Copyright XDA Developers
It's hard to believe we're already five years into this console generation. Due to a confluence of factors like the COVID-19 pandemic, the fact that some games are still releasing on PS4 and Xbox One, and inconsistent first-party game rollouts from Sony and Microsoft, time has flown by. As Polygon has keenly pointed out, the vibes have been off this generation, and we're likely closer to the end of this console generation than the start of it. As such, I've been reflecting on the games that stand out the most to me from the past five years. On PS5, one title stands out above the rest for me: Astro's Playroom. This PS5 pack-in is smaller than your average game and has since been followed up on by a more ambitious sequel. Yet, no game feels as tailor-made for the PS5 as this one. As such, Astro's Playroom is still my favorite game of the console generation, and it'll likely stay that way. Astro's Playroom goes beyond the expectations of a tech demo It teaches you about the PS5 while being a whole lot of fun Astro's Playroom takes what should be a simple tech demo and expands it into a compact but entertaining 3D platforming adventure. In it, players control the adorable robotic Astro Bot, who was cemented as a PlayStation mascot following this game. The entire game is supposed to be taking place within your PS5, with each of the game's four worlds being a different piece of the console. It's a cute way to teach players of all ages what mechanical components like the GPU or SSD do. While this approach might seem gimmicky, it actively made me curious about the technology powering the console and what it could enable developers to deliver over the course of the generation. That catchy GPU song is also still stuck in my head five years later. On top of that, Astro's Playroom highlighted all the enhancements the DualSense controller brought. I remember being stunned the first time I skated on ice or walked through rain in one of Astro's Playroom's levels and felt the unique haptic feedback vibration for it. Then there were the frog and monkey suits, whose unique controls helped me understand how the DualSense's gyroscope and adaptive triggers work. I'm a sucker for an impressive, interactive tech demo, and Astro's Playroom delivered on that front. While most tech demos don't feel like full games, this one did. It may be smaller than your average 3D platformer, but its time trials and wealth of collectibles gave me reason to return to the game a few times a year in the half-decade since the PS5's launch. Some new content has been added over that time too, so I'd recommend booting the game back up if you haven't played since 2020. Astro's Playroom is a time capsule for the start of this console generation It's the celebration PlayStation needed at the start of the PS5 era Another reason Astro's Playroom stood out is that it feels like a celebration of PlayStation's entire history. One of its main collectibles rewards players with models of PlayStation hardware throughout the years. In levels, I could find Astro Bot-ified versions of video game characters. I loved seeing franchises like Ape Escape and Infamous represented on PS5 from the generation's start, even if we still haven't got new games or remasters from either series in the years since. It felt like Sony suggesting that the return of any gaming franchise was on the table during the PS5 generation. That ultimately hasn't turned out to be the case, with Sony mostly doubling down on its biggest IP while testing the waters with the likes of Returnal and Concord, to mixed success. Astro's Playroom maintains an innocence of sorts from before that all played out, though. In the five years since, the only PS5 game to match that feeling is Astro Bot, Astro's Playroom's full-priced follow-up. While I adore Astro Bot, which delivered more of a good thing, a part of me still favors the constrained charm of Astro's Playroom. It's intentionally more experimental with its use of the DualSense and felt like an educational introduction to the PS5 and PlayStation brand at large. Games like Returnal, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and God of War: Ragnarok have come and gone, impressing me with their visuals and use of the PS5's unique features. Still, none visualized them and made me feel like I was experiencing them in the way Astro's Playroom did. As such, I still have a soft spot for this quaint pack-in game five years after its release. Astro's Playroom might not be the best PS5 game, but it's my favorite This game will forever be intrinsically tied to this console generation There have been better PS5 games released over the past five years. Despite that, no PS5 game feels more in tune with the hardware than Astro's Playroom. Because it's doubling as a pack-in game and tech demo, Astro's Playroom really had to go out of its way to show what the DualSense and PS5 could do.
