Astro Bot game director reacts to 94 metacritic review score | Friends Per Second #53
Plus: Concord woes and we're loving Space Marine 2
Hey Users!
We’re back from Gamescom and it’s business as usual at FPS HQ. What a week it’s been for gaming news, eh?
After just two weeks, PlayStation unceremoniously shut down Concord, its latest foray into live service games. It also released Astro Bot, a joyful single player platformer that has the second-highest Metacritic rating of the year after Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. So who better to join us this week than VGC’s Jordan Middler to talk about all the news. We also chatted to Team ASOBI’s Studio Director Nicolas Doucet just after the Astro Bot reviews dropped, and got some incredible insight into how the team makes games.
Misc. mentions: Chroming trend, gooning (sorry), Mad Max, the Tide pod challenge, the Mad Max comic book, the Scottish accent, Geordies
Sony kills Concord
We recorded this episode a few hours after PlayStation announced it was pulling the plug on Concord. Concord launched on August 23rd to middling reviews and low Steam player counts, with some industry analysts estimating that the title only sold around 25,000 copies - a devastatingly low figure for a multi-million dollar game.
Sony Live Service Shooter Concord Debuts to a Tragic 697 Concurrent Players on Steam - IGN
Concord Is Shutting Down After Two Weeks, But Is That Unprecedented? - GameSpot
Concord is a good shooter divorced from the reality of its genre - VGC
Chris Dring on Fairgame$ (vid now privated, but ResetEra transcribed the quote)
Sony Commits to Launch Just Six of PlayStation's 12 Live Service Games by March 2026 - IGN
Games mentioned: Concord, Radical Heights, Mortal Kombat: Onslaught, The Day Before, Crucible, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, God of War, Fortnite, COD, GTA Online, DOTA, Banana, Deadlock, Once Human, First Descendant, Mafia: Definitive Edition, The Last of Us multiplayer game, Astro Bot, Marathon, Fairgame$, Destiny, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Redfall, Helldivers 2, Rocket League, Fall Guys, Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon multiplayer game, London Studio’s co-op action game, Horizon, LEGO: Horizon, Rainbow Six: Siege, Assassin’s Creed, Anthem, Hyenas, FIFA, Snake
Misc mentions: Secret Level, Avatar, Johnny Concord
Astro Bot discussion
It’s not all doom and gloom because we’ve all been loving Astro Bot, a platformer that is so full of joy and wonder that we simply can’t stop gushing about it.
Games mentioned: Astro Bot, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Odyssey, Astro’s Playroom, Star Wars Outlaws, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, It Takes Two, Super Mario Sunshine, Balatro, Pikmin, Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Thank Goodness You’re Here, Bloodborne, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, God of War: Ragnarök, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Mario Party, PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale, Concord, Crysis, Helldivers 2
If you’ve got burning questions you’d like us to answer on the show, email us or drop them in the comments below!
Interview: Nicolas Doucet from Team ASOBI
We chatted to Team ASOBI’s studio director Nicolas Doucet shortly after the Astro Bot review scores went live to get his reaction to the positive response to the game, insight into how the team works, and how they choose the cameo bots.
Games mentioned: EyeToy, Astro’s Playroom, Astro Bot, Ape Escape, The Last Guardian, Gravity Rush, Metal Gear Solid, Journey, God of War, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Mario games, Horizon, Ghost of Tsushima, Jax and Daxter, Uncharted, Legend of Dragoon, SingStar, Ore no Ryouri/My Cooking, Riiiiidge Raaaaacer, Ōkami, Ghouls ‘n Ghosts
Misc. mentions: Slam Dunk, PocketStation
User question - Midgame
What would you guys say is the best palette cleanser game you could recommend?
This week’s User question got us all thinking about the best games to just zone out to. Something that doesn’t require too much brainpower or the need to talk to other people. Just pure, vibes-based gaming.
Also, I (Lucy) had to take a call in the middle of recording this segment so we have a small tangent on gaming collectibles that we recently obtained.
Games mentioned: Destiny 2, Chants of Sennaar, Dark Souls III, Thank Goodness You’re Here, Outer Wilds, Astro Bot, Rainbow Six Siege, Binary Domain, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, Lies of P, World of Warcraft, Balatro, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, PowerWash Simulator, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Neon White, Vampire Survivors, Diablo, Deep Rock Galactic, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2
Misc. mentions: brat summer/Astro Bot Autumn, Beauty and the Beast, Tony Hawk on GDQ
What we’ve been playing
Ralph has some issues with Star Wars Outlaws. He also previewed The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Jake picked up Squirrel With A Gun (we wonder why), and has been really enjoying Space Marine 2
Lucy didn’t play enough Tactical Breach Wizards because she’s been utterly consumed by Fields of Mistria
Games mentioned: Gunpoint, Heat Signature, X-COM, Marvel’s Midnight Suns, Immortals of Aveum, Mario games, Star Wars Outlaws, Star Wars Battlefront, Deus Ex, Jedi Fallen Order, Jedi Survivor, Avatar, The Division, Uncharted, Elden Ring, Outer Worlds, Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, Gears of War 2, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, Link’s Awakening
Misc. mentions: The Besties, Four in a Bed, Nothing to Declare Australia (I think Jordan actually means Border Security: Australia's Front Line), Star Wars, Glup Shitto, Pusheen, Buzz Lightyear, Warhammer
Show and tell
As always, we finish off the episode talking about things we’ve been enjoying that aren’t video games, and it’s a real mix of things this week.
Ralph has been rewatching all the Alien movies
Jake watched Terminator Zero on Netflix
Middle-earth reporter Lucy has started Rings of Power season two and went to the Museum of Pop Culture
Anime expert Jordan has been watching Jujutsu Kaisen
Games mentioned: Persona
Misc. mentions: JeffJeff’s Bizarre Adventure, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Delicious in Dungeon, Attack on Titan, Chainsaw Man, Demon Slayer, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Terminator Zero, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Michael Owen hates films, Cool Runnings, Terminator, Terminator 2, Mass Effect: Paragon Lost, Terminator: Salvation, Terminator: Salvation mobile game, Alien Romulus, Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, Alien Covenant, Prometheus, Alien: Earth, PAX, Star Trek, Nirvana, Battlestar Galactica, Blade Runner, Minecraft, TikTok, The Lord of the Rings, Muppets, Dark Crystal, The Muppets Movie, Muppets Christmas Carol, Muppets Haunted Mansion, The Matrix Resurrections
Thanks again to Jordan for joining us this week, check out VGC and their Patreon!
Thank you for reading/watching/listening, and we’ll see ya next time!
<3 L
I got the platinum for Astrobot yesterday. It is a must play indeed. I just want more of it and I can't wait till the next Team Asobi game.
User question!
Do you get upset by games that feature heavy close-up 'popping' of game assets? Like some of the 'modern' pokemon games on switch? Have you noticed it in recent games?