[Game Diary] The ‘God of War’-themed level in ‘Astro Bot’ is a joyful delight

Astro Bot appears to have caught everyone by surprise, including me. I didn’t think a family-friendly platformer starring a cutesy robot would be the best-reviewed game of the year so far, and yet here we are. I say that not because I don’t like the game, but rather because it’s so different from everything publisher Sony has put out over the last couple of years.

When you think of Sony and PlayStation Studios, you think of narrative-driven experiences with mature themes, high production value cinematics, cutting-edge gameplay, and photo-realistic visuals. Astro Bot doesn’t fit that mold, and is instead a throwback to what I think is a dying breed of games that put fun factor above everything else.

I’ve played about three hours of the game, and like I said in my first impressions, this is Sony’s answer to Nintendo’s Mario. It’s a platformer that gets almost, if not, everything right. The traversal mechanics and controls are tight; the puzzles are intricate and inventive; and the difficulty hits that perfect middle ground between punishing and easy.

But for me, the best part so far has been how Astro Bot celebrates games and franchises across PlayStation’s history.

Each level in Astro Bot features a unique mechanic that might play into the traversal, puzzle-solving, and combat in different ways. One level has Astro strapping a rocket booster to his back to gain an air-dash ability, while another has him donning spring-loaded gloves to stretch his arms and punch enemies from afar.

I’ve played through these levels previously when I went hands-on with a demo build of the game, so they didn’t wow me as much as they did the first time. They’re great levels, don’t get me wrong; it’s just that I was more excited to play one specific level — a level themed to an iconic PlayStation franchise that Sony teased during that same hands-on session. I’m referring to the God of War level, called Bot of War in the second galaxy of the game.

The level, like all the others, has its own unique mechanic. Here, Astro meets Kratos Bot, becomes the God of…ur, sorry, I mean the Bot of War, and wields the Leviathan Axe. This outfit for Astro allows him to perform basic and charged melee attacks using the axe. He can also throw it and summon it back, the same way Kratos does in the God of War games, which is very cool.

I love that the level’s collectibles and puzzles have you using the axe this way.

For example, there are eight of Odin’s Ravens that you have to hit scattered throughout the level. Most of them are perched in far-off reaches that you can’t reach, so you have to lock on to them and throw the Leviathan Axe. It’s a fun little side activity lifted directly from the God of War games, and you’re rewarded with a trophy for finding all of the ravens.

There are also platforming puzzles that make good use of the Leviathan Axe mechanic. One section requires you to throw the axe at waterspouts to freeze them and make them traversable. Anyone who’s played God of War and God of War Ragnarök should be familiar with such puzzles.

The level itself is also designed to resemble Midgard, one of the ancient Scandinavian settings of the new God of War games. As you play, you venture through icy landscapes and marvel at Norse architecture, which all do a bang-up job of capturing the breathtaking scale of God of War’s environments. Even the World Serpent, Jörmungandr, makes a brief appearance.

Oh, the level also culminates in an epic boss fight with Nidhög. Yes, Níðhögg from God of War Ragnarök is in Astro Bot, except here, he’s a robot hog (Hog, get it?), not a dragon-like being.

It’s these goofy nods and easter eggs that make the special themed levels of the game so much more rewarding and fun for PlayStation fans. So far, I’ve only played through two – this and the Ape Escape level – but they’ve both been standouts. There’s supposed to be three more in the game, and I’m really excited to play them now. – Rappler.com