As we’re talking about games from 2024 that did something really well, for me, one game stood high above the rest (and is also a game I remember playing this year that actually released this year – sorry, Resident Evil 4 Remake, my brain forgot you released in 2023!). Astro Bot got me right in the feels this year. Other games undoubtedly had more affecting storylines and characters, but as someone who obviously loves video games a great deal, Sony’s PS5 nostalgia-fest drilled right into whichever part of my brain processes joy. And let’s be honest, that part has been used less and less in recent years.
I’ve owned every PlayStation system since the platform burst onto the scene 30 years ago – I make that seven consoles and two handhelds, plus a few refreshes. Yet, despite that fanboy-level of ownership, I never thought I had much of an emotional connection to Sony’s console. Don’t get angry, but if I was forced to pick the gaming brands I have the most fondness for, I’d go with Sega and Xbox. I did ask you not to get angry. Sega was everything when I was a young lad and Xbox presented an exciting new future for gaming at about the time I ventured into my career. PlayStation was just the cool console in between, so I thought. I was wrong.
I’ve long believed that my love of retro games isn’t about the games themselves, but the way they take you back in time. In the spare room/office I work from at home, the first thing I see when I walk in is a lovely boxed copy of Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Mega Drive. I can’t say I’m desperate to play it, but every time I glance at it, I’m reminded of the kind of unbounded glee that’s pretty much reserved only for children these days. I felt that, once, I remind myself. Late nights trying to defeat Robotnik – me, my brother, and cousin leaving the Mega Drive turned on overnight so we didn’t lose our progress. Better times, maybe. Simpler times, for sure.
Astro Bot has taken criticism for being a big advert that you have to pay for, a cynical way for Sony to tap into an audience that loves the PlayStation. I have no problem with people thinking that (I, personally, don’t understand the popularity of Animal Crossing, if we’re sharing bad opinions). I just don’t care. Maybe I should be analysing it more deeply and feel deeply ashamed of myself, but I simply don’t want to.
From a gameplay perspective, Astro Bot is top notch. Mechanically it’s super tight (if not as ripe for god-level mastery as some of the 3D Mario games), the levels are bathed in creativity, and it’s a feast for the eyes and ears. It’s brilliant. But it’s not just a game. It’s a portal – like my copy of Sonic the Hedgehog, it’s a gateway to another time. A lot was made of the classic character Bots you collect throughout the game, and these are great, entering the hub/interactive museum once found. But there’s one moment that got to me more than anything else.
I won’t spoil it in full, but towards the end of Astro’s adventure the game shifts gears and you find yourself in a 3D homage to classic shm’ups, the side-scrolling shooters from the past. During this sequence, a moment is highlighted by the playing of the original PlayStation boot jingle. I honestly don’t know what it was about this tune, played at this time, at the end of a glorious jaunt through my own gaming history, but my eyes started to water.
Video games mean a lot to me, more than most I’d expect. I’ve built my entire working life around them, my career dedicated to celebrating the best and highlighting the worst. As a job, it’s as tiring and exhausting, sometimes exasperating, as any other, and it’s easy to lose sight of why I chose this path all those years ago. Just for a moment, in the darkened early hours, a dim light from the DualSense painting the room in an ethereal glow, I was 12 again, and it was incredible. For that, I love Astro Bot, and I guess I love PlayStation too.