Platform mascots were once a big thing, but as time went by, some Mari had all gone. Crash and Spyro are likely to experience real-time returns, not just remakes, but Sony has decided to create a new mascot. Not completely. Maybe some of you have tried the "tech demo" The Playroom, which was released on the PS4 in 2013 and it was the first time Astro Bot had appeared for the first time. He has since appeared in several titles, but it seems that Sony is trying to push him into the position of some cute mascot. And the best way to do that is to create a really catchy game with him.
Astro Bot has an enormous potential to gain crowds. It's impossible not to dislike his emotions that you can see on his "faces". It's tiny, you'll be in the controller (literally). Moreover, it very well describes the platform with its outlook as it looks a little bit like a PS VR headset. And it was for the PS VR that his new Astro Bot: Rescue Mission came into being. As you may have guessed, it's a 3D platform, and although this is not a genre that would primarily associate players with virtual reality, Japan Studio wanted to prove that it was the best thing to do. And they were not mistaken.
It all starts when you put your VR headset on your head and get into the universe. But it is not empty and cold. Evidence is a small space ship full of dozens of Astro Botov. The ship itself also has the shape of a PS VR headset, and its idyllic path is interrupted by an alien who is engaged, so he wants to take his part, not only destroying it, but also her entire crew is casting a cadet in a wide universe. Only one left - your Astro Bot. And when he asks you to help him, you just can not resist him looking at his face, and you go out across the universe to repair the ship and pick up all the lost Botov.
But you have to go step by step. Although in this case it is a planet rather than a planet. The game world is divided into a subset of planets, which you must gradually pass to collect small Astro Botov there and at the end get some part of the ship. This simple concept repeats itself, but it is efficient enough for you to be here and very willing to sit for a few hours. And maybe more, when Astro Boti will miss 100% pass, you will return to the levels to try to completely subdue them.
Each planet contains four basic levels, and the fifth is a competing match with a boss who can not miss such a game. You probably have already calculated that you will find a total of 25 levels waiting for you. Progress between them is not particularly challenging, even if the shift to the next planet is limited by the minimum number of Astro Botov collected. But this number is always low, so you will not have the slightest problem moving forward. But if that were the end, the content would not be much, and after a few hours you would have set the game by the side. It's part of it, as the baseline of 25 levels will take you about 5-6 hours (if you want everything, it will be a bit more). Fortunately, here you will find something extra.
At levels, you can also find disguised chameleons, which are always hiding. Sometimes you have them in your eyes, sometimes you have to look for them even if you even get over them. Moreover, because they are chameleons, the color always blends with the environment around. Get to know them by eye, and when you find them, keep eye contact (you headset on your head, not your Astro Bot). Just a moment, the chameleon evaporates and it means for you that you have unlocked the new Challenge level. They are 26 in total and offer extra playability. Not exactly demanding, but at least something. These are mostly short calls for speed and accuracy, with just a few of them just copying battles with bosses. This way you can get more Astro Bots by your score, up to two per level.
But what about the gameplay itself? Although it does not bring anything revolutionary, it sometimes looks like it's impossible to think of something new within this genre, but it still sets very much fun. And from the very beginning, when you go with your Astro Botom to the first planet and he jumps out of your Dualshock. You get into the role of a big robot who controls a small Astra and helps him overcome obstacles. And those first moments are really interesting. You are free to watch the surroundings from where you stand. Otherwise, your movement is relatively limited. On the contrary, the Astro Bot moves completely freely on relatively straight lines and can be so peaceful around you.
And these are moments when you notice a lot of details that are in the game just to build a relationship to the character. She shouts and smiles at you, and when she runs around, she can swell you. There is really such detail here, there are no celebratory dances at the end of the levels and some other little things that are here for the best impression. Only when you all want them, then you go into the game. You still have to look. For you, the game is fairly static, as the camera is your helmet, so we still get it, but Astro Bot has to run everywhere - in front of you, behind you, above you and behind you. Authors do not want to hide some objects simply everywhere, so you have to turn right.
Your Astro Bot but besides everything has to overcome obstacles and also fight with various enemies. Both of these activities will help him with his jetpack, which will not only keep him in the air for a while, but in addition, the beam will also help him to eliminate the enemies, on whom he would not normally have enough fists, because he has only one stroke and no other attacks. The types of enemies are enough and the same is partly true for environments that come with their own pitfalls. The environment is almost repetitive across the planets, and the game also shoots all of its trumpets relatively early, so it will not surprise you in the second half. The same applies to bosoms who, regardless of the different visuals and the world, will always be defeating the same way.
But you did not enjoy it. The game still keeps you, and jumping keeps you, as well as simple action, overcoming obstacles (in which you have to engage reason occasionally) and also searching for lost Astro Botov, who are at each level 8 (except bosses). The game is further enhanced by something interesting and something very annoying. Interestingly, these are "weapons" to transform your Dualshock. He is also in the game and in certain passages get him a hand, for example, in the form of a water weapon, star thrower, and the like. This then controls the touch pad and, for example, protect your Astro Boot from the trap. The boring is the literal engagement of the head, as it was entertaining to the playwright that you must avoid and shake while playing and head to hitch to break them. It's not fun, it still moves the headset on your head, so you have to adjust it again (especially when ripping the octopus it gets angry).
Let's go to a more optimistic topic, like an audio-visual. He is at a high level, and although there are things that drag him all down, he looks at the game very well. Her world is imaginative and full of colorful details, looking at the volcanoes, even deep below the seabed where your hero must swim. All of this is complemented by catchy music, which is relatively small and will soon be repeated, but it is still very good and listens very well.
The biggest mistake again is not a game mistake, but a lack of technology. Many PS VR titles have problems with the camera's viewing angle not being the widest, and motion control is also not exactly the most accurate. This is similar, and since the game will not put you in a situation where you have to move somewhere around the corner, you often notice that you are out of the camera. Sometimes I do not see you well, your driver is somewhere else and the like. But that's not something that should discourage you from playing. If you have PS VR, Astro Bot: Rescue Mission is your duty. And personally, I also hope that a standard version will appear without the need for a PS VR with a modified camera, so that every fan of good platforms can enjoy the game, as this is the game in the first place.
Thank you very much for your support!