GOTY 2020 - NUMBER TEN
Video version
There’s something about a pack-in game. It’s a bit of a showcase of the console’s intentions. The intuitive 2-player action of the Atari 2600’s Combat, the beautiful, fast-paced adventure of Sonic on the Mega Drive, or the creative exploration of the Wii U GamePad’s capabilities in NintendoLand. They’re a bit of a rarity these days, but often a new console doesn’t have much to say for itself. It’s quite refreshing to see Sony put a wee platformer on every PS5.
Astro’s Playroom tiptoes on the middleground between tech demo and game. An opportunity to play around with the Dualsense’s adaptive triggers, haptic rumble and gyrometer, and a bit of a dare to other PS5 developers to utilise these features in their own games. It’s a breezy little title that can be sped through in an hour, though there’s plenty of reasons for players to dig a little deeper. It’s not a system seller, but it’s a welcome reassurance for those who just dropped £450 on another PlayStation.
A lot of the Playroom has me feeling a little ambivalent. I generally only try to cover a game’s positives in these, but it’s 2020 and we’re only on Number 10 here. There’s the shallow exploration of PlayStation brand nostalgia, the combat-heavy platforming and the power suit sections that can take up far too much of the game, but then there’s the fact that this is a new Japan Studio platformer. Built on the shoulders of Ape Escape, LocoRoco and Jumping Flash. It’s a part of Sony that has largely been sidelined for the last couple of generations, but it’s a big part of what I liked about PlayStation consoles in the first place. It’s nice to see a project like this be put in the spotlight.
So, now it’s okay to like Astro’s Playroom, what is there to like about it? Well, those triggers are actually really good, for a start. If you’ve played arcade racing cabinets like Sega Rally, or used Logitech’s Gran Turismo steering wheel, you might have a good idea of how a controller that resists your actions can add to a game. The increase in tension as you pull back on a bow, or the resistance as you start up an engine before the internal explosion loosens the trigger is really satisfying. I’ll often lose myself browsing the unlockable museum items because zooming in feels so cool.
Astro’s Playroom commits the sin of following from the Mega Drive Aladdin school of design rather than the SNES one, in which you run up to enemies and punch them instead of jumping on them, removing the importance of level structure and deliberate movement, but in spite of this, there’s still a really good platformer at the core of it. You’ll find that out if you try the game’s time trial mode, which presents unique speed-focused level layouts based on each of the main game’s worlds. It feels great, and that can be proven by how well the wholesale copying of Super Mario Galaxy’s ice skating controls fit in here. I understand why they had to dumb things down for PlayStation fans, but there’s hints of Nintendo-level stuff here.
And the bits with the wee ball. I’m dead keen on those. They’ve determined that the real use for the controller’s daft touchpad is to emulate a trackball, like from Marble Madness, and it works great. In tandem with how well the game implements haptic feedback, you feel like you’ve got real control over the momentum and angle in how you’re rolling, even on rough surfaces.
The big thing about Astro’s Playroom is what it says as a mission statement for the PlayStation 5. I didn’t have a strong incentive to get a PS5 yet, but now I have one, it’s such a relief to be free of the slow, finicky, directionless PS4. I hated using the thing. The PS5 isn’t the ideal PlayStation either, but it’s such a step up from that, and having Astro’s Playroom to act as a guiding light for the console has me feeling quite optimistic about it. I hope its reflections on Sony’s past are more than trivial fan service.
Video version
There’s something about a pack-in game. It’s a bit of a showcase of the console’s intentions. The intuitive 2-player action of the Atari 2600’s Combat, the beautiful, fast-paced adventure of Sonic on the Mega Drive, or the creative exploration of the Wii U GamePad’s capabilities in NintendoLand. They’re a bit of a rarity these days, but often a new console doesn’t have much to say for itself. It’s quite refreshing to see Sony put a wee platformer on every PS5.
Astro’s Playroom tiptoes on the middleground between tech demo and game. An opportunity to play around with the Dualsense’s adaptive triggers, haptic rumble and gyrometer, and a bit of a dare to other PS5 developers to utilise these features in their own games. It’s a breezy little title that can be sped through in an hour, though there’s plenty of reasons for players to dig a little deeper. It’s not a system seller, but it’s a welcome reassurance for those who just dropped £450 on another PlayStation.
A lot of the Playroom has me feeling a little ambivalent. I generally only try to cover a game’s positives in these, but it’s 2020 and we’re only on Number 10 here. There’s the shallow exploration of PlayStation brand nostalgia, the combat-heavy platforming and the power suit sections that can take up far too much of the game, but then there’s the fact that this is a new Japan Studio platformer. Built on the shoulders of Ape Escape, LocoRoco and Jumping Flash. It’s a part of Sony that has largely been sidelined for the last couple of generations, but it’s a big part of what I liked about PlayStation consoles in the first place. It’s nice to see a project like this be put in the spotlight.
So, now it’s okay to like Astro’s Playroom, what is there to like about it? Well, those triggers are actually really good, for a start. If you’ve played arcade racing cabinets like Sega Rally, or used Logitech’s Gran Turismo steering wheel, you might have a good idea of how a controller that resists your actions can add to a game. The increase in tension as you pull back on a bow, or the resistance as you start up an engine before the internal explosion loosens the trigger is really satisfying. I’ll often lose myself browsing the unlockable museum items because zooming in feels so cool.
Astro’s Playroom commits the sin of following from the Mega Drive Aladdin school of design rather than the SNES one, in which you run up to enemies and punch them instead of jumping on them, removing the importance of level structure and deliberate movement, but in spite of this, there’s still a really good platformer at the core of it. You’ll find that out if you try the game’s time trial mode, which presents unique speed-focused level layouts based on each of the main game’s worlds. It feels great, and that can be proven by how well the wholesale copying of Super Mario Galaxy’s ice skating controls fit in here. I understand why they had to dumb things down for PlayStation fans, but there’s hints of Nintendo-level stuff here.
And the bits with the wee ball. I’m dead keen on those. They’ve determined that the real use for the controller’s daft touchpad is to emulate a trackball, like from Marble Madness, and it works great. In tandem with how well the game implements haptic feedback, you feel like you’ve got real control over the momentum and angle in how you’re rolling, even on rough surfaces.
The big thing about Astro’s Playroom is what it says as a mission statement for the PlayStation 5. I didn’t have a strong incentive to get a PS5 yet, but now I have one, it’s such a relief to be free of the slow, finicky, directionless PS4. I hated using the thing. The PS5 isn’t the ideal PlayStation either, but it’s such a step up from that, and having Astro’s Playroom to act as a guiding light for the console has me feeling quite optimistic about it. I hope its reflections on Sony’s past are more than trivial fan service.