Ben's 2024 Game of the Year: Astro Bot

Up until September, there was only one game that had left me with even a marginal Game of the Year vibe. That was Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth. I wasn't as blown away with the game as other GOTY titles from former years, but for the standards of 2024 it felt a step above the rest. Then September came along and Team Asobi debuted a platformer that made me remember why I adore platformers so much. Astro Bot had all the qualities and all the charm to make it my firm, unquestioned GOTY, an opinion that many seem to share and that an additional large proportion are struggling to decide between this and the also fantastic (but not quite as fantastic in my opinion) Metaphor: ReFantazio.

Astro Bot is the game that 2024 needed. It was a complete, lovely, eccentric, and varied platformer that managed to continue surprising and blowing fans away despite maintaining a tight and digestible length and duration. You could experience each and every part of this game well within a 20-hour window, something that I personally discovered within one weekend where Astro Bot managed to convert me back into my former teenage goblin self, for two-days of uninterrupted Astro action. It was bliss, it was nostalgia at its finest, and yet at the same time it was modern, inspired, and refreshing platforming that proves once again that Team Asobi are clearly the only developer that has any idea of how to fully utilise the amazing features embedded into the DualSense controller.

Like last year's Super Mario Bros. Wonder, where it felt as though nearly every level had a silly and interesting gimmick to discover and enjoy, Astro Bot also managed to wow at nearly every turn. Whether it's through interesting level structure and design, engaging power-ups, fun interactables, PlayStation cameos, and a hilarious and delightful tone, Astro Bot proved and continued to prove that video games can and should be fun first and foremost. In an era often defined by grinding and endless live projects and sprawling hundred-hour JRPGs, Team Asobi served as the light at the end of the tunnel, a light that I still strongly hope more developers follow and look to reflect.

There are parts of the game where a slight improvement or direction emphasis could go a long way, such as in the various galaxies lacking proper theming and some of the PlayStation-levels falling a bit flat. But the soundtrack remains one of the best in the industry, the audio design and art direction ensure a big smile is plastered across your face, and the ease of play and the responsiveness of Astro all mean that this title stands head and shoulders above the competition this year.

PlayStation has some fantastic platforming icons in its IP treasure trove, and while Ratchet & Clank continue to succeed, there's no denying that the 2020s are the era of Astro, and as it stands this is all just Astro Bot's world and we're just living in it.