Astro Bot: The Game of 2024 – What’s Next?
December wouldn’t be the same without the Game Awards, a ceremony organized by Geoff Keighley to celebrate the standout video games of the year. This year, more than in previous editions, the nominees for the top award, Game of the Year, were a diverse mix of big hits like Metaphor: ReFantazio and surprises like Balatro and Black Myth Wukong. And the winner turned out to be… Astro Bot, the exclusive PlayStation 5 platformer developed by Team Asobi.
What happened in previous years?
We are in the tenth year of the Game Awards, and the event has a tendency to award fantasy titles or mature themes like The Witcher 3, the 2018 reboot of God of War, and more. However, Astro Bot is a family-friendly game about an adorable big-headed robot exploring worlds and making friends with cute small versions of PlayStation characters. It’s an excellent game, but its victory was unexpected, especially considering that Balatro had dominated the world for months and Metaphor was also gaining momentum on its own. Now that the dust has settled, many are asking what it means for a platformer to win such a prestigious award at a major and widely watched awards ceremony.
The next likely step will be a sequel; currently, Team Asobi is releasing post-launch free levels for Astro Bot, which has sold until last November. Undoubtedly, Sony will allow Asobi to take their time, and when the next game is revealed, it would be ideal for the Astro series to take its first steps towards forging its own identity. Both Astro Bot and its predecessor, Astro’s Playroom (which was pre-installed on launch PS5s), have been nostalgic journeys through PlayStation’s past. It’s fun to see small, big-headed versions of childhood mascots, but it can quickly become tiresome and highlight that the series doesn’t have much more to offer beyond its references and incredible gameplay mechanics.
One could argue that it doesn’t need anything more, but having a unique personality is what has helped other platformer games endure. Of the big three, Nintendo is the only one that truly understands this, which is why Mario can maintain a general consistency even as the character (and Luigi) alternate between dozens of different genres at any given moment. If Sony wants its own Mario, they will have to figure out who Astro is beyond being a blank canvas that leverages the legacy of its previous series.
Not the only surprise
Speaking of franchises, another big surprise at the Game Awards came from Capcom, revealing they are developing new games for the Resident Evil and [franchise name]. The studio has been on a good streak lately and recently stated that these two projects are part of a larger effort to revitalize series they had put aside. Many hope that, along with the success of Astro, has been a wake-up call for Sony to focus on creating smaller and more diverse games, rather than putting all their efforts into AAA cinematic projects.
It’s a shame that PlayStation’s devotion to big hits has led to the erosion of the double-A genre, as many of its older franchises would fit perfectly in this space today. Lately, I’ve been replaying [game name] after its PS5 port and playing Resistance 2 for the first time through cloud streaming. Both games feel right for their respective times, and it’s easy to imagine their series could have a place on PlayStation’s current lineup if they were allowed to exist without huge expectations on their shoulders.
Sly could easily fill the niche for stylish and personality-driven games after the success of Hi-Fi Rush last year, while Resistance or Killzone could be an exclusive shooter for the system. Last year, Sony tried to stop Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard by arguing that Call of Duty was too valuable and no other shooter could compete. Ideally, none would have to aim so high, but serving as PlayStation’s answer to Halo, which is also undergoing another overhaul, would be appreciated.
For now, all hopes for medium-sized games not tied to Nintendo with brand recognition rest on the small, delicate shoulders of Astro. Team Asobi is not expected to use Astro Bot to solve all of the triple-A gaming industry’s problems overnight; it simply has the misfortune of arriving at a time when the industry is facing the consequences of several years of calculated risks that did not yield the expected results. Creating a healthier industry will take time, and its impact will be felt sooner or later, whether through its own sequel or an indie game that attempts to capture some of its carefree and uncorporate spirit. Alternatively, PlayStation could reduce the number of remakes and remasters and, please, release more of its classic titles on PC or natively on the PS5.
Team Asobi is not expected to use Astro Bot to solve all of the triple-A gaming industry’s problems overnight; it simply has the misfortune of arriving at a time when the industry is facing the consequences of several years of calculated risks that did not yield the expected results. Creating a healthier industry will take time, and its impact will be felt sooner or later, whether through its own sequel or an indie game that attempts to capture some of its carefree and uncorporate spirit.
Alternatively, PlayStation could reduce the number of remakes and remasters and, please, release more of its classic titles on PC or natively on the PS5.
This article has been translated from Gizmodo US by Lucas Handley. You can find the original version here.
