Astro Bot (6th September 2024)

[Julius]

Fantastic write-up @Hero-of-Time, loved reading through your post  as much as I love to read and watch reviews from a lot of different places and see this game getting such high scores on review aggregate sites, there will always something special about reading a post here on N-E which gets you pumped to play a game, so thanks for taking the time to post those thoughts  that it gets me more hyped to play a game that I already own is the cherry on top of it all

I would respond to particulars but I'm only 2ish hours in and, uh...kind of want to go play the game right now 

32 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

If it's the one I'm thinking of....the remixed theme. 😍

My ears are ready

 

EDIT: damn it, didn't want to start a new page at that point! Go back a page and read H-o-T's awesome thoughts on the game you silly people! 

Edited September 7 by Julius

[martinist]

Had to stop playing since the game drained my controller battery.

The Gorilla nebula is 100% done and the level after the boss was great. I've been hoping for a new Ape Escape game for years but i know it's not going to happen. So this was a nice compromise.

The harder shorter levels are fun too, they're a challenge without being too frustraiting, you get some nice bots at the end of them though.

I got some mouse looking bot in the the shrinking level and i have no idea who that is...

[EEVILMURRAY]

I've come to my first niggle and it's those monkey hands, they sometimes just don't want to reach for that next rung on the ladder. Sometimes it does, sometimes I wiggle about and somehow it magically decides it can reach, other times I've had to try dropping and hovering for that extra lift, which I don't think is what the solution was meant to be.

Missed one warp in the gorilla galaxy, but will nip back for that later. It was a surprise when I found the first one it kicks you out the level and you have to redo, which is how I came across the 200 cost bird, which was a nice touch as I had missed something earlier on, but then when I got to the part of the level I hadn't reached, it kinda spoiled it for me. Here's hoping you can toggle it off if needed.

 

I've had to rage quit against Captain Pincher. It just isn't working for me. I've watched 2 YouTube videos where they climb effortlessly up his ribs and I can't make it up 2 bits before it stops reaching out.

Edit 2- replaying the level for the initial puzzle piece and getting the monkey again, I see what I was missing...

Edited September 7 by EEVILMURRAY

[martinist]

My physical copy just arrived. I'll just keep this sealed, the disk isn't rattling around so thats a good sign.

Shopto put this stupid sticker with your address and stuff on the wrap though so i can't really see the back of the box.

 

[Julius]

1 hour ago, martinist said:

I got some mouse looking bot in the the shrinking level and i have no idea who that is...

That would be...

Of Mice and Men

Spoiler

...Moss, of Moss (PSVR) and Moss: Book II fame! 

 

1 hour ago, EEVILMURRAY said:

I've come to my first niggle and it's those monkey hands, they sometimes just don't want to reach for that next rung on the ladder. Sometimes it does, sometimes I wiggle about and somehow it magically decides it can reach, other times I've had to try dropping and hovering for that extra lift, which I don't think is what the solution was meant to be.

Yeah, for me the monkey hands in Playroom were one of the weaker power-ups, and it's probably the most slowed down I feel by any of the power-ups in this game so far. I do love that it has a use besides climbing, now, though, and it is just a very little niggle for me. Kind of praying it doesn't turn up in a major way in the later levels, though, it was that and the rolling speedrun levels in Playroom which dragged my overall time down...

I find I basically kind of have to "dig" with the controller like I'm tracing an infinity symbol with the triggers to climb somewhat accurately/at a normal pace unless I hold it up so that I'm looking at it face-on. Reminds me a little of some experiences back on the Wii. 

1 hour ago, martinist said:

My physical copy just arrived. I'll just keep this sealed, the disk isn't rattling around so thats a good sign.

ShopTo put this stupid sticker with your address and stuff on the wrap though so i can't really see the back of the box.

Yeah, mine arrived first thing this morning too – how typical  rather than send it back, seeing as I'd just buy a physical copy when it's on sale anyways and the planet is on fire as it is, so I think I'll just claim the £5 from the release date or compensate thing. 

But yeah the sticker is stupid for sure, think I've still got mine on my physical copy of GT7 from back when I picked up the digital version for that too 

[Julius]

The triangle with eyes looks like it needs to be on a list and should rot in hell. 

That's all 

[Julius]

100%'d the Tentacle System, loved that final level. Was not expecting to hear a certain track today, so I was momentarily choked up 

All of those Dual Speeder skins need to become actual DualSense colours, by the way. Of the ones I've unlocked so far, that Snowglow one is lovely, so fingers crossed it can become a reality, eh? 

[martinist]

I have also just finnished up the Tentacle system. Think i'll give it a rest for today before i start the next one.

Unlocked the speeder skin shop and the outfit shop so now i'm wondering around in a parappa outfit.

Threw a few hundred coins into the gatcha and explored that new area in the hub world but i'll leave it there for today.

[EEVILMURRAY]

6 hours ago, martinist said:

My physical copy just arrived. I'll just keep this sealed, the disk isn't rattling around so thats a good sign.

Shopto put this stupid sticker with your address and stuff on the wrap though so i can't really see the back of the box.

 

You not wanting to see the nice lil comic poster that comes in the case?

[Julius]

I'm now at 100% in four galaxies, and am still having a great time! Couple of things I want to talk about. 

I had thought a certain company was getting an insane amount of representation, but I still can't believe...

That's a whole lot of stars

Spoiler

...that freaking Tir McDohl from the first Suikoden turned up in this, HOLY WHATTTTTT?!

Konami was getting a LOT of love shown to them, so I had a growing suspicion someone from Suikoden might turn up, what with representation from Solid to Raiden to Naked to Old Snake, to Alucard and then Pyramid Head, I also think the footballer in its description refers to PES/Winning XI? 

Haven't unlocked his item so not sure if it'll just be his staff or something else, and haven't unlocked any other Suikoden guys – not really expecting to, but Tir without Gremio would be odd, and choosing to rep the franchise with the OG over Riou and Jowy from II is...well, it's a decision. 

Man, Konami were dead and buried, and I'm convinced this wouldn't have happened even just a few years ago. Literally every franchise I mentioned above is alive in some way or another, which I have to imagine is why they've been so generous with their cameo count here - MGS getting the Snake Eater remake and Master Collection(s?); the myriad of Castlevania collections we've had shadow dropped on our faces; the upcoming Silent Hill 2 Remake; and, if course, the Suikoden I & II remaster. 

There's one particular publisher who seems to be MIA so far, obviously I'll see the rest of the game through before commenting (in a spoiler tag) because maybe they're represented later on, but considering the great spread and variety for so many others...man, I'm just not sure. It would be a really odd exclusion. 

I want to talk about the final, final levels of some of the worlds I've played through, so...back to the spoiler tag we go.  

Ah, the old familiar places...

Spoiler

The God of War representation was wonderful (the "hidden loading screen" slipping into the crack had me dying), but the Uncharted rep at the end of the third galaxy was on a whole other level. The setpieces? Cover-based shooting? The light puzzles? The swinging around and gunning down? So many excellent nods? By far my favourite of the Celebration Levels (that's what I'm going with, deal with it) so far, loved the remixes heard in these levels too! 

Noticed a pattern when I was playing through this one which made me go "ah, okay, is that what they're doing?"

End of first galaxy: Ape Escape - introduced on PS1

End of second galaxy: God of War - introduced on PS2 

End of third galaxy: Uncharted - introduced on PS3

Obviously, at this point I'm thinking that the end of the fourth galaxy will be some representation for the PS4, some Horizon or maybe some Ghost of Tsushima...so colour me shocked when freaking LocoRoco turned up on my screen  gave me a good chuckle, it was good fun but probably the weakest of the Celebration Levels so far for me. 

There's a clear favourite power of mine so far which I just can't get enough of, and man, as far as water levels go, this game has a damn great one. 

On 9/7/2024 at 10:15 AM, Hero-of-Time said:

There was one of these that was a fire based stage and featured a toy duck you use to cool the lava. Man, it was a toughie but it was stupidly satisfying to get through it. 

Did this one today – yeah, you weren't kidding, that's probably the most time I've spent on/deaths I've had in any level so far in the game, but damn did it feel great to beat. I come with clips. 

Duck, duck...what the f—?!

Spoiler

I managed to do really well just a couple of runs in (this was my 3rd or 4th attempt and safe to say I hadn't got this far before so was flying by the seats of my pants):

Highlight for me of this failure was getting the charged punch off to wick off the grease just in time to make it away from the LITERAL LINE OF FIRE 

About 20 minutes later I got the winning run, and it was by far the ugliest of any of my runs – how typical! 

Still haven't quite figured out why it felt like, and looks like, I was running through treacle after making it off that tilting ramp, but it slowed the run down massively and definitely was in the back of my mind that I just needed to not rush and keep at the pace I was moving at, rather than being frustrated that Astro wasn't picking up speed so sharply after making it off that ramp. 

Those challenge levels are really something else, but the shapes with eyes can do one, they're creeps and should be behind bars. Oh the stages of grief I went through when this happened because those sneaky Asobi sons of guns got me, took me way too long to notice they were on their side! Gave me a good chuckle though

Looking forward to getting back to it tomorrow/later today 

Edited September 8 by Julius

[Hero-of-Time]

@Julius I was waiting for you to find that Bot. I knew you'd freak out.

Good to see you manages to pass the level. Its the hardest one in the game and so you'll have no trouble with the others.

[drahkon]

Haven't played this at all yesterday

Will definitely get one or two hours in today, though Can't wait

[drahkon]

This game has it all...even a good water level. Probably the first ever in a 3D-platformer

[drahkon]

Hm, didn't have too much trouble with Splashing Sprint
 

4 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Its the hardest one in the game

Hope the DLC will add some truly challenging levels

[Hero-of-Time]

7 minutes ago, drahkon said:

Hope the DLC will add some truly challenging levels

I doubt it. The game is made to be very accessible.

[drahkon]

2 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I doubt it. The game is made to be very accessible.

Sure, but my hope never dies

I just need 10 challenge levels that are super difficult. The rest can be for those scrubs who play games for fun.

[Julius]

33 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I doubt it. The game is made to be very accessible.

Plans change of course, but VGC reported just last week that during their visit to Asobi last month they were shown a presentation which stated that initial plans for the DLC (I'm assuming this means initial in the sense of "first of their plans" and not "the first permutation of their plans") were for 5 speedrun levels and 10 challenge levels. 

On 9/6/2024 at 4:39 AM, Julius said:

Per VGC and some content they had come out of a trip to Asobi's studio in Tokyo last month, a presentation shared with them during the trip seemed to suggest that 5 speedrun levels and 10 challenge levels are planned for the game's post-launch free DLC, though obviously it's not clear if plans have stayed the same. 

Obviously, plans can change, but with launch just around the corner at the time it would have been very late in the day to change those plans.

So, @drahkon, you can keep hoping for now  and I'll continue to hope for my speedrun levels 

 

What I think might change given the game's reception is when it is planned for the DLC to launch; originally I felt like a month or so later might have made sense, but with GOTY discussions heating up in November, that mid-to-late November voting window for the TGAs would be a great time to bring the game right back to the forefront of the conversation, similar to how we've seen DLC drop in that same window for some other games trying to bring themselves back into GOTY discussions at the end of the year. 

I also don't think it's impossible to imagine that the scope of this game's DLC might widen given its fantastic reception, but I think anything beyond the previously announced free DLC is likely going to depend on sales figures. Again, haven't finished the game yet myself, but if a certain IP doesn't turn up by the time credits roll, it would be hard to argue against fans, Asobi, and the publisher of said certain IP wanting to see perhaps a galaxy dedicated to it. 

Or they go the Tears of the Kingdom route and firmly slam the door on DLC after the free stuff because of just how many ideas they've got, and decide to go all-in on a potential sequel in time for the demise of the PS5/launch of the PS6 in 3-4 years 

Edited September 8 by Julius

[drahkon]

Messing around with the physics of certain objects is so much fun
Spent a couple of minutes throwing around a lot of gravel with the spin attack.

Oh, and I only just found out that you could cut those wooden logs with the lasers...7 hours in.

Edited September 8 by drahkon

[Julius]

Bahahahahaha

The Beyond of Us

Spoiler

Just got the girl from Beyond: Two Souls and I'm dying of laughter 

Back when it came out I remember Ellen/Elliot Page being such a big presence in its promo, and not owning a PS3 at the time, I saw the posters around and when I saw TLOU I genuinely thought Ellie was played by Page. 

Now, in the years since, obviously I've learned that wasn't the case and it's actually a point of contention about whether or not Ellie was based on Page's likeness. 

So here's me grabbing a character with a flannel shirt on huddled by a small fire, getting to them and being all "oh, it's older Ellie!" before reading the description and realising it was Page's character from Beyond: Two Souls all along

Man, that gave me a really good chuckle

2 minutes ago, drahkon said:

Oh, and I only just found out that you could cut those wooden logs with the lasers...7 hours in.

You monster! What were you doing with them before, building furniture?! 

[Julius]

Just finished watching this interview with Nicolas, one of the first I've seen which took place after the game's launch (embedded video below is linked to the interview section)

Really fascinating stuff, remember watching his interview with NoClip a while back after Playroom released, dude's great at boiling down these more complex concepts and making them digestible and relatable. Some really great questions thrown his way too, I do wish someone asked him what his first amazing game was though, as you can definitely see him bending the conversation around saying Nintendo at times  

He does also confirm towards the end of the interview that the DLC is still on track for later this year and will be focused on the more difficult side of things though – challenges and speedrunning! 

Anyways, back to the game! 

Edited September 8 by Julius

[drahkon]

2 hours ago, Julius said:

You monster! What were you doing with them before, building furniture?! 

I smacked them. Nothing happened  

Finished World 4. This is a magical experience. It'll be over soon, though The first save file, at least

Edit: Something that I really appreciate: When you get your Astro Army to throw, push or pull stuff you actually have to keep pressing the button or using the analogue stick. It's such a minor thing but in other games these moments would've been cutscenes. Here it's all gameplay.

Oh and I love the moments with the alien and the PS5 parts. Made me laugh out loud every single time

Edited September 8 by drahkon

[Julius]

15 minutes ago, drahkon said:

I smacked them. Nothing happened  

[drahkon]

Alright, 250 bots rescued and now I'm going to visit a friend.
Think I'll finish the game tomorrow

One of the funniest moments of the game (Crash Site and Bot spoiler)

[EEVILMURRAY]

Anyone else enjoying it how when you get close to a bot they turn around and present themselves as if they want you to mount them for some doggy style action?

[Julius]

18 minutes ago, drahkon said:

Alright, 250 bots rescued and now I'm going to visit a friend.
Think I'll finish the game tomorrow

One of the funniest moments of the game (Crash Site and Bot spoiler)

Definitely one of my favourites too 

24 minutes ago, EEVILMURRAY said:

Anyone else enjoying it how when you get close to a bot they turn around and present themselves as if they want you to mount them for some doggy style action?

There is awful lot of booty shaking going on in this game