Sony’s Team Asobi studio recently releasedAstro Botas a PlayStation 5 exclusive, and it is blowing players away. Not only does it represent a level of love for PlayStation’s classic franchises that some felt had gone away over the past few years,Astro Botis also a fantastic 3D platformer in its own right. Drawing many comparisons to theSuper Mario Galaxygames,Astro Bothas already solidified itself as a must-buy PS5 title, and many hope that its success changes Sony’s approach to its legacy IPs in the future.
It’s hard to viewAstro Botin a vacuum right now, unfortunately, as the title has come hot on the heels of perhaps the most controversial period in the PlayStation 5’s life so far.Concordwas un-released just two weeks after its launch, the PS5 Pro was revealed to an exceptionally negative reception, and, to top it all off, Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki claimed that Sony is lacking in original IP whileAstro Botlaunched with the opposite message. Not only doesAstro Botput almost every PlayStation and PlayStation-associated IP on display, it gives a few special treatment — though the oldest of these risks stagnation if it doesn’t get a comeback soon.
Astro Bot Gives Some PlayStation Franchises A Bigger Spotlight
Near the end of each galaxy inAstro Bot, Astro defeats a major boss andrescues a special VIP Bot. These Bots lend Astro their appearance and powers in the next thematically appropriate level, where Astro reclaims a piece of the Mothership. In order of appearance, these VIP Bots are:
BesidesUnchartedandLocoRoco’s release order being reversed, these Bots hail from leading first-party franchises released on the PS1, PS2, PS3, PSP, and PS4, respectively. It’s a celebration of PlayStation’s historical successes — or at least, it’s supposed to be.
Ape Escape Is Astro Bot’s Odd one Out
While a PlayStation Portable or Playstation Vita representative was likely going to be niche no matter what,Ape Escapestands out as the PS1 choice. For as much as it deserves to represent Sony’s efforts on the PS1,Ape Escapearguably fell out of relevancebeforeLocoRocoeven debuted in 2006. While the series continued getting games up until 2010’sPlayStation Move Ape Escape, and enjoyed occasional cameos afterward, the last mainline title was 2005’sApe Escape 3, and that was the last timeApe Escapetruly felt like a relevant first-party PlayStation series.
Ape Escape Has A Chance, But Not For Long
Getting a wholeAstro Botlevel with mostly-faithful mechanics and aesthetics meansApe Escapeis far from dead, but it needs to do something if it wants to stay that way. As passionate as legacy fans may be, their love isn’t going to rub off on multiple new generations that got into gaming afterApe Escapebecame a relic from PlayStation’s early days. The theme uniting the franchises with crossover levels inAstro BotmeansApe Escapeshould never feel too out of place, but to ensure it wouldn’t have been better off replaced by another Sony PS1 property likePaRappa the Rapper,Twisted Metal, orWild Arms, it needs to justify itself.
Where Ape Escape Should Go Next
Hopefully, that’s exactly what’s in the cards forApe Escape. Even if it was the best PS1 option to recreate withinAstro Bot’s gameplay, it’s not hard to look at theApe Escapelevel and see it as a prototype for a full game. While many would like to seeTeam Asobi continue with theAstro Botfranchise, revivingApe Escapefeels both within its ability and within its interest. More lower-budget single-player games is exactly what the PS5 needs right now, and continuing that trend with what could be the bestApe Escapegame would be the perfect move afterAstro Bot.
