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Astros Playroom is on par with the last Mario game

Bryank75

Banned
As I've said before, I have many Switches in my house and I didn't expect much from Astrobot but it really does beat Odyssey

I say Odyssey and not the earlier games, as the earlier marios were better games with better platforming and a more solid base of gameplay that they built from. Odyssey is mostly gimmicks based on the hat and in that competition Astro wins....

The base platforming also feels better, the feeling when he uses his jets is awesome, skating on ice is fantastic, his spin feels great too.....
Things like the GPU song are more memorable, intelligent and insightful than any music in a modern Mario...

The only thing that propels Odyssey to the high 90's is the Mario brand / name.
 

PooBone

Member
The character is super boring to me. His world and motivations are meaningless and it felt the same playing it. Saying that, it is technically designed well with a lot of variety, but i just didnt find it "fun", if that makes sense.
Yet Mario is a deeply complex character with such a diverse range of relatable motivations. LOL, Mario’s great but this is about about the strangest critique of one over the other I have ever the read.
 

mcjmetroid

Member
I haven't played the astro bot games but I hear they're very good.

It sounds like if they released a full game at retail. It could have potential to better Mario.

But.. from what I've seen of Atro Bot. It does rip off past Mario games..a lot.

That's not a bad thing per say but it does null and void any opinion that's it's better to me.

A Mario beater needs to be revolutionary and beat Mario at its own game.
 

mcjmetroid

Member
mario odyssey is a fun game. But the quality of the levels is inconsistent. It takes a nose dive at several points in the game. And it's pretty obvious,
I love the game but it aint no perfect game.

IMO astros never overstayed it's welcome and felt like breeze of fresh air.

Mario odyssey is an unusual game.
It's missing something that stops it being amazing. It has some of the highest highs the series has ever seen and then some WTF bad level design moments I have never seen in a mario game before.

I still think it's great.
 

Unknown?

Member
I would say Astro's Playroom- at a gameplay level- isn't even as good as SACKBOY ADVENTURES (which is fantastic, IMO).

If you strip away the fan service and areas where they show off the controller in a fun way, it's a super average platformer IMO. Like an easy 5/10. In many ways/all other ways, it's a LEGO PLAYSTATION game.

Astrobot PSVR tho...now THAT was incredible and should have sold a lot more units of hardware than it did.
If you strip away things from Mario, it'd also be a 5/10. I laugh whenever someone says, "if you just remove this, it'd be mediocre."
 

zwiggelbig

Member
I mean.. The latest mario game had so many amazing gameplay possibilities with that hat and movement tricks.. Astro playroom is a great experience but it does not come close to oddysey. Also gotta take into account the amazing worlds in mario
 

MagnesG

Banned
What was so good about Odyssey, exactly? Genuine question.

Platformers have been my bread and butter for over 30 years, and I didn't find it to be so impressive. Mario hasn't innovated at all since Galaxy and I found Odyssey to be not only boring, but a dog's breakfast in terms of style and gameplay. Nintendo basically phoned it in. But it has to be a 10/10 masterpiece because Mario?

I found Astro to be a much more fun and cohesive experience even if it's short and the platforming is simpler. The music alone is an inspiration. It also isn't constrained by a long history of what it's supposed to be.
Cappy mechanics.
 

onQ123

Member
I don’t know if this is super controversial to say or whatever. I’m not a huge platformer fan but I’ve played through the Mario on switch when it came out. And don’t get me wrong I actually think switch is the best console to be released maybe ever - BOTW was absolutely amazing for me. But after astros playroom on ps5 - I gotta say it feels like just general gameplay - it’s a bit better honestly? I’d put super Mario galaxy above it (think that’s probably my favorite Mario - yes including the og ones). Not to encourage Sony to start making a bunch of kids games but this Astro thing could be the Sony Mario for sure - fuck sackboy this is where they should be putting their effort. Am I insane? Possibly. I’ve been stuck inside due to Covid quarantine for a long ass time so... maybe I’m just losing it

They locked my thread when I said Sony was also going for the Nintendo console market with PS5

 
I don’t know, but I do think a future title could have the potential to be very close to Mario games in terms of quality given a full budget and a full release, but this certainly is not as fleshed out. It is amazing though, not to take away from how great this game is because I’m loving the hell out of it, I’ve been trying to beat my speed runs and I’ve gotten my total down to 05:50.04 and it’s very rewarding and fun.
 
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fuck sackboy this is where they should be putting their effort. Am I insane? Possibly.
Have you seen sales numbers for Nintendo's games? If I was running a publisher and I had some studios that could do games that compete in that style... Man I would have them do it.

This is not like we had an overwhelming amount of those outside the switch these days.

More importantly, if I want to have something safe my my young kids I won't have them play GTA, TLoU, cod, gow, etc. So having a frew really nice cute platformers (and cart racers) is a pretty good prospect.
 

JimboJones

Member
They locked my thread when I said Sony was also going for the Nintendo console market with PS5

It was locked because it was a dumb thread, Sony has always made these kinds of games, every single PlayStation console has got some high quality cartoony platformer/adventure game.
 
S

SpongebobSquaredance

Unconfirmed Member
OP
images
 

mancs

Member
The greatest mario game launched with the SNES , holding hand with the N64 magical for its time ,mario Launch title.


Yet to play , astro on p5 , fkin scalpers....
 

Fbh

Member
Haven't really played it so I can't say.
But from the reaction to both Playroom and the VR one it sounds like Sony has a really talented team doing these, hopefully they see the potential.


Have you seen sales numbers for Nintendo's games? If I was running a publisher and I had some studios that could do games that compete in that style... Man I would have them do it.

True, but Nintendo games have that positioning and nostalgia factor that no new franchise can compete with. For example I thought Rayman Origins and Legends had more enjoyable gameplay, nicer visuals and just overall more creativity than any of the modern 2D mario games, but despite launching as multiplatform titles on consoles and PC they get absolutely destroyed in sales by even the worst selling modern 2D Mario. Or Sega All stars Racing transformed which was easily one of the best kart racers around when it released and it doesn't even scratch the sales of Mario Kart 8 on just WiiU.
 
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Celcius

°Temp. member
I agree with you OP - I'd take an Astro's Playroom sequel over a new Mario game any day (unless the game is a new Mario Kart - then I'll definitely take that).
 
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Gold_Loot

Member
‘on par’ is certainly suggestive but it’s not without argument.
Truth is , even if you think it’s not as good, you would be a bit crazy to say that Sony’s not closing the gap in terms of great platformers. Sackboy is great as well.
 

Amiga

Member
Why not?

A lot of people are tired of the "cinematic 3d action adventure" direction they have been going lately last gen.
Feels good they have two a bit more whimsical games to shake things up a bit.

My kids keep invading my game room to play Astros Playroom. they already emptied the slot machine. previously they have only played a few tablet games. I suspect Astros Playroom is like training wheels for young gamers. it teaches several control concepts from aiming and shooting to platforming.
 

RAIDEN1

Member
As I have said before, Odyssey was Nintendo's answer to Sonic Adventure(s) ....but Astros being better than Mario? Now that's some statement...
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
In terms of that Nintendo magic, I think astro is the better game. the dualsense implementation is pure genius and the levels are geniunely lovely to play.

that said, i really disliked mario odyssey but its a far better game game. astro needed to have at least 2x more levels. i get that its a pack in game, but it needed to be a bit longer and it might have even won goty. it's that good.
 

Romulus

Member
Play the VR Astrobot to see how good a game can be.


Yeah even if you throw out all the fanboy opinions, Astro in VR is the only platformer in this discussion that can make adults who don't game say things like "holy fucking shit this is amazing." Heard it countless times. Put those same people in front of any new Mario game you might get some nostalgic smiles/laughs at best. Not to say they would not enjoy Mario, but Astro is literally next level stuff when you put on the headset. It feels like you're inside that wacky, beautiful world combined with tight gameplay.
 

Antelope

Member
Why not?

A lot of people are tired of the "cinematic 3d action adventure" direction they have been going lately last gen.
Feels good they have two a bit more whimsical games to shake things up a bit.
Agree. One of the only issues I had with PS4 last gen is there was a real lack of family friendly exclusives outside of Knack. Astro Bot is something I can play with my kid.
 

Golgo 13

The Man With The Golden Dong
Astro's playroom is a god damn miracle of a game (especially considering it's free), but it's not top-tier Mario good.
 

Heimdall_Xtreme

Jim Ryan Fanclub's #1 Member
Only I can say that Japan Studio is the Nintendo of Sony....

The problem is Sony and Jim Ryan that are blind of the talent from Japan studio
 

Romulus

Member
Play the VR one if you haven’t, it’s even better.

That's what most won't ever realize. They brought this up on reddit that ignorance is bliss because the VR version won't likely be topped for years to come. The pack in ps5 version is just a slice of the pie. Wait until they do a full psvr2 version with the haptic controller.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
Mario Odyssey wasn't that good. More platforming we've seen ad nauseum since 1996. Just better graphics.

Everything I've seen from Astrobot is more of the same.

Excellent childrens games that teach the fundementals of 3D gaming though.
 
Things like the GPU song are more memorable, intelligent and insightful than any music in a modern Mario...
I gave the GPU song a few listens and I'd say it's certainly lyrically playful and quite creative. If you wanna argue that the lyrics are more memorable (I'm your GPUUUUU), more intelligent and insightful (tesselate and rasterize, lol), I can give you that.

But musically, it's not touching SMO's crown jewel.
 

kunonabi

Member
As absolutely terrible as Odyssey is, Astro Boy still isn't quite there.

That said, the fact that this could even be a discussion is a testament to how badly Odyssey turned out.
 

#Phonepunk#

Banned
it's really good but Odyssey is some god-tier gameplay and Astro just lacks the sheer amount of content.

the fiction that Odyssey is bad is a laughable take, having just played through 3D All Stars and it recently.
 

Calverz

Member
Hillarious take. Mario Odyssey wasnt great. Especially with that dumbass song and humans. But i mean....its still infinitely better than astro. Astro feels like a long tech demo for me that celebrates playstation history. Astro gameplay is really really basic.
 
S

SpongebobSquaredance

Unconfirmed Member
That said, the fact that this could even be a discussion is a testament to how badly Odyssey turned out.
It's a discussion on a forum, not public opinion. Mario Odyssey is popular which is shown by its success commercially and positive public opinion. Shitty takes like OP's are numerous on the web, but prove hardly anything if anything at all.
 
So magic mate, everything from the music to the level design, the gameplay and the gorgeous art style and atmosphere the game just felt so special, I'd do a lot of bad things to get a third game in the series.

I definitely agree with this - nothing touches the super Mario galaxy games platforming-wise for me
 

EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
I clearly understand that the OP is trying to say but it’s a demo and offers great fundamentals of gaming.
 
Haven't really played it so I can't say.
But from the reaction to both Playroom and the VR one it sounds like Sony has a really talented team doing these, hopefully they see the potential.




True, but Nintendo games have that positioning and nostalgia factor that no new franchise can compete with. For example I thought Rayman Origins and Legends had more enjoyable gameplay, nicer visuals and just overall more creativity than any of the modern 2D mario games, but despite launching as multiplatform titles on consoles and PC they get absolutely destroyed in sales by even the worst selling modern 2D Mario. Or Sega All stars Racing transformed which was easily one of the best kart racers around when it released and it doesn't even scratch the sales of Mario Kart 8 on just WiiU.
I love Sega All Stars Transformed! Still play it with my kids (big TV, 4 players, 4K!).

I was arguing for it because I can see why they would attempt it, but somehow I forgot the nostalgia card Nintendo has (Sega and Sony could play it in different ways, but somehow they're not as good at it). I like to think success is at least in part a portion of doing things the right way, however I am the first to admit that there are a million other factors, but if you are not diligent to begin with it's a lot less likely you will succeed.

I'll probably get the new sacboy game with a PS5 sooner than later.
 
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