My kids’ first PlayStation game

Plus: The Annapurna Interactive drama and what happens next

Astro Bot meets Solid Snake Bot. All images in this lead story from Astro Bot. Screenshots: Team Asobi, captured by Game File

“You got Solid Snake!” I exclaimed the other day, as one of my kids was playing the new PlayStation 5 game Astro Bot.

I quickly realized they had no idea who Solid Snake is. 

I needed to explain. Hmm.

“He is from Metal Gear,” I offered, immediately realizing how useless an explanation that was.

“Do you know Metal Gear?” I foolishly followed up, knowing the answer.

I tried again.

“He’s a spy. He sometimes hides in boxes.”

My kids—twins who will turn eight later this year—didn’t seem to care. They were looking for more Astro Bots. 

For the last two weeks, they have been playing their first PlayStation game. It’s been an experience I dreaded.

For two years, I had fretted over the pros and cons of expanding their horizons from a single console, the kid-friendly Switch, to one of the other boxes under the TV.

Things were going better than expected, but, as we played Astro Bot, I realized I had some explaining to do.