Astro Bot Rescue Mission

[Metallix]

Looking forward to this, the one level in PlayRoom VR was amazing! Just announced for October 8. 

https://blog.us.playstation.com/2018/07/...october-2/

[Metallix]

The critics are in! New launch trailer and reviews! Can't wait to play this when it unlocks tonight! It got better reviews than Spider-Man. Heck only outdone by God of War this year!

Astro Bot Rescue Mission claims our first 10 out of 10 because it's full of smart VR game design, and plays plays to the platform's strengths while avoiding its weaknesses. In addition to having the right amount of content to leave the player with a truly satisfying experience, it's hard to imagine many ways in which the game could have been better made.

RoadToVR: 10/10

If Firewall Zero Hour is PSVR’s answer to multiplayer – Astro Bot Rescue Mission is its answer to single player. This game is so fun and accessible it will likely sell PSVR units, it’s just that good.

ShaneTheGamer: 4/5

It’s a refreshing reminder of just how astonishing VR can be when there’s nothing in your way, and it’s an absolutely essential experience for any PSVR owner.

UploadVR: 8.5/10

In years to come, as VR technology advances, we’re sure Astro Bot will end up looking as primitive and restrictive as Super Mario 64 does now but it won’t ever stop being fun.

Metro: 9/10

Stunning presentation elevated by insanely good animation ensure that you always feel present in the release’s virtual world, while tight controls and genuinely clever level design will keep you engaged. This is the kind of game that will leave you beaming long after you’ve taken the headset off – and we can’t give it higher praise than that.

PushSquare: 9/10

Astro Bot Rescue Mission, like its titular hero, gets the job done. Although the general tone is low key at all times, there's very rarely any lows to speak of. It's polished and responsive, it just plays it safe with its subdued level design, relying on the VR "wow" factor a bit too often.

Destructoid: 7.5/10

If "Super Mario 64" is the first 3D platformer showing the possibility of 3D games, "ASTRO BOT: RESCUE MISSION" should remain in history as a game that opened the future of VR.

IGN Japan: 10/10

While Astro Bot Rescue Mission isn’t quite as charming as Moss, or as superbly crafted as Mario Odyssey, it is a great old-school platformer for the VR era, bringing some of the best features of both 2D and 3D platformers of old and incorporating VR in a way that doesn’t feel awkward. This is a fun, lighthearted way to spend some time in VR, and worth checking out.

VRFocus: 4/5

Best. VR game. Ever.

VideoChums: 9.2/10

Astro Bot: Rescue Mission looks incredible in VR. When I said this was one of the best VR game’s I’ve played I wasn’t exaggerating.

PSU: 9.5/10

Astro Bot Rescue Mission is a delightful PSVR platforming adventure. It’s easily one of the best VR platformers out there, and is an excellent addition to any PSVR library. Its fun, lighthearted tone mixes with fantastic platforming game design to create a game that VR fans won’t want to miss.

Attack of the Fanboy: 9/10

I feel comfortable in saying that this is a PSVR killer app and there’s no reason to sit on this.

Dark Station: 10/10

92% average on VRCritic

[Mr EliteL]

Does look like an interesting VR game. Something I'd imagine would be worthy of what one would expect as a VR platformer, using your view as the guide for Astro Bot, and...teaming with yourself? With such a high praise though, is it too early to tell of the impact it'll have? Only time will tell, not these reviews. I'll miss out on it anyway, since I don't want to play this.

[Metallix]

Well as far as impact goes obviously it won’t have a commercial impact due to limited user base. But an impact that really opens up how platformers can be played? Absolutely. I remember how amazing it was at the 32 bit era seeing how games could be played in whole new ways than 2D. I haven’t felt that way again until I tried VR.

[Metallix]

Well I’ve played the first world except for the boss so far and this might be my favorite game this year by the end. I’m a sucker for great platformers though.

I was surprised at the level variety already. No two were alike so far. You had one on the top of skyscrapers under construction, mountain tops, caves, etc. First level is very simple but they got more complex and added new mechanics. It makes you really have to look all around and observe your environment to find and save all of the lost robots. Haven’t figured out how to get the chameleons to unlock the challenge levels.

The use of VR really opens up the possibilities of how you can play a 3D platformer! Not only does it allow you to look around but it also makes depth and sense of scale much more perceivable.

Sadly despite being the highest rated VR game ever it isn’t getting the recognition it should. I would wager a huge bet if it was made by Nintendo and had Mario in it all the media would be hailing it as the biggest thing since Mario 64 in gameplay.

[Maniakkid25]

...I really hate being THAT guy, but as someone who's still a major VR skeptic, upon seeing gameplay footage, I'm left wondering: why did this game need to be VR?

You track the camera with your head? That's a needless mechanic that could be solved by having the game auto-scroll as you progress like any other locked camera platformer. You use the controller to activate items? That could be accomplished just as easily on a screen thanks to the controller's motion sensors. Gadgets? I'd take a reticule, if you don't mind.

I have no doubt the game is great, and the idea of using the player to manipulate the environment in the character's favor is pretty neat, though not exactly new; this goes all the way back to Gyromite on the NES. But, I just question why it HAD to be a VR game. From the videos posted, I dont really see anything that shows something that could only be done in VR. And to me, that just makes it scream "pointless gimmick" than anything else. But, maybe Im missing something. Maybe if I had a PS4 and the VR system and played it, I'd understand it more, but for now, that's just what I see out of it: a good platformer with a needless gimmick attached to it.

[Metallix]

Well first I’d argue you can’t truly be a critic of something without trying it.

Second explaining VR to someone who hasn’t tried it is like trying to describe sounds to a deaf person. Although I agree I could be done without VR with some tweaking but then it would lose what makes it truly great. Since the early days of gaming the goal has always been immersion. As technology advanced we had first person cameras to help make us feel in the game but even with that you’re still looking into a window. It’s the difference of watching a video of the outdoors and actually being there. Well that’s not a 1:1 example because with VR the technology is still in its infancy but the point still stands. This is way more immersive than before.

In VR things truly seem massive and/or distant. Being able to judge distance is huge for a 3D platformer. Yeah you could still do that on a TV but now you would judge a ledge’s distance by how you would in real life.

Anyway my point isn’t to convince anyone to buy a VR because everyone is different. Not everyone enjoys third person games and not everyone will enjoy VR. I will say it adds a new element to games I haven’t experienced since the shift to 3D. For me it really is a new way to experience games. I am excited great games are trickling our for it and I have loved what I played in this game.

[Maniakkid25]

Well first I’d argue you can’t truly be a critic of something without trying it. 

I agree. That's the reason I called myself a VR skeptic, and not a VR critic. I don't think VR is bad or dumb; it has yet to prove to me that it is necessary as an alternative form of medium in gaming. I currently see VR as a gimmick addition that will inevitably go the way of 3DTV and VR did in the 90s, so it has yet to prove its worth in the arena to me. Not that it can't be fun or exciting, but I'm the type of guy who says "Don't fix what isn't broken." That's why, as an example, I will actively COMPLAIN about things like the ATB combat system in Final Fantasy for trying to make turn-based combat "better". And if you really think Turn-based combat is broken, then explain to me why Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, Bravely Default, and Octopath Traveler were such massive successes. VR is doing the same thing: it's trying to add a new dimension to gaming that isn't really necessary, and until there comes along a game that shows its necessity, I will continue to see it that way.


I can see the possibility of an amazing VR platformer...as a first-person game. The fact that this game is third-person is where it loses me. Again, I'm only able to judge what I can see from the trailer gameplay footage, but I just can't stop asking "did this have to be VR?" If I get my hands on it, I will happily play it with an open mind, and see if my tune changes. But this is all I can do right now.

...But I do want to mention that as a person who literally had a blog post on the old forums named "F*** IMMERSION!" [sic], the immersive nature of a medium is probably not a good argument to me. The term "immersion", in my mind, is nothing more than a cheap buzzword to make game critics sound smarter than they actually are. They can't talk about the mechanics of the gameplay or story, so they use cheap words like "immersive", "dynamic", and "cinematic" to try to make them seem like they know what they're talking about. I am a turn-based RPG lover, which is a game type that couldn't be LESS "immersive". Why? Because I like to have fun. Because I like a good story. My favorite games are games like Legend of Dragoon, Persona 3, Final Fantasy X-2 (which, yes, has ATB combat, but I try not to hold that against it most of the time), games that are more concerned with entertaining their audience than immersing them in a world. If it does do the immersion thing, so the better, but if you gave me the option between that and a game that lets me feel the grass under my feet while I walk around an empty play area, I'll take the game where its gameplay is nothing more than two teams in a f***ed-up game of Red Rover. Those are extreme examples, of course (though not unreasonable ones, given the rise of "walking simulators"), but I think you get my point from that.

[Metallix]

So I beat the game mostly. I have found all the bots and all of the chameleons now all I have left are the challenge levels.

This game never stopped impressing me. Every level had something new and different, they didn’t run out of ideas. Bosses were all top notch.

Glad to see it has made a few sites top 10 list for the year. I didn’t think it was possible but this is my favorite platformer to grace a Sony console but Ape Escape is a close second.