Astro Bot Only Goes Underwater Once, But Makes It Count

It's tough to pick a favourite level in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Astro Bot. They're all so rich with new areas to explore, and I'll probably need to play the whole game over again (oh, go on then!) before settling on an official number one. But right now, the level that stands out the most is Bubbling Under. This underwater paradise sees you rescue a giant Starfish by breaking locks trapped in various places, and has a more open zone feel than most other stages, but what really makes it special is your penguin backpack.

Across six zones and a bunch of hidden levels within them, this is the only time you get the penguin backpack, which helps make it feel so special. Bubbling Under is not alone in this, either. Downsize Surprise is the only time you get to shrink yourself down as small as a mouse. Bathhouse Battle is the only time Astro Bot becomes a mighty sponge. Final Encore, the last level of them all, is the only time you can manipulate platforms with the cymbals. And then there are the five hero levels at the end of each main zone, which let you become various 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:PlayStation icons, complete with their powers, for a single advent꧟ure.

Astro Bot's Powers Transform Each Level

I loved some of the powers that came back too, of course. The bulldog dash was always a joy to unlock. But there is something to admire in the confidence of🐬 a gam💝e that gives you a great gimmick and then parks it for something else. However, it can be easy to write that as a critic. A game having confidence means very little to your average player if this is unfounded arrogance. What makes Astro Bot special is that every part is a joy. The powers we only get once feel fully explored and indelibly tied to their levels, and the powers we use over and over get to test us in new ways.

Collage of Astro Bot using Slo-Mo, Squid Balloon, and Monkey Swing power ups.

168澳洲幸运༒5开奖网: Every Power In Astro Bot, Ranked

We rank al🌌l the different powers you can ▨use in Astro Bot.

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It's not just the powers themselves either - so many of the levels do new things as well. Much like Bubbling Under, Free Big Brother involved breaking a series of locks in order to progress. But here, rather than unlocking the waterfall that takes us to the finish line, we have to climb Big Brother like a kaiju - we even rescue the Wanderer from 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Shadow of the Colossus while we climb. It's the only time we ever spend this long going straight vertical, and that's another example of the depth of Astro Bot's level design. The theme is not the only thing that changes, as is the case in other platformers. Every level feels like its own universe.

Bubbling Under Is Astro Bot's Most Impressive Level

There are other games that, if they struck magic with the underwater physics, the gorgeous aesthetics, and the level design opportunities of the penguin backpack, they would have dug down deep and exhausted it. There is a curse to Team Asobi's way of doing things - I would have loved a second underwater level as well. But it will make Bubbling Under so much sweeter on a replay to know that this is the one and only chance we get.

With secrets hidden in pirate ships, podiums above the water, a fresh approach to combat, and vacuum bubbles of dry land to rest in, it's a completely different approach to the linear challenges faced in most other levels. Downsize Surprise shares that design philosophy too - while there is a larger sense of progression here, it's mostly wandering around a very cramped space (that becomes much larger when shrank down). Mixing 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Mario Galaxy with Spyro with this blend of༺ open linearity across the game, Astro Bot takes its seat at the ta🀅ble with platforming greats.

Part of what gets in there is the willingness to take powers away even as players are still enjoying them, because it can always replace it with something equally good, maybe better. There are a few linear contenders for my favourite𝐆 level: Dude Raiding, Slo Mo Casino, Djinny of the Lamp. But none will feel as special on a replay a few months from now as Bubbling Under.