A giant robotic frown is the first thing you see while flying behind Astro Bot into a droopy, rain-stricken tropical island. A handful of glowing purple locks hold the colossal metal creature to the ground. Destroy them, and the entire world around glows with transformation.
Free Big Brother–a standout Astro Bot planet–sees a level transform with emotion. Beginning as a darker tribute to Shadow of the Colossus, it evolves into the epitome of platforming joy that rivals exploring the sunkissed secrets of Super Mario Sunshine’s Delfino Plaza. Raindrops grow fewer and fewer before the colossal and friendly creature becomes the final stages of the level itself.
Whether it’s Ape Escape or Uncharted, Astro Bot is adept at recreating the feelings that the franchises it showcases made us feel. The adrenaline of ruin-destroying gun battles or the awe inspired by the scale of a toy-sized Jörmungandr are both apparent, even if the feelings only last for a few moments.
Free Big Brother achieves something even more impressive, imbuing the somber themes of Shadow of the Colossus into a platformer that elicits nothing but smiles, and still makes that sadness feel genuine.
As soon as Astro Bot, complete with his umbrella hat, touches the sand, the main goal is to destroy each lock holding Big Brother down as soon as possible. The gigantic mech pulls at your heartstrings as it struggles and groans as each lock cracks. Exploring every nook and cranny of this island isn’t a priority: Saving Big Brother comes before all else.
PlayStation fans will immediately recognize the somberness as a tribute to Team Ico, the creators of Shadow of the Colossus. Images of Wander, Mono, Dormin, and the 16 colossi come flashing in as soon as reality sets in.
It felt fitting to see a piece so clearly inspired by Fumito Ueda, especially as Team Ico used to work alongside Team Asobi before a Japan Studios merger in 2021. Some of the Japan Studio developers were “re-centered” around Team Asobi. Of the 69 credited developers who worked on Astro Bot, one worked on Shadow of the Colossus and 12 worked on The Last Guardian, Team Ico’s last game before many of its developers joined Ueda at his new studio.
This crossover is part of the reason all these tributes feel so incredible. Besides the fact that studios like Naugthy Dog and Santa Monica Studio consulted on the sections that paid tribute to their games, developers who worked on Ape Escape, Gran Turismo 5, Knack, and other games are all credited as developers on Astro Bot. The tributes feel wonderful because some of the people who created the originals created the tributes.
As soon as Big Brother is freed, the titanic metal man wades out into the ocean as fresh sunlight begins to soak the island. Once the tropical locale has been explored, he beckons Astro Bot to join him in the water. Astro Bot then ascends the limbs, neck, and head of Big Brother as the entire island comes into view on the horizon.
The sunlight, view, and music come together–combined with the natural fun of just navigating the tiny robot around a unique space–to create the best moment in Astro Bot.
It feels especially joyful now that we know that Ueda has been working on a successor of sorts at his new company, GenDesign. He, along with many former members of Team Ico, recently showcased their untitled new project at The Game Awards.
The magic in Astro Bot is that it’s more than 50 levels, which packs over 15 hours of gameplay time, and still feels incredibly brief. There are dozens of moments with something as meaningful as that somberness found in Free Big Brother, although nothing reaches the emotional peak that the Team Ico tribute does. Each moment is short, sweet, and leaves you wanting a whole lot more.
”Having something that’s 12 to 15 hours of condensed fun, where there wasn’t five minutes in which you felt it was long or lacking, is much more valuable than 40 hours when you have some moments that you feel like skipping,” said Astro Bot creative direct Nicolas Doucet in an interview with Bloomberg.
Free Big Brother stands out in that 15 hours because of the brief sadness experienced. It’s unlike anything else in Team Asobi’s adventure. The combination of a narrative beautifully woven into level design, a genuine tribute to a beloved franchise, and fantastic moment-to-moment gameplay makes it one of the standout moments of 2024.
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