We played Astro Bot, and it’s the exact game PlayStation needs right now

This story is part of our Summer Gaming Marathon series.

On September 6, PlayStation is primed to break the mold. After years of tightening its focus on mature adventure games aimed at older audiences, its big holiday release is something much more family-friendly: Astro Bot. Positioned as a full-fledged sequel to the PS5’s free pack-in gameAstro’s Playroom, the 3D platformer is the kind of old-school charmer that feels custom-made for kids and the young at heart. It’s closer in design to a Nintendo game likeSuper Mario Bros. Wonder than the cinematic action games that Sony has prioritized in recent years.

Though it may seem surprising to newer PlayStation fans,Astro Bot makes a lot of sense in the context of Sony’s full gaming career. The company made its name on mascot-driven platformers like Crash Bandicoot, turning a whole generation of kids like me into lifelong PlayStation owners. Sony’s first-party games have grown up alongside that audience, but have increasingly left behind young players in the process. That’ll change this September, and it could usher in an inviting new age for PlayStation.

I got a better feel for that approaching moment at this year’s Summer Game Fest, where I demoed several levels of Astro Bot and spoke to Team Asobi Studio Head Nicolas Doucet. It’s promising enough that Astro Bot delivers precise platforming, deceptively spectacular art direction, and wildly creative power-ups that rival Nintendo’s best ideas. What’s more exciting is the way it feels like a missing link between old and young audiences. It’s the exact game PS5 needs right now to bridge a growing gap between generations of PlayStation fans.