Astro Bot's director hopes the new platformer can encourage younger players to seek out classic games.
Astro Bot celebrates decades of gaming history with over 150 VIP bots cosplaying as recognizable characters from PlayStation's first-party line-up - God of War, Uncharted, Horizon - and the wider gaming world. Tomb Raider, Yakuza, and Street Fighter all make cameo appearances, too.
But most people playing the joyous platformer have probably never tried a Sly Cooper and wouldn't know what a LocoRoco was if it slapped them in the face (they do indeed slap you in the face during Astro Bot's runtime.) Astro Bot director Nicola Doucet now hopes that can change.
"One of the hopes we have is that the younger generations will come across these special characters," Doucet said in a recent behind-the-scenes video, "and then would be inspired to go off to these older games to actually try them for themselves."
Astro Bot is absolutely stuffed with cool references to series that haven't been active in decades, but there are also a few levels that go beyond simple Easter Egg territory. The video above talks about the stage where you play as a Bot of War, wielding an axe that boomerangs in familiar ways, for example. It's a cool way to give players a small taste of what makes certain series' special, before maybe shooing them off to go give the real deal a whirl.
The platformer came out at the right time, at least. PlayStation has recently had a renewed interest in bringing its older catalogue to the PS5 - PSP SRPG Jeanne d'Arc as one example, all the Jak & Daxters as another, and most recently Secret Agent Clank, which is coming on September 17. Hell, I even bought the first Ape Escape after seeing all the chaotic monkeys causing in an early level.
A nostalgic reaction to Astro Bot makes sense, I guess, even if you're not old enough to be nostalgic for Ape Escape. Doucet previously talked about wanting to fill a space that PlayStation Studios used to occupy before many of them pivoted to "mature, hyper-realistic games," so it's only natural that you'd be pulled toward the older games that inspired Astro's latest.
Want more of the adorable robot? Check out everything we know about Astro Bot’s DLC.
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