What 50 hours in Astro’s Playroom taught me about video games

I’m weird. By most accounts, you can beat Astro’s Playroom — the PlayStation 5’s glorified pack-in tech demo — in about four hours. I’ve played 50 hours, and I still haven’t completed it. That’s because instead of finishing out the last level, I’ve spent an absurd amount of time chasing after faster times in the game’s Network Speedrun mode. This mode enables you to post your fastest times on a leaderboard across eight stages, and this turned into a heated competition between GamesBeat reviews editor Mike Minotti and myself, GamesBeat speedrunning champion Jeff Grubb. And while it’s important to recognize that I’m one of the greatest gamers to ever live, it also led to a realization.

Back on my bullshit pic.twitter.com/l80WuVHmcN