I recently dusted off my Playstation VR. The first game I played was Astro Bot and reminded me, how a great Virtual Reality experience looks like.
To be honest, my return to VR was not exactly a smooth ride. For some reason, I got dizzy way faster than I used to. But after around 2 days I could also play extended sessions of Astro Bot, so no worries. If you can’t handle some VR games, Astro Bot shouldn’t be one of them.
Collectathon with a VR twist
If you like a certain kind of Genre – any 3D Super Mario game or Banjo Kazooie – you will enjoy Astro Bot as well. As a small robot, you traverse 3D Levels, searching for your missing buddies. Every level houses 8 of them and they usually make a lot of noise, so you know when and where to look for them. What’s so special about Astro Bot is the perspective: You’re right in the middle of everything, moving slowly along the robot. Whilst other 3D platformers have a movable camera, now you are the camera: You move your head around to see where the path continues. The motion controls of the Playstation 4 controller are also neatly included, you find some cool gadgets and control them by moving around and aiming with the controller.
Massive boss battles
But Astro Bot also includes many bosses. Some of them are just gigantic and it feels very intimidating to face them. To get to their weak spot you also have to use those little gadgets I mentioned before, aiming your controller at the right spots. It’s striking how well those mechanics work, even in these stressful situations.
The extra challenge
Finishing all levels is one thing, but Astro Bot additionally offers 26 extra challenge levels. To unlock them you must find a chameleon in every level first, but then again, that’s the main goal of the game anyways. The challenges range from speed runs to score targets and (sadly) replaying the bosses without taking damage. All in all a nice extra content if you want to remain a little bit longer in the world of Astro Bot.
The definitive VR experience?
Delivering a great VR experience takes more than just transferring old formulas to a different perspective. Astro Bot handles this challenge quite well. Playing a 3D platformer in VR feels great, the inclusion of motion controls and the gadgets is implemented in a very organic way. If you own a Playstation VR you should definitely get this game. It offers a nice length, doesn’t overdo it and at the same time, you get to see a lot of different levels and bosses. I really liked the bosses. And the music.
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