Is “Astro Bot” the best game of 2024? To be honest: I’m a bit confused.

The gaming industry in 2024 is simply like a powder keg.

“Elden Ring“: Shadow of the Golden Tree” – An epic DLC, many people call it the “masterpiece of the Souls series”.

“Balatro” – a deck of cards that crushes countless 3A games with its mechanics and addictive nature;

“Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth” – With a comprehensive evolution in terms of word-of-mouth, sentiment, and system, it has delivered a perfect answer sheet to its fans.

“Black Myth: Wukong” – An Oriental narrative with a powerful impact, its influence is comparable to any work on the list.

So, what was the result? The Game Awards’ Game of the Year Award went to Astro Bot?

To be honest, it’s like you’ve been waiting in line at a Michelin-starred restaurant for a whole night, and in the end, the champion goes to a convenience store bento. It’s not that the bento is not delicious, but it’s really not of that class.

Compared with “Black Myth: Wukong”, it lacks cultural depth and visual impact. Wukong combines Eastern mythology with a high-quality combat system, achieving a dual breakthrough in both technology and narrative, and is far more representative and impressive than space robots. Although Astro Boy is exquisite and cute, its depth and power are far less than those of The Golden Ring: Shadow of the Golden Tree. The latter builds a vast and challenging dark fantasy world, offering an immersive experience of high freedom and a complex combat system. This is a masterpiece that integrates technology, art and narrative, while “Star Robot” seems too light.

The problem is not that Astello won this award, but that we have begun to tacitly assume that “it’s enough to be good-looking and interesting.”

In the era of rapid content consumption, many players have begun to get used to the thrill of being fast and easy.

But we must not forget that video games are also a medium for art, narrative and exploring complex human nature and worldviews.

Although “Astro Bot” is called a “masterpiece for all ages”, essentially it is more like a safe and ingenious presentation of works rather than a truly breakthrough game creation. It relies on the halo of the PlayStation mascot, the accumulation of nostalgic Easter eggs, and the overly packaged “warmth” to mask the dullness and lack of challenge in the game mechanics. For players who are looking forward to depth and innovation, Astro Bot might just be a light leap journey and is far from worthy of standing on the podium of the best of the year.