'Astro's Playroom (2020)' is a wonderful little showcase for the PS5 that highlights essentially all the features that make it stand out. It's also a nostalgic love letter to the PlayStation brand itself, sure to put a smile on the face of anyone who grew up playing those consoles. It's a short but sweet platformer that has you take a little robot on a tour of what's apparently inside the machine sat under your TV. There are four levels - 'Memory Meadow', 'SSD Speedway', 'Cooling Springs' and 'GPU Jungle' - and a secret final level that unlocks upon completion of the rest. You can tackle the levels in any order but the game is best experienced if you do them as I listed them before, both because they ramp up in difficulty and because they're each based around a specific console (so, in the proper order, you progress from PS1 to PS4). Throughout them, you collect coins, puzzle pieces and artefacts. The puzzle pieces add up to a colourful and creative mural that adorns the walls of one of the game's hub locations, a room which houses the various artefacts - which are consoles or console accessories from PlayStation's past - you've found so far. The coins are used to buy capsules that contain either a puzzle piece, artefact or statuette depicting the bots doing something PlayStation themed (which also occurs during the levels in the form of comedic video-game recreations). As I mentioned, it's a truly nostalgic experience. Each level is split into four segments which serve more as checkpoints than anything else, as the overall level flows seamlessly throughout and can usually be finished in one sitting anyway. If you do find yourself wanting to return to a specific point you've already unlocked, you can simply click on it in the map and you'll be instantly transported back to it. The PS5's SSD simply makes loading times nearly non-existent, which adds a truly 'pick up and play' feel to the whole thing. Each of the missions contains two traditional platforming segments and two mission-specific vehicle sections, the latter of which make use of the DualSense controller (itself a revelation) for their alternate control schemes. Sometimes you have to tilt to turn, sometimes you have to swipe to roll, sometimes you have to use the triggers to grab a handhold or tighten a spring; it's all intuitive and inventive stuff, even if some of it can get a tad frustrating. The way in which the game uses the DualSense itself is probably its highlight, as the controller never sits still for a second. Its haptics are able to make you feel what the character feels by providing different feedback when you walk on sand or skate on ice, for example. They works in tandem with the audio that emerges from the controller and it really does tie you into the experience, rather than distract or become an annoyance. The triggers are also phenomenal. They, too, behave differently in different situations, becoming harder to use if you're trying to crush something or pull back a bowstring and actively fighting against you if you're using a high-recoil machine bubble-gun. It's great stuff that I really can't praise highly enough. The game is supposed to be your first introduction to these features, as well as internal elements of the system's that I haven't touched on, and it does a fantastic job with this responsibility. In fact, it may do too good a job; other games don't use the features nearly as much or nearly as well, which sadly does make them seem quite vanilla in comparison to this. I think it will be quite a while before a developer manages to best this game in that regard, but I look forward to the day that it happens. Ultimately, 'Astro's Playroom (2020)' is an effortlessly charming, highly refined and properly enjoyable entryway into the next generation of gaming. It looks great and it feels great to play, too. It is quite short and it lacks a proper narrative, but it's excellent for what it is. 8/10.
