Astro Bot Rescue Mission

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Astro Bot Rescue Mission
Astro Bot Rescue Mission NA Box Art.jpg
North American cover art
Developer(s) Japan Studio
Publisher(s) Sony Interactive Entertainment
Director(s) Nicolas Doucet
Producer(s) Nicolas Doucet
Teruyuki Toriyama
Designer(s) Gento Morita
Programmer(s) Takumi Yoshida
Yuki Miyamae
Artist(s) Sebastian Brueckner
Jamie Smith
Composer(s) Kenneth C. M. Young
Series Astro Bot
Platform(s) PlayStation 4
Release
  • WW: October 2, 2018
  • JP: October 4, 2018
Genre(s) Platform
Mode(s) Single-player

Astro Bot Rescue Mission is a 2018 platform video game developed by Japan Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 4's PlayStation VR headset. It stars a cast of robot characters first introduced in The Playroom , where they appeared as robots that lived inside of the DualShock 4 controller. In the game, the player teams up with Captain Astro and goes on a quest to rescue his lost crew scattered across different worlds.

Contents

The game was released in October 2018 and received critical acclaim, with praise for the game's use of the DualShock 4 and its varied level design. It is the first game in the Astro Bot series, and was followed by Astro's Playroom in 2020 and Astro Bot in 2024.

Gameplay

Astro Bot Rescue Mission is a 3D platformer where players control Astro Bot, a small robot navigating various levels using a DualShock 4 controller. The game is designed for VR, so players experience the game world from a first-person perspective, essentially becoming a giant robot that interacts with the environment. This includes actions like smashing walls with head-butts, dodging attacks, and using the headset's microphone to blow petals around.

In each level, the main objective is to rescue Astro's crew, scattered throughout the game's five worlds and twenty levels. Players also face bosses at the end of each world, which require a certain number of rescued bots to challenge.

Each level also hides Space Chameleons, which, when found, unlock special challenge stages that add extra content to the game. Additionally, players can discover Magic Chests containing gadgets such as a Hook Shot, Water Gun, Tight Rope, Magic Light, Machine Gun, or a Slingshot. These gadgets help Astro navigate through levels, providing tools to manipulate the environment in various ways.

Development

Astro Bot Rescue Mission was developed by Japan Studio's Team Asobi division. Due to popular demand and fan feedback of the mini game called "Robot Rescue" in The Playroom VR, Japan Studio decided to make a fully fleshed game based on the mini game. Astro Bot Rescue Mission was developed in 18 months by a team of 25 people. [1] The music was composed by Kenneth C M Young. [2]

Reception

Astro Bot Rescue Mission received "universal acclaim" from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. [12] As of July 2019, Astro Bot Rescue Mission is the highest-rated VR game in history according to Metacritic, and the 6th highest-rated PS4 game in 2018. The game was especially praised for its use of the DualShock 4 controller's features and varied level design. [13] [14] [15]

Chris Dunlap's 10/10 score on GamingAge stated that "Astro Bot Rescue Mission is an extremely fun and engaging game, and a dynamite addition to the growing PSVR library." [16] PSU.com said "Easily the best platformer and PS VR game on the market this year." [17]

Accolades

YearAwardCategoryResultRef(s).
2018 Game Critics Awards Best VR/AR GameNominated [18]
Gamescom 2018Best Puzzle/Skill GameNominated [19]
9th Hollywood Music in Media Awards Best Original Song ("A Fire in Your Mind")Nominated [20] [21]
The Game Awards 2018 Best VR/AR GameWon [22] [23]
The Edge Awards 2018VR Game of the YearWon [24]
Game of the Year5
2019 New York Game Awards Coney Island Dreamland Award for Best Virtual Reality GameNominated [25]
22nd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Family Game of the Year Nominated [26]
Immersive Reality Game of the Year Nominated
Immersive Reality Technical Achievement Nominated
Outstanding Technical Achievement Nominated
National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers AwardsAnimation, ArtisticNominated [27]
Control Design, VRNominated
Direction in Virtual RealityNominated
Game, Original FamilyNominated
Sound Mixing in Virtual RealityNominated
Use of Sound, New IPNominated
SXSW Gaming Awards Excellence in Technical AchievementNominated [28]
VR Game of the YearNominated
Game Developers Choice Awards Best VR/AR GameNominated [29]
15th British Academy Games Awards Best GameNominated [30]
Game DesignNominated
Game InnovationNominated
Famitsu Awards Special AwardWon [31]
British Academy Children's Awards Game Won [32]
Italian Video Game Awards Innovation AwardNominated [33]
Japan Game Awards Game Designers AwardWon [34]
The Independent Game Developers' Association AwardsBest Arcade GameNominated [35]

Sequels

Astro's Playroom

A sequel, Astro's Playroom, was released for the PlayStation 5 as a launch title that is pre-installed on every console and serves as a tech demo for the new DualSense controller.

Astro Bot

Astro Bot is the most recent entry in the Astro Bot series and was released in 2024 for the PlayStation 5 in celebration of PlayStation's 30th anniversary. The game received universal acclaim from critics.

Related Research Articles

The DualShock is a line of gamepads developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation family of video game consoles. It is named for vibration-feedback and analog controls. Introduced in November 1997, it was initially marketed as a secondary peripheral for the first PlayStation console. The console's bundle was updated to include DualShock, and phase out the original PlayStation controller and the Dual Analog Controller. The DualShock is the best-selling gamepad of all time by units sold, excluding bundled controllers.

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<i>The Playroom</i> (2013 video game) 2013 video game

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth Young (Scottish composer)</span> Scottish composer

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<i>Astros Playroom</i> 2020 video game

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Team Asobi is a Japanese first-party video game developer for Sony Interactive Entertainment based in Tokyo. A Team Asobi was originally formed in 2012 as part of Japan Studio, but formally spun off into an independent studio within Sony's PlayStation Studios in April 2021. It is best known for the Astro Bot series.

<i>Astro Bot</i> 2024 video game

Astro Bot is a 2024 platform game developed by Team Asobi and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5 to coincide with PlayStation's 30th anniversary. Following Astro's Playroom (2020), it is the fifth overall installment in the Astro Bot series and marks Team Asobi's first game developed since its separation from Japan Studio. As the titular protagonist Astro, the player embarks on a quest to save lost Bots, retrieve parts for the PlayStation 5 mothership, and defeat the alien Space Bully Nebulax, who had originally destroyed the mothership. Like its predecessor, the game takes full advantage of the DualSense controller.

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References

  1. ↑ Lang, Ben (2019-07-19). "'ASTRO BOT' Behind-the-scenes – Insights & Artwork from Sony's JAPAN Studio". Road to VR. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  2. ↑ Furu, Eirik Hyldbakk (2019-03-09). "Talking Tunes with Astro Bot Rescue Mission's Kenneth Young". Gamereactor UK. Archived from the original on 2024-06-27. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  3. ↑ "Astro Bot Rescue Mission for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic.
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