Sony’s little robot that could is ready for his moment in the spotlight

Though he debuted in the PS4 era, Astro Bot has an element of PS5 product design about him. Like that console with its swappable covers, it leaves room for alternative looks

Do the clothes maketh the mascot? On the evidence of Astro Bot’s State Of Play announcement trailer, Sony certainly thinks so. In the space of three minutes, we spy variants of the diminutive platforming hero dressed up as no fewer than 12 different PlayStation characters, including the likes of Aloy, Kratos and Nathan Drake, the latter recognisable only by his quiff and perma-slouch – and you’ll find a few more besides scattered across this issue’s ten covers.

Astro, it seems, has been picked as the official celebrant for Sony’s 30th anniversary. Seeing him among all these familiar faces, the role immediately makes sense. In order for a character to represent not just their own series but a line of hardware, not to mention a thousands-strong multinational company, they need just the right mix of instantly recognisable specificity and blank canvas, ready to be repurposed and projected onto. Not really a role that can be filled by a white bloke with bad posture, however charming he might be. Sackboy, with a similar penchant for dressing up, has filled that role in the past, but all but disappeared from view in recent years. Could Astro Bot be the natural successor?

“If people feel that way, we’re really pleased, but it’s not for us to decide,” demurs Nicolas Doucet, creative director of Team Asobi, when we put the mascot question to him. “I don’t think that’s how mascots are built. It’s something that grows naturally – it’s up to the players to tell us.” We’re not sure Sony’s marketing department got that memo, given the State Of Play trailer. A cynic might wonder whether this suggests a lack of faith in the character’s ability to carry a game on his own, but Doucet insists the other characters’ inclusion wasn’t some top-down mandate – or even the original plan. “When we began this project, we thought, well, maybe we don’t need to retell the story of PlayStation after all,” he says. “You know, could this game be a great platformer by itself?” After some delightful time in Astro’s company, we needn’t demur over our answer: yes, absolutely.