Platinum Trophy #25: Astro’s Playroom
Date Earned: 21st November 2020
Dopamine Index:
Much has already been said about PS5’s tremendous pack-in platformer, Astro’s Playroom, but it’s the next game on my Going Platinum list, so here’s another few hundred words about how great it is.
Odds are that, if you own a PS5, you’ve probably played this little game. It’s hard not to; it’s free, it comes installed on your console, and look at that little guy, he’s so cute!
After a brilliant debut in PSVR’s Astro Bot Rescue Mission, the tiny robot mascot was really brought to the fore with Playroom on PS5. The game not only felt like an introduction to the console and all its exciting new capabilities, it felt like an introduction of Astro to the broadest audience possible.
It was such a clever move, but it would’ve been smart whether or not the game was actually any good. Fortunately for everyone, Playroom is a witty, joyful, and fun overture for the platform it champions.
My first PS5 platinum was Astro’s Playroom, and I can’t imagine a more ideal start. It promotes all of the best qualities of the console and, more squarely, its controller, and it does so with an infectious enthusiasm that never wavers throughout its modest runtime.
But the design and the invention and the polish seen in each stage is what makes it more than a pleasant tech demo. What could’ve been a fairly flat run through the PS5’s bells and whistles is instead a bite-sized 3D platformer that plays impeccably.
I just remember setting up my new console, starting Astro’s Playroom, and being pretty blown away by, yes, the DualSense’s features, but also just the sheer quality of what I was playing.
From the second I finished playing until the moment Astro Bot was announced years later, I wanted nothing more than a full-bore platformer from Team Asobi. We got it, and it’s probably my favourite PS5 game to date.
The Trophies in Astro’s Playroom are all pretty straightforward, but they’re so much fun to unlock. Most are concerned with beating levels, pulling off neat little challenges, and gathering collectibles, the latter of which spark their own sense of joy as they walk you through PlayStation’s history with real care and detail.
I just don’t think I have a single bad thing to say about Astro or his games. Playroom was such a great way to kick off PS5, and provided the perfect first plat.
Cheers, Astro’s Playroom.
Do you have the platinum Trophy for Astro’s Playroom? Tell us in the comments section below.
