Video games are having a meta moment . young games are n’t just at times break the 4th wall , but directly acknowledging the influential titles that have come before them . In September alone , Astro Bot , The Plucky Squire , andUFO 50all showcased what seems to be a consolidative moment for the video game manufacture .. All three of those titles are fantastic in their own right hand , but each is also a love letter to the TV plot industry ’s history in their own way .
To some extent , TV biz have always tried to replicate what was pop at the metre . This present moment register that video games are no longer just chasing trends , though ; they ’re actively in conversation with those trends . That can be done through cameos , gameplay references , or by comprehend the same game design constraints that birthed the medium ’s most foundational titles . It ’s a new kind of self - referential second for television games — and I love it .
Astro Botis the most straightforward kind of referential celebration . It ’s meta in the sense that players are garner parts of a PlayStation 5 and saving VIP Bots that are dressed like PlayStation fictional character from the brand ’s story . It ’s not just call out the big names like God of War either ; it features deeper cuts likeAlundraandMotor Toon Grand Prix . This not only makesAstro Bota great way to celebrate the PlayStation ’s 30th anniversary , but it also feels like a real acknowledgment from developer Team Asobi that these games genuinely made PlayStation what it is today . Astro Botowes a lot to platforming classic , so it ’s gratifying to see enfranchisement like Crash Bandicoot , Jak & Daxter , and Sly Cooper represent here .
There ’s a sad read of that , too . Some have expressed thatAstro Botcan feel like a burying ground for inactive franchise , but I find a spot more affirmative about it . Astro Botexists today because of the PlayStation serial that came before it , and Team Asobi pays protection to that fact in a way that fit its original series at this minute .
I reckon thatAstro Botwas an IP licensing nightmare for Sony , but this calendar month has also proven that there are ample ways for video games to be meta without direct referencing specific game . The Plucky Squire , from All Possible Futures and Devolver Digital , is a meridian case of that . It ’s a game all about celebrating creativity and the art that inspires mass , and that ’s reflected in its design . Almost every kind of gameplay featured withinThe Plucky Squirelovingly overstretch from something else .
The meat of its storybook exploration is modeled after The Legend of Zelda , while other minigames players encounter call back toPunch - Out ! , Rhythm Heaven , Fantasy Zone , Crypt of the Necrodancer , and more . Although this could ’ve come off as gimmicky , within the broad context ofThe Plucky Squire , this variety feels reflective . It ’s like the developers are in direct conversation with the video games that inspired them .
UFO 50takes that estimation to its logical extreme point as a collection of 50 games designed to look like they were developed in the 1980s . From the coloring material palette to the introduction , all of the plot feature in Mossmouth ’s late feel like they could have been released during the 8 - bit era . UFO 50is undeniable evidence that , correctly now , games are n’t afraid to directly acknowledge what came before while still looking to the future .
Games likeAstro Bot , The Plucky Squire , andUFO 50demonstrate how the picture game industry is at a DoS of matureness . Developers can look back and celebrate past serial publication , rip gameplay elements from the classics that shape us , or make a compendium of game rooted in an older era of game plan doctrine . The bangle of all of that might wear off at some point in time , but for now , I bang that telecasting games are adopt the history of the spiritualist and acknowledging the foundation that propped this whole industry up .
