Astro Bot Rescue Mission

Astro Bot Rescue Mission
File:Astro Bot Rescue Mission NA Box Art.jpg North American cover art
Developer(s)	SIE Japan Studio (ASOBI! Team)
Publisher(s)	Sony Interactive Entertainment
Director(s)	Nicolas Doucet
Producer(s)	Nicolas Doucet
Designer(s)	Gento Morita
Programmer(s)	Takumi Yoshida Yuki Miyamae
Artist(s)	Sebastian Brueckner Jamie Smith
Composer(s)	Kenneth C M Young
Platforms	PlayStation 4 (PlayStation VR)
Release date(s)	October 2, 2018
Genre(s)	Platform
Mode(s)	Single-player

Astro Bot Rescue Mission (sometimes also wrote as Astro Bot: Rescue Mission or ASTRO BOT Rescue Mission) is a 3D platform video game developed by SIE Japan Studio's ASOBI! Team division and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4's PlayStation VR headset. It stars a cast of robot characters first introduced in The Playroom, where they appeared as little robots that lived inside of the DualShock 4 controller.The player teams up with Captain Astro and goes on a quest to rescue his lost crew scattered in 5 worlds and 20 levels. In total, there are 212 Bots to rescue.The gameplay takes its inspiration from classic platformers and elevates to a new level thanks to the VR Medium. The player uses his body to lean and see past obstacles or headbutt parts of the scenery. The Dualshock 4 controller is used to control Astro but also turns into virtual gadgets to help him on his way. The game counts 20 stages, 6 Bosses, 26 challenge stages, and a collection room on board the ASTRO SHIP.

Gameplay

Astro Bot Rescue Mission is a 3D platform game in which you take control of Astro Bot, a small robot using the DualShock 4 controller. Astro being able to jump, hover, punch and charge his punch into a spinning attack. The game being in VR, one of the particularities is that the camera is controlled by your head’s movements rather than the right analog stick. As the VR player, you also exist in this world as a giant robot following Astro, with the ability to interact with the environment; for instance by destroying walls with head-butts, dodging enemies attack or blowing in the headset’s microphone to spread flower petals. The goal of the game is to rescue Astro's crew scattered around each world. There are 8 lost robots in each level and finding them requires skillful jumping and looking carefully through the environment. The game utilizes 3D audio so the player can locate the voice of Bots. At the end of every world, a boss waits and requires a certain number of bots rescued to unlock, occasionally prompting the user to return to previously cleared levels in order to rescue more of the lost bots. Just like Bots, Space Chameleons are hidden per level, and the player can find them by relying on 3D audio. When a Space Chameleon is found, a special extra challenge stage is unlocked, doubling the game content. In some levels, Magic Chests can be found that contains controller gadgets. There are 7 gadgets in total (Hook shot, Water Gun, Shuriken, Tight Rope, Magic Light, Machine Gun and Slingshot). The water gun, for instance lets you grow plants to make platforms for Astro to jump on, activate turbines or cool down lava to create a safe path for Astro Bot. Using these controller gadgets, you are able to help Astro through his journey, combining the 3rd person platforming with the gadget use in 1st Person. This duality is one of Astro Bot’s unique points and makes it a mix between traditional platform games and VR positional gameplay. At the end of every world, a huge boss awaits requiring you and Astro to work as a team to defeat.

Development

The game was created inside Japan Studio by ASOBI! Team. Due to popular demand and fan feedback of the mini game called "Robot Rescue" in THE PLAYROOM VR, SIE Japan Studio decided to make a fully fleshed game based off the mini game.ASTRO BOT Rescue Mission was developed in 18 months by a team of 25 people. For music, the team called on composer Kenneth C M Young to create the various original and remixed tracks used in the game.The game has been bundled with fellow VR game Moss.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score Aggregator Score Metacritic 90/100 Review scores Publication Score Destructoid 7.5/10 GamingAge 10/10 Metro 9/10 PSU.com 9.5/10

The game was released on October 2nd 2018 in Europe and North America and October 3rd 2018 in Asia in both digital and boxed formats. As of July 2019, ASTRO BOT Rescue Mission is the highest rated VR game in history according to review site Metacritic, and the 6th highest rated PS4 game in 2018. Chris Dunlap's 10/10 score on GamingAge stated that "Astro Bot Rescue Mission is an extremely fun and engaging game, and a dynamite addition to the growing PSVR library." PSU.com said "Easily the best platformer and PS VR game on the market this year."

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Result	Ref
2018	Game Critics Awards	Best VR/AR Game	Nominated
	Gamescom 2018	Best Puzzle/Skill Game	Nominated
	9th Hollywood Music in Media Awards	Best Original Song ("A Fire in Your Mind")	Nominated
	The Game Awards 2018	Best VR/AR Game	Won
	The Edge Awards 2018	VR Game of the Year	Won
		Game of the Year	5
2019	New York Game Awards	Coney Island Dreamland Award for Best Virtual Reality Game	Nominated
	D.I.C.E. Awards	Outstanding Technical Achievement	Nominated
		Family Game of the Year	Nominated
		Immersive Reality Technical Achievement	Nominated
		Immersive Reality Game of the Year	Nominated
	National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards	Animation, Artistic	Nominated
		Control Design, VR	Nominated
		Direction in Virtual Reality	Nominated
		Game, Original Family	Nominated
		Sound Mixing in Virtual Reality	Nominated
		Use of Sound, New IP	Nominated
	SXSW Gaming Awards	Excellence in Technical Achievement	Nominated
		VR Game of the Year	Nominated
	Game Developers Choice Awards	Best VR/AR Game	Nominated
	15th British Academy Games Awards	Best Game	Nominated
		Game Design	Nominated
		Game Innovation	Nominated
	Famitsu Awards	Special Award	Won
	Italian Video Game Awards	Innovation Award	Nominated
	Japan Game Awards	Game Designers Award	Won
	The Independent Game Developers' Association Awards	Best Arcade Game	Nominated

External links

• Official site