Astro Bot is a triumph, and what I envisage a Nintendo VR game would look and play like. It’s a resoundingly successful and heart-warming paean to Mario and Nintendo in general.

A more jaded gamer could argue such seemingly, unremittingly patent reverence comes across as a tad slavish – the game features elements that were clearly inspired in some capacity by various Mario games, Pikmin, Donkey Kong Country Returns: Tropical Freeze, Nintendo Land and a few others – but I’d instead see it as a humble developer showing due respect to one the masters of the arts, and proving to them that they can not only follow in their footsteps but leave an indelible mark on the genre themselves.

The stunning creativity and intuitiveness in Astro Bot’s level design and mechanics should be lauded by all, and the way the game plays around so artfully with perspective and depth transforms the 3D platformer into something really special. It handles and looks so dreamy.

Speaking of looks, the fluorescent, endearing art direction is like a magical mixture of Mario and Pixar’s WALL-E. The jaunty, spirited soundtrack also complements the distinguished work elsewhere.

I was beaming throughout the entirety of the titular robot’s breathlessly inventive adventures. The levels feel taut and the platforming ideas are beautifully orchestrated. There’s a commendable variety in the enemy designs and the boss encounters are fantastic spectacles, with the final battle proving particularly noteworthy – not to mention having a whiff of Splatoon about it.

My only gripe is that the game can feel a little ephemeral. Whilst in actuality it’s a decently sized campaign, lasting around six hours long, with the challenge trials and completionist end game goals probably adding another six hours to the total play time. But I can’t help but feel like if it was at least twice as long, and with just as consistently creative and more challenging level design, it would’ve edged even closer to the best 3D Mario games. I guess that will be the true test in a potential sequel.

Another pernickety observation, and one I had with the otherwise near perfect Yoshi’s Island, is that the music would often repeat itself too much and lacked change. But enough of the party pooper-ing. Astro Bot: Rescue Mission is a wonderful technical and artistic achievement, and arguably the new golden standard for VR gaming, and a challenger to Resident Evil 7’s crown. I doth my hat to you, Sony Japan Studio!

Galvanized Gamer

PS: Do you plan on reviewing Danmaku Unlimited 3 on the Switch, GC? I’ve been having a blast with this excellent shmup and think it’s well worth the recognition on your site. Still can’t believe that it was the work of an extremely talented one-man Canadian developer (and an indie Japanese rock band providing the sensational soundtrack!).

GC: Considering it came out in March we think that boat has been missed. We always welcome reader’s reviews for older titles though.