As a follow-up post to my lengthy "review" I'd first like to say how happy I am to see so many have this as their GOTY and clearly state what is plain for all to see, hear and feel: this is one of the greatest 3D platformers of all-time. There is one point in particular though I've seen pop up numerous times and that is the idea of Astrobot abandoning in it's PlayStation centric nature in it's next game and "be it's own thing".
Nintendo is a company that rightly celebrates it's legacy/characters in various genres whether kart racer, brawler, sports and more. PlayStation has a legacy equal to the Big N and they've only attempted something like this once before in PlayStation All-Stars which was alright but in no way representative of PlayStation's 1st party quality. With Astrobot we've now got something that can go toe-to-toe with any Mario, fill a gap in Playstation's portfolio and do the "all-star" thing within a genre that not even Nintendo has done before, it would be a massive mistake to not follow through on the idea.
While Astro it is a celebration of all things PlayStation it's still very much it's own thing and maintains it's own identity. The stone cold fact is that there are only SIX actual, PlayStation themed levels, everything else is it's own unique creation. So this idea of "too much PlayStation" is objectively not true. Moreover, these levels are some of the coolest in the entire game and as an OG PlayStation fan who played all those games it was fascinating to see how the aesthetics and gameplay mechanics were translated into Astro's design language, I want more!
As it pertains to the overall universe and "narrative" as it were then yes, there is no way to repeat (or top) the way Astrobot celebrated all things PlayStation and they shouldn't even try. Keep the fundamental structure without the idea of rebuilding a PS5, calling in the PlayStation console cavalry etc. Have a special PlayStation themed level at the end of each galaxy and have those special bots but that's it, the rest is all Astro against whatever menace rules the day.
On the subject of bots, I've been thinking about who/what I'd like to see in a potential sequel. The lack of Square representation is the biggest glaring omission by far, I coined the PS1 era "The Golden Age of Square" years and years ago, there is a deep well to draw from and I kept waiting for Cloud, Ramza, Eve, Tidus, Ashley Riot, Vivi, Billy Lee Black (imagine? lol) or countless others to pop up. More characters I'd like to see: Maximo, Sweet Tooth, Wesker, Regina, Sora, Chimera (major omission, can absolutely see a Resistance level in a sequel), Nariko, ONE cyborg, Galahad, Tomba, Rayman, Jeanne D'Arc, Soul Sacrifice, these are just a few off the top of my head.
Anyway, Day 1 on anything team Asobi, PlayStation has another jewel in their crown with this talented studio, can't wait to see what's next!
I made my own Astro trailer. Like & share if you enjoy it 
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