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Astrobot is the first thing to give me the same feeling of two-factor since the jump from 2D to 3D with PS1/N64.

WarpSpeedMolasses

WarpSpeedMolasses

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,396
I don't mean to make this sound like videogames have been lame prior to VR. (The last two years or so have been so great). But, playing Astrobot in VR really feels like a leap forward we haven't had in a loooooong time.

I know people have praised it before, but it can't be said enough. VR certainly still has issues (barrier of entry, image fuzziness, finicky PSEye), but all of these (except maybe price point) feel like nitpicky, small issues when a game like Astrobot shows what can be achieved in the medium. (Playing it also made me wonder what Nintendo could make in an open 3D Mario if they were chasing VR).

I can't wait to see all these kinks ironed out, and hopefully an Astrobot 2 down the line. If you can afford the investment but on the fence, take the plunge now!

EDIT:

Wow-factor, not two-factor. Thanks autocorrect.
 
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Raijinto

Raijinto

self-requested ban
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
10,091
Two-factor lol thought something had been hacked for a second.

But yeah that Astro Bot. Decent game, would prefer it without VR though personally.
 
NotLiquid

NotLiquid

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
34,752
I fear playing this game because I'm certain that those VR headsets are equipped with a mind mixer of some sorts encouraging players to make a thread on Era about how great it is
 

Deleted member 10737

User requested account closure
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Oct 27, 2017
49,774
WarpSpeedMolasses said:
Wow-factor, not two-factor. Thanks autocorrect.
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that reminds me, i need to turn on two factor on a bunch of my accounts

NotLiquid said:
I fear playing this game because I'm certain that those VR headsets are equipped with a mind mixer of some sorts encouraging players to make a thread on Era about how great it is
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maybe the game is just a legit great and impressive game for the people who play it?
 
DennyDifferent

DennyDifferent

Member
Oct 27, 2017
284
Rotherham, England
Raijinto said:
Two-factor lol thought something had been hacked for a second.

But yeah that Astro Bot. Decent game, would prefer it without VR though personally.
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I really can't see how it would work without VR. The beauty of it being in VR is that you're actually in control of two characters simultaneously, yourself and Astro Bot. So Astro Bot can be doing one thing while you're flinging hookshots around or headbutting enemies etc.
 
Ravelle

Ravelle

Member
Oct 31, 2017
17,764
Agreed, it felt like playing Mario 64 and Mario 3D Land for the first time, people keep asking if we're overselling the game but the game's really THAT special from the moment you boot it up and load in that first level.

Raijinto said:
Two-factor lol thought something had been hacked for a second.

But yeah that Astro Bot. Decent game, would prefer it without VR though personally.
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You loose your debt perception, I had to guide my parents through the levels explaining them the controls and mechanics and just looking at the tv was rough because platforms, places in which you can go in to disappear because you lack dept perception.
 
MrFrankFontaine

MrFrankFontaine

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,038
Having a Rift makes it hard for me to step down to the PSVR. However, Sony has some great exclusives. I'm hopeful for a PS5/PSVR2 launch that has some backwards compatibility so I can enjoy some of these exclusives.
 
Vipu

Vipu

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
2,276
Same thing for me when I went from 60hz screens to 144hz+ screens, there is just no going back.
 
Sidewinder

Sidewinder

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,182
Astro BOTY!

I completely agree with you OP, VR and especially Astro Bot is a real leap forward in gaming which I haven't witnessed in quite some time. Fortunately I can still enjoy playing games on my small 2D screen too.

Outstanding achievement Team Asobi, Astro Bot 2 needs to happen someday, if Knack can do it, then so can Astro!



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Equanimity

Equanimity

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,991
London
Sidewinder said:
Astro BOTY!

I completely agree with you OP, VR and especially Astro Bot is a real leap forward in gaming which I haven't witnessed in quite some time. Fortunately I can still enjoy playing games on my small 2D screen too.

Outstanding achievement Team Asobi, Astro Bot 2 needs to happen someday, if Knack can do it, then so can Astro!



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Shuhei Yoshida's love for VR and his role as the president of world wide studios, I believe we'll most definitely see a sequel.
 
Tusken77

Tusken77

Member
Oct 27, 2017
730
England, United Kingdom
I feel that way too, OP. I completed the game last night (World 5's boss is ridiculously impressive), and the future is so exciting. ASOBI! Team must've learned so much valuable stuff during development of Astro Bot. The expansion of their ideas coupled with the improvements in hardware (PS5 and PSVR2) for the inevitable sequel is fascinating to think about. If Astro Bot to Astro Bot 2 is anything like the Uncharted to Uncharted 2 leap then it'll blow minds.
 
Kyuuji

Kyuuji

The Favonius Fox
Member
Nov 8, 2017
32,041
I plan to play Astro Bot soon but for me I already had that feeling with RE7 in VR. I've said it before but its affect was so strong that the question went from "do I want to play this game again" to "do I want to go back into the house again". Eventually that became a no just because of how unnerving and scary it was, but I would recommend anyone that can play it does, because the experience itself was one apart from any game I'd played before it. Physically turning around in the corridor to see the door you entered through now closed, leaning around corners and being able to physically lean over and look at objects to inspect them in more detail and/or see around them,. These, and many others like them - like the fantastic audio, are things that elevated it beyond just playing a game to experiencing one in such a large fashion that, as you say, it really is like the leap from 2D into 3D.

Even Bound captured me in a way that 'flat' (and I dislike the way the term is used derogatively) games simply couldn't before. If VR weren't a thing and I'd played Bound I'd likely be praising it and its art direction. I'd have had a great time with it and found it a good experience for what I knew was possible. Experiencing it in VR just takes it to another level though, to the point where you're not just witnessing the art direction but are wrapped up in it and interacting with it. VR transforms some games in a way that's hard to articulate with words outside of the standard phrases like 'atmosphere', 'immersion' and 'sense of scale' that have been so well trodden (and rightly so) in traditional games before VR, that they don't seem to quite match the depth of what's being described.

I had always thought VR sounded really neat and wanted to try it some day but wasn't actively looking to jump in, but found myself fortunate enough to receive a PSVR as a present from a friend. It blew me away instantly (I started with the Astro Bot demo) and it really does open you up to the potential for what games could become. That's not in place of traditional games, and certainly wouldn't be suitable in everything (I don't see God of War being improved by it for example), but it really does make you aware of just how good some concepts could be with it and how much it can enhance the player experience.

Will be playing Astro Bot in the coming weeks and, judging by the reception and this OP, I only think it'll serve to strength those opinions on VR. Not simply because it's been a bit since I last played the PSVR and every time I come back after a break it's always even better than I remembered.
 
Sidewinder

Sidewinder

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,182
Equanimity said:
Shuhei Yoshida's love for VR and his role as the president of world wide studios, I believe we'll most definitely see a sequel.
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Astro Bot 2 is pretty much a done deal, with all the praise it got from critics and gamers alike, but maybe they have some other idea they want to work on next, we'll see. Are there any recent Team Asobi interviews floating around, maybe they talked about some future plans.
 
apocat

apocat

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,047
NotLiquid said:
I fear playing this game because I'm certain that those VR headsets are equipped with a mind mixer of some sorts encouraging players to make a thread on Era about how great it is
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I still haven't made a thread about it. That said, I believe I've posted in pretty much every single Astro Bot thread.

It really is as great as everyone is saying.

Join us.
 
DarthBuzzard

DarthBuzzard

Banned
Jul 17, 2018
5,122
Mechaplum said:
To everyone dog-piling Raijinto I think he has issues with VR, nausea and the like so it's more of a personal issue with the platform. I might be wrong though , and he does so love to pop into Astro Bot threads.
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That's fair if he isn't able to enjoy Astro Bot due to nausea, but it wouldn't work without VR as it would have to be a new game made as a spinoff, and just would never be as good as the original no matter what they do.
 
DarthBuzzard

DarthBuzzard

Banned
Jul 17, 2018
5,122
Kyuuji said:
That's not in place of traditional games, and certainly wouldn't be suitable in everything (I don't see God of War being improved by it for example), but it really does make you aware of just how good some concepts could be with it and how much it can enhance the player experience.
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God of War would be great in VR. Hellblade in VR was the definitive version and that used the same over-the-shoulder style camera. As long as a game is adapted correctly, VR generally becomes the best way to play.
 
Kyuuji

Kyuuji

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Member
Nov 8, 2017
32,041
DarthBuzzard said:
God of War would be great in VR. Hellblade in VR was the definitive version and that used the same over-the-shoulder style camera. As long as a game is adapted correctly, VR generally becomes the best way to play.
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Fair enough, I certainly wouldn't say no to seeing how it would play!
 
Equanimity

Equanimity

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,991
London
Sidewinder said:
Astro Bot 2 is pretty much a done deal, with all the praise it got from critics and gamers alike, but maybe they have some other idea they want to work on next, we'll see. Are there any recent Team Asobi interviews floating around, maybe they talked about some future plans.
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I hope you're right :)

I haven't come across any interviews, I'll share them if I do.
 
Nax

Nax

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Oct 10, 2018
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Damn. I gotta try this with how many threads it gets here.

I think I'm gunna wait, though. I've tried PSVR, Oculus, and Vive at this point. And the majority of the games ended up feeling like arcade experiences more than anything else. And the cord wrangling is a hassle. I'm hoping the next Playstation has wireless VR.
 
I Wanna Be The Guy

I Wanna Be The Guy

Member
Oct 28, 2017
16,773
I laughed at the first "Mario 64 moment" thing before Astro Bot released. Ridiculous statement.

Then I played it. Astro Bot is the real deal. VR is the real deal. I can't remember the last time a game wowed me the way Astro Bot did.
 
Tusken77

Tusken77

Member
Oct 27, 2017
730
England, United Kingdom
Nax said:
Damn. I gotta try this with how many threads it gets here.

I think I'm gunna wait, though. I've tried PSVR, Oculus, and Vive at this point. And the majority of the games ended up feeling like arcade experiences more than anything else. And the cord wrangling is a hassle. I'm hoping the next Playstation has wireless VR.
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Wireless is preferable, obviously, but I didn't have any issues at all throughout Astro Bot. The cord draped behind my left shoulder while I sat in a swivel chair to spin left or right and to look behind me. Worked perfectly. :)
 
Bjones

Bjones

Member
Oct 30, 2017
5,622
It's basically a Mario 64 rip off with a slight vr camera. Even the music of the first level sounds like a remix of a Mario song.

That's why everyone is comparing it to Mario.
 
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