, rather than a review itself. And what game is better than that than a Playstation 5 tech demo that pays homage to the entire legacy and history of Playstation games?

The massive westernization that has been affecting Playstation first party games over the last 10 years really disgusts me. The Playstation studios games, that was so remarkable and present in my life, I no longer recognize. At least the most part of them.

Ready-made formulas for triple A games, whether cinematic experiences, sandboxes with generic exploration that look more like Ubisoft games, or just games as a service, are far from what was Sony's peak in this industry. And dont get me wrong, I absolutely have nothing against these kind of games, in fact, I believe that Naughty Dog, Santa Monica and Insomniac games are among the best and most talented game developers in the world. And that's exactly where I want to get to. Having a library of games that are very similar in design and formula is not a good thing, even if the games were good. But when you uses The Last of Us and Horizon Zero Dawn as benchmarks to be followed for a big part of your games, well...the result doesn't please me at all.

Sure, there are exceptions: Returnal, Ratchet and Clank, Death Stranding are really cool games with a great vision and originality, but as I said, exceptions.

Playstation studios had a vast and diverse library of games. We don't need to go that far, let's take the Ps3 and Vita era, as an example. Demon's Souls, Uncharted, Gravity Rush, Infamous, Little Big Planet, Killzone, Resistance and God of War are just a few examples of first party games from that time that were not only very good, but also had a high degree of dissimilarity between them.

Now, lets rewind the time. Unprecedented experimentation, absurd creativity, unique games that marked an era in their own and irreplicable way, are a great hallmark of Japan Studios, which I consider to be the best Playstation developer of all time. Astro's Playroom, a charismatic and inventive 3d platformer game, was developed by Team Asobi, a new division that was spun off from within Japan Studios. The thing is, games like this are less and less requested by the company directors. The recent announcement of the Astro Bot game, (which looks amazing) seems more like a miracle, and makes it clear that it is very different from the current wave of first party games on Playstation. Yes, let's not be naive, I am fully aware that games like this are not that profitable in the current triple A scenario. That's the reality, and that's the way it is, but yeah, it sucks. And the thought that we probably will have to await years to another game like that just makes me sad.

We are in a nebulous and uncertain moment in the gaming industry, where Playstation is losing its original identity every year with fewer and fewer first party games released, the Xbox division changes strategies with the same regularity as someone changes clothes and seems to have no confidence or certainty in its own future, and Nintendo... it continues to deliver incredible games as it has always done, but it means that it is the same Nintendo as always, a big rubbish anti-consumer company.

However, games like Astro's Playroom give me that spark of hope, especially placing them as the antithesis of current PlayStation studios, and I really hope and wish all the success in the world for Team Asobi.