I was initially hesitant to the idea of virtual reality in gaming, mainly because I didn’t think we were quite ready yet for such a dramatic leap into the future. While a few games have come out in the past that have proved me wrong – namely the extraordinary VR chills of Resident Evil 7 and the delightful Moss – I haven’t grown attached to VR, and I do have myself to blame for that. However, Japan Studio's Astro Bot: Rescue Mission came along and made me look at the peripheral in a different light; not just at how spectacularly implemented the VR experience is in the game, but just how moved I was about a story involving Lemmings-like robots on a desperate mission to save their fellow bumbling, yet adorable comrades.



Astro Bot: Rescue Mission takes us to the far reaches of space, and follows a crew of Astro Bots merrily travelling through the galaxy while dancing and jumping for joy (I cannot emphasize enough just how adorable and awesome they are). Suddenly, an alien threat attacks their ship and scatters the little robots on various worlds. It’s now up to you and Captain Astro to travel to these worlds and rescue all of them.

The plot might be simplistic in nature, but you really shouldn’t expect The Witcher 3 storytelling going into a platformer revolving around galactic chibi-robots. The premise is simple and creative enough to propel the gameplay along at a good pace. In total, you’ll travel to five worlds, each containing a handful of levels and objectives to complete while locating your missing crew. Some of these bots are deceptively hard to find, especially in levels designed to toy with your perception and harness the full perks of the virtual reality experience.

The premise is simple and creative enough to propel the gameplay along at a good pace.

The gameplay is essentially structured like your typical platformer except it utilizes the PSVR in very creative ways. You’re not just controlling Captain Astro around a level; you’re an integral part of it, meaning enemies take notice of you as much as they can see your little buddy. This also leaves you, as the player, open to attack. At first, I found this infuriating, especially when you’re tasked with maneuvering Captain Astro around dangerous platforming sections while also trying to dodge goo being flung at your face – an easy fix since you can actively shake your head to remove the obstacle from your vision, though I managed to dislodge the headset from my head more than once doing this.



Rest assured, the game does give you a few ways to fight back against enemies. Your controller sometimes acts as a grappling hook which not only pulls obstructions down for Captain Astro, but also provides you with neat weapons, like shurikens, to fling at enemies using the touchpad. The aiming is often a hit or miss when it comes to timing your shots just right, but the controls were reactive enough that it didn’t take me more than a few tries to really get a good flow going. Some sections can be deceptively challenging, especially when bombarded by a handful of enemies at once in particularly tricky puzzle/platforming areas, but it demands players be quick enough to zip around the environment while keeping an eye out for potential danger. Admittedly, this introduced a level of urgency to each stage, and constantly kept me on my toes.

Some sections can be deceptively challenging, especially when bombarded by a handful of enemies at once in particularly tricky puzzle/platforming areas

The PSVR is used to its full potential, especially considering the dimensional space that the gameplay occupies. You existing in the game – not as an overlord like most VR games promote – means that the world effectively reacts to your presence. You’ll have to look around corners, walls, and various obstacles by actually moving your head to peer around the environment. It’s a clever way to immerse one in the worlds, but also take advantage of VR technology in a way that feels organic. This also builds on your relationship with Captain Astro, who you can engage with in the three-dimensional space like a living, breathing (well, figuratively) organism. I ended up loving the mascot and getting attached to him as if he actually existed. Good on you, Japan Studio.



Astro Bot: Rescue Mission surprised me in almost every conceivable way. It made me a firm believer in the power of PSVR by using all of its features creatively and to great advantages. While some aspects do take some getting used to, such as the jarring controls and constant demand to observe both Captain Astro and your own surroundings, it all eventually clicks and you’re taken for a wild ride into some brilliant, imaginative worlds with wonderful characters. PSVR has a new champion title.