Many critically acclaimed video games were launched in 2024, but the judges of the video game industry’s biggest awards ceremony didn’t have a difficult job crowning the year’s best. Of the five games nominated, none managed to capture fans and critics as much as Team Asobi’s Astro Bot, which celebrates 30 years of PlayStation history.
Astro Bot launched in early September for PlayStation 5 and is a 3D platformer, which is a game typically featuring a character jumping onto, between, or across (suspended) ledges – like the classic Mario games. It follows the titular Astro Bot on his journey to rescue and collect his fellow robot brethren, with the goal being to restore power to their PlayStation 5-themed mothership.
Celebrating 30 years of the gaming console, not only is Astro Bot’s ship PS5-themed but there are several cameos from iconic video game characters that have a strong connection with the PlayStation brand. For instance, throughout the game you rescue robots dressed up as Crash Bandicoot, Joel and Ellie from The Last of Us, several characters from the God of War franchise and more.
what does this mean?>> Certain titles also have dedicated levels that throw Astro Bot into their shoes. For instance, one level sees you taking on the role of Nathan Drake from the Uncharted series, running and gunning your way through to the end like in that game. Various eras of PlayStation are referenced in these levels, starting with the original PlayStation from 1994 and ending with Sony’s latest console, the PlayStation 5.
Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.
It’s a fun game that takes Astro across multiple worlds containing distinctive levels, some of which introduce brand-new gameplay mechanics that shake things up on a regular basis. As someone with an affinity for platformers, Astro Bot was one of my most-played games of 2024, as well as one of the rare occasions where I achieved 100% completion of a game (more than just defeating all the levels).
Astro Bot quickly gained acclaim after launch, becoming the highest-rated game of the year on aggregator site Metacritic. It sits at a strong 94 on the platform, making it not only the highest-rated game of 2024 but also the 53rd highest rated video game of all time.
Many reviewers praised the game’s creative level design, precise controls and use of the PS5’s DualSense controller. The innovative controller has many features, such as haptic feedback, which sends vibrations to the controller based on the player’s current actions in the game. This is most effective when exploring snow-themed levels, as you can feel the weight of Astro trudging through the snowy terrain.
Considering how much love there is for it, it’s unsurprising that it took home four awards: best game direction, best action/adventure game, best family game, as well as prize, Game of the Year.
The Game of the Year category was particularly competitive. Astro Bot was up against Balatro, Black Myth Wukong, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Metaphor: Refantazio, and Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. These games are more like previous winners, which have mostly been massive single-player role-playing games or games with powerful evocative narratives.
Astro Bot’s win is only the second time in the award’s history that a game of this calibre and format has resonated so highly with the wider gaming audience. This first was It Takes Two, another 3D platformer, in 2021.
While I’m happy it won, it would be unfair to dismiss the other shortlisted games, particularly Balatro, which was the only indie title nominated for this prestigious award.
An indie game is a title that typically has a lower budget or a small development team, and Balatro was developed by a single developer, making its nomination something truly special.
I was also happy to see the second instalment of the ambitious Final Fantasy remake trilogy, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, on the shortlist.
Both games did receive acknowledgement with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth winning the best music/score and Balatro best debut indie game, best independent game, and best mobile game.
Astro Bot winning these awards is a fantastic achievement and a milestone for the genre of 3D platformers, which should hopefully provide some encouragement to like-minded developers that are aiming to create a similar experience. Congratulations to Astro Bot and Team Asobi.
Jaimie Ditchfield does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
