Francis ParcoEver since Astro Bot‘s launch last month, one of the game’s highlights is rescuing, among the AR Bots, numerous VIP Bots dressed up as PlayStation characters. Unlike in the free tech demo game, Astro’s Playroom, where the bots dressed up as PlayStation characters served as cameos, Team Asobi went a step further in the sequel and got Astro Bot to borrow their weapons and transform into those VIP Bots.
Astro Bot sees a total of five VIP Bot levels that follow after defeating a specific boss in each galaxy. Astro rescues those VIP Bots and it is then where players have Astro become those special bots and play a dedicated level recreating the style of each VIP Bot’s game. From the niche and somewhat obscure PS gems to more recent icons, here is my ranking of the five VIP Bot levels. Quick disclaimer: Each level is excellent in their own right, so the lower rank a level has doesn’t mean it’s worse than the next one.
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5. Apes On The Loose
This is the first of the five VIP Bot levels in Astro Bot. Apes On The Loose is a recreation of the 1999 Japan Studio game Ape Escape. The overall gist of the game is a human named Spike is tasked with using a high-tech net to catch runaway apes that had their intelligence insanely enhanced. While Spike’s sword from the original game is absent, Astro is still able to use his Ape detector to locate all the loose apes. Ape Escape’s iconic sequence where the camera spins around you at the moment each Ape is caught also gets recreated here.
Despite a personal lack of experience playing any of the Ape Escape games, the music sounds very energetic and hectic, and something that you may hear in the classic games. Also despite certain Ape characters being more difficult to catch than others due to their varying speeds, this level is a great start that sets the bar for the following VIP Bot levels as well as for the rest of the game.
4. Machine Learning
This level is a recreation of the Guerrilla Games title Horizon: Zero Dawn… although Aloy’s outfit and especially the overall city ruins seemingly point to the sequel Forbidden West. The Horizon franchise has been another game(s) successfully recreated. Astro’s enemies take inspiration from the chariot machines the Horizon games are known for, Aloy’s slow motion focused aiming gets passed on to Astro, and even the iconic Longneck cameos (albeit not nearly as tall). The cherry on top is the remix of the unmistakable Horizon theme — The Strength to Stand Alone.
Just like an upcoming entry on this list, hearing the Horizon theme’s vocals starting at Aloy’s appearance following the Falcon McFly boss fight brought the goosebumps out. A couple of extra nice touches are to see hologram AR Bots and to have Lance Reddick’s Sylens be among the bots rescued in this level. Continue to rest in peace, Mr. Reddick. Horizon fans won’t forget you, and neither will Team Asobi. Fans will also see if next month’s Lego Horizon Adventures will debut Sylense in minifigure form.
3. Going Loco
Going Loco might as well be the visual personification of “butterflies and rainbows,” judging the world design alone. LocoRoco may be a very unexpected title to create a dedicated level with… but after finding out about this somewhat obscure/forgotten PSP game through Astro’s Playroom, why not have a level recreating LocoRoco? It’s definitely a unique game compared to Horizon and others, with the DualSense Controller’s motion controls recreating LocoRoco’s camera tilting game mechanic. Also, how about the earworm that is the level music? If you look closely during the cutscenes, you may even spot a frog-looking creature conducting the music.
Those who grew up playing LocoRoco since 2006 should find themselves more than delighted to hear the game’s theme make a return since the 2017 PS4 remaster. Unfortunately, this theme is among few songs to curiously not be included in the official Astro Bot Soundtrack, whether via the Digital Deluxe upgrade or Spotify/Amazon Music. Regardless, considering this level could be many gamers’ first introduction to LocoRoco hopefully this won’t be the last to see these colorful, cheerful blobs.
2. Bot Of War
Admittedly, the remaining levels on this list could have been a tie. Yet, the God of War recreation — Bot Of War — takes this spot. The core identity of (particularly) the GOW 2018 reboot are faithfully recreated here, going from tossing and freezing enemies with Kratos’s Leviathan Axe, an Astro Bot enemy standing in as the dead corpse of a frost giant impaled by his own chisel, and even Astro instantly growing his own Kratos beard. Not to mention, the “Bot Of War: Ragnabot” easter egg oddly being played on a PlayStation 2 (perhaps the one reference to the franchise’s classic trilogy). And not to forget, the World Serpent makes its return as well, though comparable in size to Horizon’s Longneck.
While not being that much familiar with the GOW theme song, a stroke of genius composer Kenny Young had in remixing the theme is playfully implementing the “BOY” meme at the beat drops. Talk about fan service being done in a simple way. Maybe with this level, Team Asobi is preparing GOW fans ahead of the franchise’s 20-year anniversary next year.
1. Dude Raiding
The Naughty Dog franchise remains with the top spot among the VIP Bot levels, slightly edging out Bot Of War. The level’s title is a playful reference to the 2006 reveal of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune when the game received comparisons to Tomb Raider. Uncharted, specifically the sequel Among Thieves, has been a personal favorite PS franchise since buying the first sequel around 2012 and downloading the demo the year prior. Speaking of Among Thieves, did you know that Sunday October 13 marked the sequel’s 15-year anniversary?
While it would’ve been a nice extra touch to recreate Uncharted’s cover system in this level, at least the Nathan Drake Bot demonstrates shooting and hiding behind cover during the level’s opening cutscene. Shooting your way through the jungle reminiscent of Drake’s Fortune was made even more giddy with hearing the remix of Greg Edmondson’s Uncharted Theme, bringing goosebumps just like in Machine Learning. Hopefully one day Naughty Dog can take a breather from The Last of Us and revisit their modern Indiana Jones-esc icon for at least one more game. Until then, Dude Raiding may fill in for now as a mini-Uncharted 5 or another spin-off after The Lost Legacy.
What do you think? Which VIP Bot level do you like the most? Let us know below!