‘Astro Bot’ review: All history lessons should be this fun

A paper box for the upcoming game ‘Astro Bot’ during a media event by the Team Asobi studio at the offices of Sony Interactive Entertainment in Tokyo. Asobi means ‘play’ in Japanese, and ‘Astro Bot’ evokes so many versions of play from pop culture’s annals that it’s somewhat like Steven Spielberg’s version of ‘Ready Player One’. — AFP

Astro Bot, a generally exceptional, imaginative game, features a heroic robot with pixelated eyes of blue who waddles tentatively through the universe like a toddler. But Astro is an ardent puzzle-solver, too, in a game that is a mammoth, interactive pop culture history.

Astro previously appeared in a tech demo for the PlayStation 5 that showed off the bells and whistles of the new Sony console and its controller. That tidbit was fun, but Astro Bot contains a fuller, 12-hour experience. It uses the PS5 controller to an impressive extent, emitting thousands of sounds and good vibrations. It’s not an exaggeration to say I felt like I was holding an extension of Astro Bot in my hands.