Summary
Astro Botwas such an exhaustive celebration of almost everything inPlayStationhistory, it’s hard to imagine where the series goes next. The critically acclaimed game’s director clearly has some ideas, explaining that the goal moving forward is for Astro to develop its own identity while continuing to celebrate PlayStation.
TheGamer caught up with Astro Bot director Nicolas Doucet ahead of this week’s BAFTA Game Awards,during which the hit platformer picked up another Game of the Year award. Noting that Astro has been defined by its connection with PlayStation to this point, both inAstro’s Playroomand then again in Astro Bot, we asked Doucet what the future of the series might look like, whether it be with or without more historical PlayStation fanfare.
“We want Astro to have its own identity, but at the same time, it’s also a very fun thing to be able to talk about the history of games,” Doucet explained. “It’s always a balance. It was a balance this time, we’ll see what the future holds, but we always attempt to think about both at the same time.”
Astro Bot Needs To Strike A Balance Between Celebrating PlayStation And Doing Its Own Thing
Walking Down Memory Lane Is Fun, But Astro Needs Its Own Identity
The director added that there also needs to be a focus on “raising Astro as its own thing”. Eventually, it will hopefully be up there with other great video game series rather than just a fantastic platformer that’s main goal is to celebrate PlayStation, reminding people just how much has happened on its platforms for the past three decades.
As for how exactly Team Asobi plans to do that, that much isn’t clear. The studio started working on Astro Bot almost immediately after Astro’s Playroom was released, so there’s a very real chance whatever’s next for PlayStation’s new mascot is already being worked on. However, something else Doucet hinted at during the same conversation may imply work on Astro Bot isn’t over yet.
Even though Astro Bot is a celebration of all things PlayStation, there’s a notable omission from its sizable Bot roster -Final Fantasy. Despite including a Buster Sword in Astro’s Playroom, there are no Final Fantasy Bots in Astro Bot. When we asked if Doucet was able to shed any light on why that might be,the director chuckled and said, “Well, we’ll see”. Far from confirmation that Cloud and other Final Fantasy characters might make cameo appearances in Astro Bot via DLC, but it certainly seems like Doucet knows something we don’t.
