My first memory of gaming was playing Nintendo, and that’s where I fell in love with the platforming genre. Ever since the Nintendo 64, I’ve always been drawn to platforming games, both 2D and 3D, and my love for the genre has only grown since. I’ve played so many Nintendo platformers, from Mario to Yoshi, to Donkey and Kirby, even Hey! Pikmin for the 3DS and while I love these games, I can no longer say Nintendo is king of the platformer. One game changed my perspective on platformers, and it isn’t a Nintendo game: it’s PlayStation and Team Asobi’s Astro Bot.
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And clearly, I’m not alone in thinking this. Astro Bot won game of year at the 2024 Video Game Awards. And there was incredibly stiff competition. Titles like Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Balatro, Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, and Black Myth: Wukong were Astro Bot’s rivals, and yet despite these incredible games being nominated, it was Sony’s 3D platforming title that captures this award.
My story with Astro Bot began in Astro Bot Rescue Mission and continued in Astro’s Playroom. I enjoyed both titles, but Astro’s Playroom solidified the series for me, but it was Astro Bot that ultimately overthrew Nintendo in my eyes. Don’t get me wrong, I still love a good Nintendo platformer, but looking back, I realize how safe Nintendo has played it with their games recently.
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I literally couldn’t put Astro Bot down. Even levels that featured power-ups I didn’t like (I’m looking at you, monkey arms), I loved every second of the game. Each level felt unique, focusing on a single power-up and designing each level around it. Compare this to something like Super Mario Odyssey which had me throwing my hat to grab powers from objects and enemies in the game. While similar, I could just tell how much attention and detail went into Astro Bot’s abilities and how the levels were built for them.
I loved Astro Bot so much so that it was the first game I platinumed. I went back and did a second playthrough, and jumped back in for every DLC level and DLC bot added. I competed with my friend and beat him for high scores on the speed run levels. I searched every nook and cranny of every level to find all the collectibles without using a guide because I wanted each moment in the game to be genuine.
Comparing my experience with Astro Bot and Super Mario Odyssey and I realized that Nintendo’s platformers weren’t doing it for me anymore. Even comparing it to Super Mario Wonder blew Nintendo out of the water. Both Super Mario Odyssey and Super Mario Bros. Wonder won Best Family Game of their respective years, 2017 and 2023, but Astro Bot won Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Action/Adventure Game, Best Family Game, and was nominated for Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music, and Best Audio Design.
Astro Bot was so good, fans believed it showed developers that there is a strong market for platformers, and they’re right. Developers are notorious for copying one another, and I have no doubt more will look at the 3D and 2D platforming genre and get to work. Astro Bot’s success has also led to other platformers getting more attention, leaving the genre is in a fantastic place for 2025.
Compare this to Super Mario Odyssey and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and it almost seemed like Nintendo’s two platformers came and went. I love both games, but neither had the same draw that Astro Bot did. As I said before, I went out of my way to get everything and complete all the challenges in Astro Bot, but I never did the same for Super Mario Odyssey and Super Mario Bros. Wonder because neither made me fall in love like Team Asobi’s game.
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But I still have faith in Nintendo, especially with the Nintendo Switch 2 on the horizon. Nintendo has proven time and time again that it is capable of incredible innovation and shaking up the gaming industry. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild practically reimagined open-world games and started a trend of games using gliders. Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time were also incredibly influential and greatly affected the gaming industry.
Nintendo is the type of company to see how successful Astro Bot was and try to top it. The studio isn’t afraid to delay a game and pull it back to make it perfect. Everyone knows the misattributed quote given to Miyamoto: “A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.” While Miyamoto never said this, the statement is true.
One title Nintendo fans are eager for is Nintendo’s follow-up to Super Mario Odyssey. Whether we get a direct sequel or a new entry, the Switch 2’s 3D Mario has the potential to dethrone Astro Bot. We haven’t had a new Donkey Kong game that wasn’t a remake since Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze and that was in 2014! Yoshi had stellar titles with Yoshi’s Woolly World and Yoshi’s Crafted World, but the delightful green dinosaur has never gotten a 3D entry.
Nintendo even did what I never expected and released a 3D Kirby game, Kirby and the Forgotten Land. The problem of Kirby’s multiple jumps and floatiness, combined with Kirby’s spherical design making it hard to see where the player is aiming always made a 3d Kirby game seem impossible. But Nintendo did it. And they did it well because I loved Kirby and the Forgotten Lands.
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Nintendo has both the cast and the ability to create the best platformers of all time. Heck, they could take the route Team Asobi did and create a 3D platformer celebrating Nintendo’s history. Imagine a game, whether Mario is the protagonist or someone else, that goes through Nintendo’s different games. Levels could feature The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Pikmin, Donkey Kong, Splatoon, and I could literally go on forever.
Within each of these series are so many games, many of which with completely unique art styles and gameplay, even among the same franchises. There is so much potential for something like this. Nintendo could feature several The Legend of Zelda levels and give each a different theme, power-up, and more. Each of Nintendo’s series could be given this treatment, and so could the various consoles released throughout Nintendo’s career.
Astro Bot will always have a special place in my heart, and I’ll probably play it for a third time before everything is all said and done. But I’m ready for Nintendo to step up and claim the title of best platformer. 2025 is full of promise and I fully believe in Nintendo. Whether Mario shows up in full force or another character becomes Nintendo’s lead, I’ll be there for it when Astro Bot passes the torch.
