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PlayStation's answer to Mario, and for the first time, the comparison actually holds up.
Astro Bot by Team Asobi is a 3D platformer so polished, inventive, and joyful that it swept Game of the Year awards in 2024. Every level introduces a new mechanic, uses it brilliantly for exactly as long as it stays fun, then moves on to the next idea. The DualSense controller is used to its absolute fullest; you feel sand, ice, springs, and magnetism through the haptics. The game is stuffed with PlayStation cameos and references that double as love letters to the platform's history. What could have been a tech demo or mascot cash-in turned out to be one of the most creative platformers since Super Mario Galaxy.
Example
The level where Astro Bot shrinks down and runs across a PS5 controller's circuit board, feeling each component through the DualSense haptics as the music shifts to electronic blips. It is simultaneously a tech showcase and a genuinely great platforming stage.
Why it matters
Astro Bot proved that PlayStation could produce a first-party platformer that rivals Nintendo's best. It elevated Team Asobi from tech demo curiosity to one of Sony's most important studios and justified the DualSense as more than a gimmick.
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