Being someone who has owned every PlayStation console from way, way back, I've had decades to bask in the history of Sony's software offerings, from Gran Turismo, to Sly Cooper, to God of War and so on. And wouldn't you know, they just so happened to bundle each and every PS5 with a game meant to serve as a celebration of that legacy. And while on an objective level, the game is pretty good (I admit I had my fun with it, managed to platinum it in less than a day), playing through it left me feeling cold at times, as seeing all those references, created with a loving craft by the developers either growing up with, or being around for their development being relegated to only being as such when you figure out there's no easy and immediate way to get many of these games, anymore.
I'm not one to say that the game is itself half-hearted, but it's part of a larger problem for Sony, where, at least on the corporate side, they have trouble understanding that people either want to replay the games they grew up on, or for those just jumping into the ecosystem, want to see what they were like. Microsoft seems to do a good enough job with its back compat programme, as well as Game Pass allowing for its games to be played on local hardware (though given that BC is kind of MS's MO, that's not unexpected), as opposed to PS Now's PS3 based servers that can only last as long as they are functional, which, given that they no longer seem to produce the components required to keep the consoles running, probably won't be around for much longer. And with the rumours of them shutting down the stores for PS3 and Vita later this year, even the bare minimum of accessing old content is not enough for them. The less said about the PS Classic also, the better.
So yeah, Astro's Playroom. Pretty good platformer, but a hollow reminder of Sony's increasing dismissal of its past as something you can touch.
I'm not one to say that the game is itself half-hearted, but it's part of a larger problem for Sony, where, at least on the corporate side, they have trouble understanding that people either want to replay the games they grew up on, or for those just jumping into the ecosystem, want to see what they were like. Microsoft seems to do a good enough job with its back compat programme, as well as Game Pass allowing for its games to be played on local hardware (though given that BC is kind of MS's MO, that's not unexpected), as opposed to PS Now's PS3 based servers that can only last as long as they are functional, which, given that they no longer seem to produce the components required to keep the consoles running, probably won't be around for much longer. And with the rumours of them shutting down the stores for PS3 and Vita later this year, even the bare minimum of accessing old content is not enough for them. The less said about the PS Classic also, the better.
So yeah, Astro's Playroom. Pretty good platformer, but a hollow reminder of Sony's increasing dismissal of its past as something you can touch.
