‘Astro Bot’ and the best games of September so far, reviewed

September opened with the arrival of the pristine PlayStation platformer “Astro Bot,” the cinematic horror of “The Casting of Frank Stone,” and the gothic camp of “Space Marine 2.” NPR’s Corey Bridges, Allen Walden and I reviewed these early harbingers of a promising Fall gaming season.

‘Astro Bot’

Lush music tumbles from my TV and chipper sound effects fizzle out of my controller as I jump, spin, punch, roll and rocket-blast through “Astro Bot.” This PlayStation exclusive, releasing Friday, gripped me so tightly that I nearly aced it in four days. As inviting as “Kirby and the Forgotten Land” and as inventive as the best “Mario” games, “Astro Bot” is my pick for 3D platformer of the year.

I first encountered the game’s robot hero in “Astro’s Playroom,” a free PS5 tech demo that showed off its hardware innovations by setting the gameplay inside a fantastical PS5 itself, with its various systems (cooling, memory, storage, etc.) serving as unique levels. Four years later, “Astro Bot” imagines that console as a spaceship beset by an alien bully who steals its parts and flings its robot crew across dozens of planets.

If the game wasn’t so exquisitely crafted it’d be hard to forgive this shameless self-promotion. Your little metal feet cause different sound effects to play from the controller’s built-in speaker depending on the surface they’re running on. The triggers adapt to whatever you’re pushing or pulling, giving each object and power-up a distinct texture. Far into the PS5’s lifespan, “Astro Bot” and its “Playroom” predecessor are still among the few games to fully utilize this haptic feedback.

A peerless attention to detail also elevates the hunt for lost crew members. These bots dance and squeal when you find them, and many come dressed as characters from PlayStation’s three-decade history — “Metal Gear Solid,” “God of War,” “Demon’s Souls,” “Uncharted,” “The Last of Us,” “Horizon” — the range extends well beyond my brand knowledge. Even though I didn’t get all the references, their sheer variety spurred me to ferret out 289 bots out of the total 300!

Mutually reinforcing systems reward this completionism. Bots unlock boss stages and populate your home base (like the Waddle Dees you liberate in “Kirby and the Forgotten Land”). When they’re not linking limbs to form bridges, ladders and ramps to help you explore the hub world, they’ll assemble by your downed spaceship. Mostly, they just stand around, but you can spend collectible coins to draw randomized items for them, which come with new animations. I was lucky enough to score Pyramid Head’s colossal sword, for example. Smack him and he’ll toss it skyward in surprise, only for it to crash back down on top of him. I adore these slapstick easter eggs and very much wanted to catch ‘em all.

But even though I discovered every secret planet and bested every boss in about 16 hours, the game’s most vicious challenge levels dashed my hopes for 100% completion. Here, the game betrays an arbitrary sadism at odds with its otherwise forgiving design. Thankfully, the rest of the game was a romp as expansive as “Super Mario Galaxy” and nearly as brilliant as “Super Mario Odyssey.” “Astro Bot” might be a glorified advertisement for all things PlayStation, but it’s also the best Nintendo game Nintendo never made.

— James Mastromarino, Here & Now producer and NPR gaming lead

‘The Casting of Frank Stone’

“The Casting of Frank Stone” is a visually impressive and terrifying horror adventure from Supermassive Games, a studio known for cinematic experiences like 2015’s “Until Dawn” and 2022’s “The Quarry.” This latest title brings that “playable movie” ethos into the universe of Behavior Interactive’s popular multiplayer survival game, “Dead by Daylight.”

In “The Casting of Frank Stone,” you play characters targetted by a ruthless serial killer in both 1980s Oregon and a secluded 2024 English mansion. You’ll bounce from timeline to timeline, switching between heroes that range from a grizzled police officer to an obsessive film director to a reluctant actor.

Supermassive has always tested players with quick time events (press A to dodge the axe!, etc), but “Frank Stone” introduces timed encounters that resemble the generator repair minigame in “Dead by Daylight.” Hidden collectibles don't provide hints for future decisions as they do in “Until Dawn” or “The Quarry,” but they’re still there for avid completionists. Instead, “Frank Stone” adds a new postgame “Cutting Room Floor” feature that allows players to return to specific moments, redo their decisions and completely alter later outcomes.

Overall, I really enjoyed “The Casting of Frank Stone.” With its time-bending narrative, seemingly infinite replayability and genuinely scary antagonist, it’s everything you could ask for from a Supermassive game — and it's perfect for friendly couch co-op this Halloween season.

— Corey Bridges, assistant producer, The Indicator

‘Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2’

"For the Emperor!” I find myself yelling out as I rush head first into swarms upon swarms of Tyrannids in “Space Marine 2,” releasing Sep. 9. The game’s compelling campaign captures the same magic as your favorite “Halo” title, with “Doom Eternal”-meets-“Mass Effect”- gameplay that feels like a gift from the Divine Emperor himself. One “Warhammer” quote sums it up nicely, “Burn the heretic. Kill the mutant. Purge the unclean.”

Player-character Lieutenant Titus (or one of the six classes to choose from outside of the main campaign) brings gravitas to cinematic combos and finishing moves that make every weapon feel distinct but appropriately brutal. Combined with dense lore, intense music and keen, satirical writing, “Space Marine 2” is a superb sequel for fans of “Warhammer 40,000” and third-person action games. I can't wait to replay the short-but-sweet campaign again with co-op partners and look forward to diving into the game's other player-versus-environment and player-versus-player modes.

— Allen Walden, NPR senior production operations specialist