PlayStation's 'Astro Bot' is a shoo-in for Game of the Year, will Xbox ever have a family-friendly answer?

Astro Bot.

What you need to know

• Astro Bot released today on PlayStation 5, a platformer featuring cameos from beloved PlayStation characters throughout it's history.
• The critic reviews have been outstandingly positive, and it currently sits at a 94 Metacritic score.
• I wrote back in May following State of Play that Xbox could replicate this cross generational appeal with many of their own IPs. 

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Astro Bot, as expected, has launched today to glowing reviews and critical acclaim. In what's been a rollercoaster of a few days for Sony, with its PvP shooter game Concord being taken offline only 11 days after launch — Astro Bot has rocketed onto the scene with an impressive 94 Metacritic score, with many outlets giving it a 10/10 . Concord to Astro Bot is quite literally the "we're so over" to "we're so back" meme playing out in real-time.

The reviews so far have praised Astro Bot for its innovative level designs, engaging gameplay for all ages, and, most importantly, its showcase of PlayStation 5 features and representation of its historical characters. The game isn't just a fun platformer; it's a love letter to PlayStation and its beloved IP. The game is universally being touted as Game of the Year, even by many of Xbox's own fanbase who have got their hands on the game. 

Astro Bot is immaculate! Concord is absolved of all sins. I cannot wait to dive into Astro Bots world this weekend!! pic.twitter.com/Zqryaqk4yfSeptember 5, 2024

Xbox has a huge back catalog of family friendly characters sitting unused

Thanks to its acquisitions, Xbox has a bunch of family friendly characters waiting in the wings. (Image credit: Xbox/Future)

I'm jumping on my soapbox again today because seeing all the positivity and glowing reviews for Astro Bot, and particularly its clever interweaving of PlayStation themes and characters, just shows the appetite for these kinds of games is there. Not only is it ripe, but right now, Xbox does not have an answer for it. Back in May following the State of Play I wrote a full opinion piece on how I wish Xbox had it's own mascot and game to really appeal to all generations. No I'm not talking about characters like Master Chief, I'm talking about characters like Banjo and Spyro. Even 808 from Hi-Fi Rush, and well, we all know what happened this year with Tango Gameworks closure.

I'm not going to repeat the entire piece, instead you can go read it if you wish — but the main point was that Xbox could easily recreate a game with these characters and incorporating everything Xbox fans love about the platform. If anything, it could combat some of the current sentiment that Xbox is leaving its console audience as fans question Microsoft's multiplatform strategy.

It's worth mentioning that Xbox had Roblox as a console exclusive for almost a decade, but again I'm really thinking of games that families tend to play together. Pass the controller around and have humor and gameplay for all generations; Roblox doesn't tick those boxes. Games like Skylanders and Banjo definitely do. 

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Could Astro Bot launch on PC?

(Image credit: Sony)

Sony has had a lot of success launching its games on PC, with Helldivers 2 launching day 1 on the platform and breaking records on Windows PC, and while Concord didn't gain any traction, this was most likely due to its cost and a competitive market.  

I certainly would love to see Astro Bot on PC, too, but right now, it's PlayStation 5 exclusive and will probably remain that way for quite some time, given its themes heavily surrounding the console and the making use of the DualSense controller features. The style of game does lend itself well to handheld gaming though, so I hope on day to see it on my Steam Deck, a girl can dream!