My game of the year even delights my 3-year-old child and turns my wife into a controller maestro

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The gaming year 2024 had some really humorous blockbusters in its luggage. However, MeinMMO editor Karsten Scholz’s game of the year falls more into the category of “little pearl for the entire family” and was released exclusively for the PS5.

If someone had asked me a year ago which games would probably have a good chance of winning my personal “Game of the Year” award, I would probably have titles like Metaphor: ReFantazio, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth or Dragon Age: The Veilguard Lips came.

Maybe I would have done it like the Game Awards 2024 and included expansions. After all, all major MMORPGs received an add-on this year. And then there were Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred.

I would have been wrong with all of these answers. I’ve had the most fun in the past few months with a comparatively small, exclusive platformer for the PlayStation 5.

Certainly in Karsten’s top 3 of the year – Shadow of the Erdtree for Elden Ring:

Elden Ring shows the DLC “Shadow of the Erdtree” in the story trailer

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As good as the best Marios

I mean, of course, Astro Bot, which was released exclusively for the PlayStation 5 in September 2024 and proves that the developers at Team Asobi can develop not only small but fine tech demos for Sony (the cute Astro’s Playroom from 2020, for example, should above all promote the features of the PS5 controller).

Astro Bot is a full-priced 3D platformer that you can easily play through in 10 hours and that may be why some of you are put off by it. In my opinion, every PS5 owner should definitely give the charming jumping game a chance.

When it comes to operation, fine-tuning, attention to detail and creativity of the levels, in my opinion the little robot achieves the excellence of the best representatives of the genre from Nintendo. Or to put it another way: Astro Bot doesn’t have to hide behind games like Super Mario Bros. Wonder or Super Mario Odyssey.

Astro Bot’s launch trailer hints at what awaits you in the platformer:

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For all ages

The following may show how well Astro Bot plays:

  • My little one is three years old and gets along with the controls much better than in any other 3D game he has tried so far (Sackboy: A Big Adventure, for example). Despite various different gadgets and mechanics, he can now play through many of the levels. He actually only gives up the controller when one of the boss fights – he finds them funny, but also a bit “scary” – or one of the most difficult levels is coming up.
  • My wife actually prefers to play games on the PC with a keyboard and mouse. She often has difficulty using the controller. With Astro Bot she still gets – quite voluntarily – a similar amount of playing time as the kids and I, simply because it controls so well and is so much fun.
  • I’ve been gaming on consoles for about 35 years, so many of the levels in Astro Bot are easy for me. But there are a few tricky challenges that make even a veteran sweat. Due to the enormous variety in the levels, I still have a lot of fun with the easy levels even after the umpteenth run through.
  • We have now cleared 100 percent of the bots and found puzzles in two save games. Nevertheless, Astro Bot continues to run regularly. If necessary, one of the two boys simply starts a fresh save game. The family’s total playing time is now over 170 hours.

    • A feast for PlayStation fans

    Similar to the aforementioned Astro’s Playroom, Astro Bot is also a love letter to the colorful PlayStation universe. You may find this stupid (after all, it is a form of constant advertising), but it hits a nerve with me – as an enthusiastic owner of all PlayStation consoles that have been released to date.

    I grew up with Crash, Ratchet, Spyro, Nathan, Kratos, Jak, Sackboy, Aloy and co. The grin on my face is correspondingly big when an entire level turns out to be a reference to Horizon: Zero Dawn, God of War or Uncharted.

    Or when I meet the characters from Crash Bandicoot, Helldivers 2, Metal Gear Solid, The Last of Us and many other franchises after being rescued at the crash site – all with their own wonderfully detailed animations.

    In short: Forget the big, time-consuming blockbusters. If you have a PlayStation 5 at home, you definitely have to give the little Astro Bot a chance. Even more so if you are looking for a game that your kids or your partner could also enjoy. You can find even more insights into Karsten’s world here: When money was tight, I wrote stories about raunchy superheroes

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