Astro Bot Wins Top Honor at the Game Awards

The plucky platformer Astro Bot won the top prize at the Game Awards on Thursday, a crowning achievement for a character who originated as an asset for a PlayStation tech demo.

The game, developed by Team Asobi, is both a mascot platformer in the vein of Crash Bandicoot and an exploration of the deep catalog of Sony franchises. In his review for The New York Times, the critic Harold Goldberg called Astro Bot an “enjoyable endeavor that often showcases the brilliance of game makers who know their history.”

Astro Bot also received awards for best game direction, best action/adventure game and best family game. It beat five other nominees for game of the year: Balatro, Black Myth: Wukong, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Metaphor: ReFantazio.

The awards ceremony, now in its 10th year, recognizes artistic and technical achievements in the video game industry and showcases announcements of new games from high-profile developers.

Among the games announced on Thursday was Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, the next project by Neil Druckmann and Naughty Dog, the studio that created The Last of Us and Uncharted. The story, which Druckmann told The Times is inspired by classic anime, follows a bounty hunter in an alternative universe where space travel has significantly advanced by 1986.