Shacknews Top 24 Games of the Year 2024

#4 Game of the Year 2024 - Astro Bot

If you know Astro Bot, then the moment you saw the title, one of the many charming songs that accompany the levels probably entered your head. If not that, then maybe one of the many Cameo Bots you saved along the way came up instead. Maybe the pride of defeating those tough button challenge levels swelled inside?

No matter where you come from on Astro Bot, the feelings we got when we thought of the game were nothing but joy. This game is a greatest hits of platforming mechanics that seems to pull from decades of good games that came prior. The running and jumping is silky smooth and responsive, but reasonably challenging, the power-ups were delightful to discover and use, and music is infectiously cute and catchy throughout the game.

Astro Bot is also a game that makes incredible use of the full extent of PlayStation 5’s hardware in a way that other games just don’t. It’s not just about looking pretty (though this game does that excellently, too), but Team Asobi clearly has a solid understanding of how to get the most out of Sony’s platforms. The responsive triggers, touch pad, and even the microphone function all play parts in solving Astro Bot’s numerous challenges. That said, we also appreciate that Asobi realized not everyone wants to play with a DualSense and made options to allow you to play on third-party controllers.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: For the first time in a long time, PlayStation has a standout mascot again. It’s a cute little robot that is always ready to lend a hand to its pals, and we sure do like running around the galaxy with him.

Astro Bot is available on the PlayStation 5 platform.

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.