PS5's upcoming platformer Astro Bot is less than two weeks away, and ever since its announcement back in May, it's looked utterly delightful. After having played a portion of it at Summer Game Fest, we can confidently say it is exactly that. Still, it's one thing hearing it from us, and quite another to get feedback from one of the most intelligent minds in video games: Mark Cerny.
Speaking in a rapid-fire interview with MinnMax's Ben Hanson, Team Asobi creative director Nicolas Doucet mentions Cerny's thoughts on Astro Bot, and it has us more confident in the cutesy platformer than ever. PlayStation's lead hardware architect, and a veteran game designer, played the PS5 exclusive title, and his feedback was simple.
"He played it recently, and he put the controller down, and he said, 'Now this is a game'," Doucet recalls. Cerny did provide other advice concerning "very deep technology stuff" and "optimisation", but it seems that he has no notes for the game itself. You can't ask for much better than that.
It's worth watching the whole interview, as there are other small, fun details to pick out. For example, the game will include a viewer mode so you can admire all the VIP bots you've discovered; Doucet loves Capcom's PS2 action game God Hand; and Astro Bot may have references to The Legend of Dragoon and Dark Cloud, but maybe not Okage: Shadow King.