Astro Bot Dev Explained Why the Creators Decided to Make It Short

Nicolas Doucet, the Creative Director of Astro Bot, a recently released platformer for PlayStation 5, talked about the new game and discussed its structure and length.

Astro Bot, a family platformer that follows Astro, a cute robot that explores space and different planets, has received universal acclaim. However, some players note that the game is quite short, with players finishing it in about 13 hours.

In a recent interview, the developer explained that instead of going for 40 hours of an expansive world, the team chose to create 12 to 15 hours of a polished game. He elaborated on this by providing an unexpected comparison: "You can eat a lot of food at a buffet or you can just go for a two-course meal that is really going to be small and just the right amount, but this one is going to be memorable. So, in fact, you can say you have more for your money with a buffet but what's the last memory that you take away with you?" He then suggested the possible answer: "It's probably to feel bloated and a bit like you've ate too much and you just want to go and sleep."

Continuing the food metaphor, the dev agreed that the game's levels are very distinct and "bite-sized." Initially, the team considered making an open world but chose a level-based gameplay. "It's really good to have a modular game in which you can swap things around, drop a piece, replace it with something else, and the user experience will benefit from that." Doucet said that games featuring one storyline have less flexibility and shared that the team plans on following the same modular approach with "chunks" that are parts of the game. "We seem to have found a good recipe for them," the developer said.

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