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[Men_in_Boxes]

Mod Edit: Dial it back on your constant war bait threads every time a new GaaS title is announced or shown.

All the world over I'm hearing the same thing. Concord is a soulless, market tested, Gaurdians of the Galaxy rip off while Astrobot is a breath of fresh air that exudes creativity and passion.

Um, what?

Astrobot is a market tested, made in a lab mascot used to sell merchandise (PlayStation branded product). "Let's make a cute robot, because kids like cute, and make him do the Minions sounds. Kids will like that!" It's the Cool Spot corpo trash from the mid 90's.... Its gameplay does nothing new, or interesting. It's a near copycat of the Crash Bandicoot formula with some Mario 3D Land influence. Those 3D platformers had dozens of clones released in the late 90s and 00s.

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The new Astrobot looks identical (BUT MORE!) to the previous two games. It's more gimmick platforming using the unique functions of the PS5 controller...blow in the mic everyone!

Concord may deserve much of its criticism but at least it's a new IP that's trying some new things in a space where there's not very many peers. Why is Firewalk soulless and Team Asobi avant guard again? Make it make sense people?!

 

[Megatron]

Tell me you never played Astrobot without telling me you never played Astrobot. It’s ok OP I’m sure you will really enjoy Brink 2, Concord.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Tell me you never played Astrobot without telling me you never played Astrobot. It’s ok OP I’m sure you will really enjoy Brink 2, Concord.

I played all of Rescue Mission and about 30 minutes of Playroom.

 

[ahtlas7]

One plays on nostalgic heart strings with interesting story and fun interactive gameplay based on the strong Astro Bot formula.
The other plays on modern bullshit.

 

[Megatron]

I played all of Rescue Mission and about 30 minutes of Playroom.

If that’s true then you just aren’t going to get it, and the game is not for you. For me the VR game was enchanting and the new one looks fantastic.

 

[justiceiro]

Those 3D platformers had dozens of clones released in the late 90s and 00s.

It's almost like people have been waiting since the 90 and the 00 to see what they would like in modern hardware.

Also, you at least know that Astro boy won't play like most games released in the last 3 years. How can you not call that a breath of fresh air?

 

[Robb]

Astrobot looks like it oozes both creativity and variety. Loads of content, no microtransactions, no storefronts, no DEI b/s etc. etc.

Concord is on the exact opposite of the spectrum.

 

[Sintoid]

How many GAAS fps do you get every year?
How many platform games?

Now tell me wich one is a soulless marketing move

 

[Three]

Concord gets a lot of weird "woke" hate (i don't see anything woke in it) but I can see the Guardians of the Galaxy comparison. It had that 80s branding before and it's about a gang of alien misfits bounty hunting some artifact. I love astrobot and it's far from a gimmick. It's got its own character and charm and cool level designs and gameplay like a fun game from the past. It doesn't need to reinvent the wheel, don't really see gimmicks in it. You can't really call it more of the same and gimmicky for doing something different.

 

[Danjin44]

Easy, Astro Bots looks super fun while Concord looks like borefest but hey if you enjoy that game more power to you.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

People don't like GaaS and think Concord is "woke" because the heroes have pronouns and some of them are black women.

They also see it as another attempt at an Overwatch/Valorant ripoff, and they're not entirely wrong about that one. On the surface that's what it looks like. We'll see with the beta and when the game launches what it's actually like, but on the surface, it seems generic.

So it really just boils down to "I like therefore I will say nonsense"?

Can't one argue that there have been far more basic 3D platformers over the last 30 years than there have been Overwatch/Valorant style games? Why is the 2,435th platformer fresh and exciting while the 12th hero based shooter is stale?

I'll admit that Astro is polished, but it really does little more than "Jump on the Goombas walking slowly towards you, jump over the flaming rope, wait for the platform to reach you before you jump on". I mean, if that's creativity then the word has lost all meaning.

 

[DavidGzz]

FPS or Nintendo game, passing on both, but I'd actually try Concord first.

 

[Bartski]

 

[Zuzu]

I also think Astrobot is a generic looking mascot and doesn't have the charm or personality of Nintendo's characters or Rare and Insomniac's old platformers. Concord is also very copy and paste of previous IPs. So yeah, both are lacking originality to me.

 

[Pelao]

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[Three]

So it really just boils down to "I like therefore I will say nonsense"?

Can't one argue that there have been far more basic 3D platformers over the last 30 years than there have been Overwatch/Valorant style games? Why is the 2,435th platformer fresh and exciting while the 12th hero based shooter is stale?

I'll admit that Astro is polished, but it really does little more than "Jump on the Goombas walking slowly towards you, jump over the flaming rope, wait for the platform to reach you before you jump on". I mean, if that's creativity then the word has lost all meaning.

If the 2435th platformer introduced a charming character, world and gameplay mechanics beyond "jump on goomba" (there are far more gameplay mechanics than that) then you can see why people like it. At the moment though you're just trying to belittle the new gameplay mechanics as 'gimmicks' simply because it isn't a GaaS game.

 

[DeVeAn]

Cool spot on the Genesis was awesome.

 

[TexMex]

I can’t imagine needing the difference explained.

 

[Rocinante618]

Ignore the group talk. Play whatever you like.

Personally I don’t play multiplayer titles and really like my games to be offline so Astrobot fits perfectly ( and it’s cute so I can play it with my lovely 6 year old sister as well )

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

AstroBot has great style that's fairly unique, especially in this day and age. It has an extreme level of craftsmanship in all areas of its design that is severely lacking in many games, and it's why Asobi is compared to the best teams at Nintendo, or even exceeding them.

Concord is less distinctive because Marvel and Guardians of the Galaxy has been sort of shoved down everyone's throats for over a decade, and the genre of Hero Shooters is also pretty ubiquitous.

That said - I don't think Concord looks bad at all on second inspection of the characters. But it's just really hard to judge that from the initial reveal material.

 

[bitbydeath]

MP games are repetitive, you experience most of what there is to experience in a single match (1 level), Astrobot has 80 unique levels.

 

[nial]

FPS or Nintendo game, passing on both, but I'd actually try Concord first.

Good thing Astro Bot is a Sony game!

 

[Duchess]

Concord is less distinctive because Marvel and Guardians of the Galaxy has been sort of shoved down everyone's throats for over a decade, and the genre of Hero Shooters is also pretty ubiquitous.

A lot of people have compared it to GotG. When I watched the trailer, I thought, "Okay, so this is Overwatch in space?".

 

[SkylineRKR]

Well games like Astrobot don't really exist on the Playstation platform. There used to be some in the past, but on the last 2 or 3 systems I can't really think of any. Perhaps Ape Escape if you go back to the PS1 and PS2. The first Jak was already quite different. Playroom was really polished, and oozed charm. Not from the character itself per se, but from nostalgia. You could collect classic Playstation systems and use the PS1 controller cord for traversal etc.

It plays really well and could've been a Nintendo in-house release. If they created this exact same game, Nintendo themed with R.O.B. it would've been a hit probably.

Concord, well, ultimately its another multiplayer FPS which there is an abundance of on the Playstation 5. And I think Astro Bot at least chases its own style, Concord obviously rips off GOTG and Overwatch to name a few franchises.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

A lot of people have compared it to GotG. When I watched the trailer, I thought, "Okay, so this is Overwatch in space?".

Art style looks a lot different to me. The CG stuff they revealed is much more Marvel and GotG than Overwatch, I'd say. Although sure, they are lighthearted/cartoony characters.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Why does Astrobot have ps5 console and controller in the game. Looks weird to me.

 

[Duchess]

Why does Astrobot have ps5 console and controller in the game. Looks weird to me.

The PS5 console basically the mothership / carrier, while the controller is the fighter craft.

 

[lh032]

OP why do you care?

Game is not for you, then just move on.

 

[ahtlas7]

I'll admit that Astro is polished, but it really does little more than "Jump on the Goombas walking slowly towards you, jump over the flaming rope, wait for the platform to reach you before you jump on". I mean, if that's creativity then the word has lost all meaning.

If this is accurate then you just explained why people are looking forward to Astro. I mean, Mario formula is kind of popular, right?

 

[BlackTron]

I agree that the astro bot character itself is kinda lame and generic, but the actual game is fine and the character doesn't take anything away from it. Just fails to be as distinct or interesting as Mario, Sonic, Ratchet or Clank, etc.

This is actually a big improvement on the types of characters in some other games which actually do make you want to turn away from the entire game.

Okay, so Cool Spot literally came from a soda bottle. Wasn't the game still pretty good? So why is it a problem? Cool Spot on Genesis still has better character design than the new Silent Hill, so who cares.

For some this is a staple genre that has fallen off being represented well in gaming. If you want to play a modern platform game on PS5 you are looking at R&C I guess and that's it. Otherwise it's old or bad games. No surprise this is exciting news compared to yet another gaas shooter which have been coming and going.

 

[THE DUCK]

It's simple, single player designed gameplay genius >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> multiplayer clone with gaurdians of galaxy characters.
But I suppose if you love multiplayer shooters and hate platform games, it would make more sense to be excited about Concord.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

If this is accurate then you just explained why people are looking forward to Astro. I mean, Mario formula is kind of popular, right?

I get why people are looking forward to it, but they don't need to lie / sound crazy and suggest it's some innovative, bold design. It's a walking commercial for PlayStation products that plays identical to Crash Bandicoot. This aint a Hideo Kojima Production.

 

[dreamstation]

I think people are being too harsh on Concord. It might turn out to be a steaming pile but it might also be worth playing. Games are disposable, so even if you play it for 10, 20, 50 hours it's worth playing as long as you have some fun playing it right? We're not going to keep playing the same games forever. I'm happy to try anything and if it's fun it's fun, if it's not then I'll play something else.

 

[AncientOrigin]

Easy to tell my friend.There are barely any jump and run games especially First Party games but there are 100 Typ of the same ugly trash shooter games.And Concord is exactly the same trash we already have on every platform.But a cute robot jump and run with amazing graphics and gameplay there is not one game.

 

[Three]

Why does Astrobot have ps5 console and controller in the game. Looks weird to me.

If you've ever played anything astrobot you'd see that this isn't something out of the ordinary for the game. The little robots live in a hardware universe. Worlds in previous games are "CPU Plaza", "Memory Meadow" etc. It's kind of a fourth wall mechanic for the game. The controller is usually 1 to 1 mapped into the game, if the older PS4 games are anything to go by.

 

[Valedix]

Single player game > GAAS.

 

[realcool]

Why does Astrobot have ps5 console and controller in the game. Looks weird to me.

In the PC version, you fly past a constellation of stars that spell out the word "entice" during this sequence. It's an easter egg referencing the great minds behind PlayStation's current business strategy.

 

[Robb]

Why does Astrobot have ps5 console and controller in the game. Looks weird to me.

I kind of agree on one hand, but on the other it’s also kind of fun to have this very specific and ‘Ps5-y’ game with loads of fan service that also makes use of all the features of the system. Reminds me a lot of NintendoLand on WiiU, for example.

Hopefully the series will keep going for a long time, I think it’d be a lot of fun to have these games for multiple generations with each being themed after the hardware for that gen.

I imagine replaying these games in the future will be like going through each Sony console generation. The games , the hardware, the memories - all flooding back.

 

[Bartski]

It's a figure of speech that means literally nothing without the additional attributed context - in case of Concord that would be LTTP trend chasing with execution bland as a soggy cracker.

Another translation into Progamerish would be: "it looks like shit"

 

[THE DUCK]

I get why people are looking forward to it, but they don't need to lie / sound crazy and suggest it's some innovative, bold design. It's a walking commercial for PlayStation products that plays identical to Crash Bandicoot. This aint a Hideo Kojima Production.

Plays like Crash Bandicoot? Not even close to that simplicity. Maybe you should have played the whole PS5 demo/game. I for one am glad it's no Kojima production, if I wanted to watch a movie, I'd watch a movie.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

I agree OP, both are shit.

 

[Hunnybun]

As I said in another thread, Concord looks like it could've been generated by Chat GPT. It's the single most creatively bankrupt title I've seen for god knows how long.

I thought Destruction Allstars was by-the-numbers, but Concord is on a completely different level of corporate groupthink.

Astro obviously leverages corporate properties, but the execution of all Team Asobi's previous efforts has just been pure magic and creativity.

You really shouldn't need help understanding that.

 

[Physiognomonics]

I'll mark this thread as bait.

 

[GymWolf]

I don't care about both if that make you sleep better at night.

 

[elbourreau]

Astro is over hyped here at Gaf.

Don't get me wrong, it's not bad game, quite enjoyable but just overhyped here.

 

[Horatius]

they both looked awful

 

[vaibhavpisal]

I kind of agree on one hand, but on the other it’s also kind of fun to have this very specific and ‘Ps5-y’ game with loads of fan service that also makes use of all the features of the system. Reminds me a lot of NintendoLand on WiiU, for example.

Hopefully the series will keep going for a long time, I think it’d be a lot of fun to have these games for multiple generations with each being themed after the hardware for that gen.

I imagine replaying these games in the future will be like going through each Sony console generation. The games , the hardware, the memories - all flooding back.

I would be ok with that being a pack in demo or something on a subscription service. But a $70 title like this sounds weird to me.

I would rather have an original world with actual characters and this gameplay.

But its just me.

Sounds to me like Harmen wrote an email to Team Asobi that got lost in multiple translation. They wanted a game to push ps5 hardware in Japan.

Team Asobi ended up putting actual ps5 hardware in the game.

 

[pasterpl]

AstroBot has great style that's fairly unique, especially in this day and age. It has an extreme level of craftsmanship in all areas of its design that is severely lacking in many games, and it's why Asobi is compared to the best teams at Nintendo, or even exceeding them.

cannot react to this with anything else than LOL…

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

As I said in another thread, Concord looks like it could've been generated by Chat GPT. It's the single most creatively bankrupt title I've seen for god knows how long.

I thought Destruction Allstars was by-the-numbers, but Concord is on a completely different level of corporate groupthink.

Astro obviously leverages corporate properties, but the execution of all Team Asobi's previous efforts has just been pure magic and creativity.

You really shouldn't need help understanding that.

I understand the Concord criticism. People are generally upset that their Chess pieces look lame...whatever.

I don't understand why Astro Bot not only gets a pass for being derivative and unambitious, but people will actually it creative, inspired, and it's devs are allegedly passionate.

That makes no sense. If one is derivative then the other is too.

 

[DAHGAMING]

There both not for me, I will give Concord ago, I hope its good but it dosnt look for me. Astrobot dosnt look intresting at all to me.