Akimbot: PS5 Review

Developed by Evil Raptor
Published by Plaion
Platform: PS5

There are plenty of touches in Akimbot that will remind players of older games.

While the lead character the robot Exe has a similar shadow to that of Insomniac Games' Ratchet and there's an annoying talking robot sidekick, Akimbot's story is a simple one that blends itself to the run and gun ethos of some of the PlayStation's earlier titles.

Tasked with saving the universe from marauding mobster type robots, Exe can run, double jump, dash and fire plenty of different weapons to get himself - and his annoying companion - out of danger. Gameplay is intuitive and largely works efficiently. 

Guns need to cool down, weapons need to be upgraded and bad guys must be shot - there's nothing radically new here. And while that familiarity is no bad thing and adds to a game that's playable, it's perhaps disappointing that it doesn't make its own mark and stand on its own two feet.

From shooting from the ground to firing in the sky, there's a bit of variety in this nostalgic blast from the past, but largely the game's focussed on delivering the basics and little else more. Complete with hacking puzzles and a few minigames, there's enough here to qualify Akimbot as something that's worth playing.

A few times for reasons unknown, the game would freeze in mid-action, as if it were trying to catch up with what's going on - but there were no hard crashes, simply a pause, and then a continuation.

As an action platformer that's based on nostalgia, Akimbot does what it says on the box. That's no bad thing and not every game needs to reinvent the wheel, but for a few hours of pleasure, Akimbot strafes and hits the spot.