The Playstation 5 (Ps5) was originally released on Nov. 12, 2020. Upon its release, this system came with one pre-downloaded title, namely, Astro’s Playroom. This was a small platformer meant to showcase and explain some of the features of the new DualSense Wireless Controllers. This game was many players’ first introduction to the Astrobot universe which had been originally created by TeamASOBI back in 2018.
This title was largely underappreciated by the general public as it was a free release with the console, causing it to be disregarded by many fans who had bought the system for other games, or completely missed by gamers who had not acquired a Ps5.
Later, in 2024, TeamASOBI released their third and most recent title in the Astro Bot series, simply entitled Astro Bot. This game was the first in the series to be released simply as its own project and not as a means to demonstrate a new feature of a Playstation project. Because of this, many players were surprised by how well-made the game was. Video game journalist Rus Frushtik went as far as to call it, “the best platformer of all time,” in his podcast The Besties, a sentiment many critics felt as though they could agree with.
The impressive amount of critical acclaim led Astro Bot to win Game of the Year (GOTY) at the 2024 Video Game Awards. This ended up being a controversial pick as, not only were many gamers unable to play the title as it was a Ps5 exclusive, but a few confused it with its less impressive predecessors in the series, viewing it as unworthy of the title of GOTY.
Perhaps the most indignant fans were those who believed that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth should have won the award. This game was the newest installment in a long-running series that originated in 1987 with Final Fantasy, and had earned many committed fans over the years. Additionally, this game could be played both on Ps5 and on Windows PC, making it more accessible to general audiences, many of whom game primarily on PCs.
Many individuals called for games that were only released on a single console to be disqualified because not everyone could play them, while even more argued that the award should be entirely up to an audience poll rather than the 90% jury vote and 10% audience vote that has been used in the past.
Even more prevalent than the angered individuals were those who simply felt disappointed by the options that 2024 had left them with. Coming off of the high of 2023, a huge videogame year with releases such as Tears of the Kingdom and Baldur’s Gate III, a large number of gamers simply felt as though no 2024 release was particularly exciting.
All of these arguments completely ignored the actual game that Astro Bot was, instead complaining about the rules and technicalities of the award ceremonies. This game was a passion project created by a previously unknown studio over the course of several years and millions of dollars.
“We’ve spent three years creating Astro Bot for both long-time PlayStation fans and new players, so please take your time and enjoy every nook and cranny of the game,” Studio Head of TeamASOBI Nicolas Doucet said.
In a world where most movies are sequels and the majority of popular video games are one in a huge series, a unique title like Astro Bot winning GOTY 2024 does not represent the problems with the Video Game Awards, but instead the best parts of the ceremony: featuring creators for their work, not their reputations.