Astrobot’s Playroom

Let us waste no time in getting into this one. “Astrobot’s Playroom” comes pre-installed on all PlayStation 5 consoles. While clearly designed to be a tech demo for the new Dualshock 5 controller, “Astrobot’s Playroom” is filled with more than enough content to be considered a full sized game.

“Astrobot’s Playroom” is a 3D platformer that will have the player utilizing every aspect of the Dualshock 5 controller. From adaptive triggers, to motion controls, and even stretching to the use of the microphone. For the most part the game uses all these features pretty well. From rolling around in a ball by using the motion controls to climbing as a giant robot monkey with the triggers. In fact the only gimmick of the controller that I felt was somewhat lacking with it’s in-game implementation was the microphone, which has you blowing into the controller in order to create in game wind. Granted my gripes with this may be more related to the fact that I had a headset plugged in that constantly thought I was blowing. However, this constant blowing didn’t prevent me from completing any of the microphone segments which is actually disheartening. I say this is disheartening as it tells me the use of the microphone is entirely pointless as the microphone constantly blowing has no negative impact on gameplay, meaning zero timing or skill is needed to perform the in-game tasks.

While the use of the new controllers features is at the heart of “Astrobot’s Playroom,” and is arguably the point of the game, it is not what makes the game shine. The true strength of “Astrobot’s Playroom” is in its love for PlayStation fans. The entire game is chock-full of references to the history of PlayStation. Everywhere you turn you will find little astrobot’s acting out scenes from video games of PlayStation past. Ranging from PlayStation one classics to recent blockbusters, the cute bots act out all of the biggest titles in PlayStation history. This instantly instills a feeling of nostalgia in the player for all of their favorite games they have played growing up. I mean who doesn’t love when they understand a reference in media right? This is really a brilliant way to play to the fans of the console. The references for fans don’t stop there either. “Astrobot’s Playroom” has loads of collectibles to collect, each of which shows off different pieces of hardware from PlayStation history. From memory cards to multi-taps, almost every piece of historical hardware is represented in some way.

So is this the best platforming game ever made!?! No… “Astrobot’s Playroom” is great for its countless references and is a fun way to spend a couple hours but in the end, the gameplay is pretty shallow. Yes there are lots of unique gimmicks which use the controller pretty well but, in the end they are just that… gimmicks. The gameplay has no real challenge and leaves plenty to be desired. Still for a technology demo “Astrobot’s Playroom” is great and probably the best tech demo I have experienced.

So what’s the rank? Well honestly “Astrobot’s Playroom” doesn’t fit on any of my current lists so I have to start a new one. Which means “Astrobot’s Playroom” is number 1!!! Yay!!! Anyways the new list will be the Platformer List. It is yet to be seen how long “Astrobot’s Playroom” will hold onto that coveted number 1 position.

Platform: Sony Playstation 5. Time to Beat: 2 hours 9 minutes 49 seconds.

How to Play?

“Astrobot’s Playroom” is available for free to all PlayStation 5 owners.