DLC Review · Purchased September 6, 2024 · $11.20 CAD via PSN
Astro Bot Digital Deluxe Upgrade. Photo: PlayStation Store
The Setup
A digital upgrade purchased the same day as the physical copy of Astro Bot and the limited edition DualSense controller, unlocking extra cosmetics and bonus content tied to the game’s Deluxe tier.
The Review
Given how thoroughly Astro Bot earned its Game of the Year win (reviewed at length elsewhere in this series), an eleven-dollar add-on to an already excellent game is about as low-risk a purchase as exists in this entire spreadsheet. The extra cosmetics and bonus content are exactly what you would expect from a digital upgrade tier: nice to have, not remotely necessary to enjoy the core game, but a pleasant bit of extra flavour for a game I was already thrilled to be playing.
What I Liked
Trivially cheap add-on to an outstanding base game
Extra cosmetic content is a nice bonus rather than a cynical upsell
What I Didn’t
Entirely unnecessary if you are budget-conscious, the base game does not need this to be excellent
The Verdict
Rating: 4/5
As a cheap add-on to a Game of the Year-calibre title, this is easy to recommend, more because the base game earns it than because the upgrade itself is essential.
Hardware Review · Purchased September 6, 2024 · $111.98 CAD via EB Games
The Astro Bot Limited Edition DualSense. Photo via PlayStation.Blog.
Sometimes you buy a piece of hardware for what it does. Sometimes you buy it for what it looks like sitting on your shelf. This is very much the second kind of purchase, and I am not going to pretend otherwise.
The Background
Astro Bot launched in September 2024 to the kind of reception that immediately tells you something special happened: near-universal critical acclaim, and eventually the Game Awards’ Game of the Year trophy. Sony backed the launch with a limited edition DualSense controller in Astro Bot’s cream-and-blue colour scheme, complete with small Astro Bot etchings and a matching light bar treatment, and it sold out fast enough that I count myself lucky to have grabbed one at EB Games on launch week rather than hunting resale listings afterward.
I bought this the same day as the physical copy of the game and the digital deluxe upgrade, so this was very much a “go all in on launch day” purchase rather than a considered, separate decision.
Living With It
Let’s be completely honest about what this controller is: a completely standard DualSense with a limited edition paint job. The haptics, adaptive triggers, built-in speaker, and touchpad all function identically to the roughly $85 base model. There is no functional upgrade hiding in here, no exclusive feature, nothing that makes Astro Bot the game play or feel any different than it would on a plain black pad.
What you are paying the premium for is entirely the aesthetics, and on that front it delivers. The colourway is genuinely well done, restrained rather than garish, and it photographs nicely if you are the type to post a setup shot. Because these sold out quickly around launch, there is also a small collector’s satisfaction in having one from the actual release window rather than picking one up later.
If I am being fully honest with myself, the DualSense form factor itself is what makes this purchase easy to justify at all: it is already a genuinely excellent controller before you factor in any paint job, with haptic feedback that meaningfully changes how a lot of PS5 games feel to play.
What I Liked
Clean, well-executed colour scheme that does not feel gimmicky
Same excellent DualSense hardware underneath (haptics, adaptive triggers, speaker)
Limited release window adds a bit of genuine collector’s value
Paired perfectly with launch day for one of the best games of the year
What I Didn’t
Zero functional difference from the roughly $85 base DualSense
Pure premium-for-aesthetics purchase, easy to talk yourself out of if you are budget conscious
Limited stock meant a real risk of missing out entirely if I had waited even a week
The Value Verdict
Rating: 3/5
Judge this one by what it actually is: a paint job on hardware you would probably buy anyway. If you love Astro Bot and want the shelf piece to match, it delivers exactly what it promises and nothing more. If you are looking at this as a controller upgrade, save the premium and get the base model instead.
Game Review · Purchased September 6, 2024 · $89.59 CAD via EB Games
Astro Bot. Photo: PlayStation Store
The Setup
Astro Bot took home the Game Awards’ Game of the Year trophy for 2024, and it did so as a pure, joyful 3D platformer built from the ground up to show off exactly what the PS5 and DualSense controller can do, level by inventive level.
The Review
I bought the physical copy on launch week alongside the limited edition controller and digital deluxe upgrade covered elsewhere in this series, and the game more than justified going all-in on day one. Every level introduces a new mechanic, gadget, or gimmick tied specifically to the DualSense’s haptics and adaptive triggers, and rather than the usual pattern of a few standout ideas stretched across a whole game, Astro Bot keeps generating fresh ideas at a pace that rarely lets up across its full runtime.
This has been widely compared to the best Mario platformers of the current era, and having played through it, that comparison holds up: tight controls, generous but fair difficulty curve, and a level of craft and polish in every individual level that most platformers, even good ones, do not sustain for an entire game.
What I Liked
Constant stream of fresh ideas and mechanics, level after level
Some of the best use of DualSense haptics and adaptive triggers in any PS5 game
Tight, satisfying platforming controls
Genuinely joyful tone throughout
What I Didn’t
As a mascot platformer, it will always have a lower ceiling of mainstream attention than bigger franchise names, despite deserving comparison to the best of them
Some players may find the difficulty curve too gentle if they want a harder platforming challenge
The Verdict
Rating: 5/5
This is the rare full-price game that consistently gets recommended as worth buying at launch rather than waiting for a sale, and having played it, I agree completely.
DLC Review · Purchased August 31, 2024 · $12.31 CAD via PSN
PowerWash Simulator: Alice’s Adventures Special Pack. Photo: Steam
The Setup
Listed in my own records simply as “Alice in Wonderland,” this is officially PowerWash Simulator’s Alice’s Adventures crossover pack, sending you through a grime-covered version of Wonderland armed with nothing but a pressure washer.
The Review
Consistent with every other entry in this crossover line, the whimsical, slightly surreal aesthetic of Alice in Wonderland translates well into the game’s cleaning-focused gameplay loop, and the level design leans into the property’s most recognizable imagery in ways that reward familiarity with the source material without requiring it. By this point in the year, having bought several of these packs already, the consistency of quality across the whole line had become its own kind of reassurance, I no longer hesitated before buying a new one.
What I Liked
Whimsical, well-realized Wonderland-themed levels
Consistent quality with the rest of the crossover line
Low price, low risk
What I Didn’t
Same short-runtime tradeoff as every pack in the series
Nothing here breaks new ground for the format at this point in the line’s history
The Verdict
Rating: 4/5
On brand with the rest of this DLC line’s reliably good value. By this point in the year, PowerWash Simulator’s crossover team had fully earned my trust to just buy on release.
Game Review · Purchased August 31, 2024 · $29.95 CAD via PSN
Life is Strange Remastered Collection. Photo: PlayStation Store
The Setup
This collection bundles remastered versions of the original Life is Strange and its prequel, Life is Strange: Before the Storm, cleaning up visuals, animations, and lip sync from the original last-generation releases, timed ahead of Double Exposure’s launch later the same year.
The Review
I picked this up specifically to refresh my memory before Double Exposure, and it turned out to be exactly the right call. The visual and technical upgrades are meaningful without changing the fundamental experience that made these games resonate in the first place: strong, grounded character writing, a distinctive time-rewind mechanic that the original built its entire narrative structure around, and a willingness to sit with difficult, real emotional material that set the series apart from a lot of its contemporaries when it first launched.
For anyone who only played these on previous-generation hardware, or never played them at all, this remains the definitive way to experience the story that everything else in the franchise, Double Exposure included, builds on.
What I Liked
Two well-regarded narrative games bundled for well under $30
Meaningful visual and technical improvements over the originals
Essential context before playing Double Exposure
Strong, still-resonant character writing years later
What I Didn’t
If you already own and have played the originals extensively, the remaster alone may not feel like a necessary re-buy
Core gameplay remains simple by modern standards, this is a narrative experience first
The Verdict
Rating: 4/5
Especially as a lead-in to Double Exposure, this is a strong deal: two well-regarded narrative games, cleaned up and modernized, for under $30.
The Compulsive Canadian Gamer 