Free from the now-standard PlayStation Studios themes of threatening apocalypses, familial woe, and coming-of-age pains, Astro Bot is all about following a cheery little metal bloke around on his adventures. It has been a real delight to continue offering you, our valued fans, an extended Astro Bot experience at no additional cost. Find out about Astro’s origins and learn how to draw your favorite bot from the playful hands of team Asobi artists.
Hell, it could even be a contender for Game of the Year (GOTY) because of how complete the game is as a whole package. The game is visually stunning, has great sound design, has simple yet fun gameplay, makes use of the exclusive PlayStation controls, and, most importantly, has a ton of content. Sony and Team ASOBI have knocked it out of the park with this game, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this game is regarded as one of Sony’s best releases to date. Astro Bot is PlayStation’s exclusive 3D adventure platformer that features Astro’s journey to rescue his fellow crewmates and fix up the mothership. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn’t do well, and if it’s worth buying. In its never-ending chase for maturity and realism, the video game industry is leaving kids behind.
After rescuing Bot crewmembers, half of whom resemble beloved characters from PlayStation games, they return to the game’s hub world, and as more are uncovered, it grows into a playground for the rescued to occupy. As the player progresses, they’ll unlock new pathways and cosmetics not just for Astro but for the PS-themed Bots. Sony proves with Astro Bot that the company can still put out charming action platformers, but the love letter to PlayStation fans fails to include features that made previous games of the genre so fun to replay. Like its predecessor, Astro Bot is a love letter to PlayStation–not just its current make-up, either, but its illustrious history. From first-party icons like Kratos and Ellie to third-party heroes tied to the hip with Sony’s gaming past, such as Lara Croft and Leon S. Kennedy. There are 195 hidden cameo characters in Astro Bot’s dozens of levels, and part of the fun is tracking them all down.
Astro Bot
Astro Bot speed running levels have begun rolling out as weekly updates, adding two new cameo bots with each level. We have added the first four to the bottom of this list and will continue adding them as the levels are released. A whirl of bots to rescue, of loving Playstation references, of deep cuts like Ape Escape and more recent stars, who get outings I don’t really want to ruin.
Each is missing a beloved item that can, once regained, give them a clever new animation to perform in the hub world. However, some long-time players of platformers produced by Sony will be disappointed in Astro Bot’s current endgame offerings. Throughout the hour campaign – around 15 for full completion – Astro encounters power-ups that give them abilities like shrinking, stretchy arms, rocket jump, and more. It’s a highlight of how great Astro Bot’s level design is, which easily ranks high among other action platforming gems with its reasonably hidden secrets and gravity-challenging stages. Still, Astro Bot fails to feel as revolutionary or varied as games that pushed the genre, like Super Mario Odyssey.
Players have long expected more DLC, however, as a number of unreleased bots appeared in the Astro Bots credits. Featured here are licensing credits for Rayman, Worms, Assassin’s Creed, Beyond Good & Evil, Croc, and Tomba, potentially revealing which five special bots will be released alongside these levels. That being said, Armored Hardcore is almost certainly a reference to Armored Core, while Cock-A-Doodle-Doom is likely Doom, so bots from these franchises are also likely. According to Jamie Smith, Team Asobi’s Principle Animation Director, the animations of Astro and other characters in the game have been drastically increased.
What Are All Special Bots In Astro Bot? Singstar Guy – Spirited Crooner
The physics, as Astro sets piles of hundreds of shiny apples tumbling, or wades through a pool of gold nuggets, are just showing off. I feared it would be a bit of an advert for PlayStation dressed up as a video game – Sony’s own Pepsiman here for the memes and little else. But even when Astro Bot leans into this side of the series, it’s genius.
This is one of the only PS5 games that really feels like it was built around the DualSense, and it shows. Plenty of stages require patience, awareness and a high degree of platforming skill, though resets are generous and failure doesn’t cost anything other than your time. Completionists will have a great time with this one — there are so many secret passages and hidden bots to find, most of them cleverly tucked away and easily missed unless you’re actively looking for them. On the flipside, speedrunners should enjoy Astro Bot as well, since it offers planets of platforming challenges with incredibly responsive controls. These are just three examples, but quite literally every level in the game has some kind of unique idea or design.
IGN gave it a 9/10, calling it a fantastically inventive platformer filled with PlayStation memories. While most levels are linear, they highlighted some as exceptionally enjoyable and creative. The game currently holds a 4.89 out of 5 stars with over 31,000 ratings on the PSN Store. It’s a thrilling adventure that takes you on a journey through different planets, filled with exciting challenges and unique abilities.
The team had a talent for unearthing delightful and satisfying interactions from the devices, and they peopled their games with cute little robots who acquired more personality with each installment. It’s like It Takes Two in how frequently it throws out a new idea, lets you enjoy it, then takes it away before it gets boring. But, unlike It Takes Two (a great game in its own right), Astro Bot doesn’t feature a single dud. Every power is interesting, has a meaningful impact on the level it’s a part of, and feels like it unlocks a new way to play. While some return from previous Astro outings and others are quite standard, there is a unique flair to how they feed into the level design here. But it’s not just PS1 reminiscing that makes Astro Bot so great—not by a long shot.
Unlike all of the other Astro Bot DLC stages, Winter Wonder is accessed via the Galaxy Select screen. To do so, players will need to find and crash into the floating planet with the Christmas hat. Players will be able to find a Puzzle Piece floating around in space in the Tentacle System, Serpent Starway, Camo Cosmos, and Feather Cluster galaxies. Crash Site serves as a kind of hub world, in which players can find 35 Bots and 11 Puzzle Pieces.
These short sprints are littered with fast-moving objects, numerous enemies, and precise gaps to hop across that are designed to trip you up. Throw a complete lack of checkpoints into the mix as well, and these are easily some of the toughest tasks in Astro Bot, with a final level that’s a real tough nut to crack. TG88 com ’s a non-stop gauntlet of quickfire threats that made me piece together everything I had learned up until that point in a frantic, but still fun test. It’s clear from the very first frame of Astro Bot just how much love and reverence Team Asobi has for the history of Sony’s consoles and their library of games. You choose a new save file by selecting one of three original PlayStation memory cards and are then thrust into a scene taking place on your PS5-shaped mothership.
The basic movement of our little robot pal is great, with his jump, double jump, and hover hitting that sweet spot between floaty and finely tuned. But it’s the temporary abilities that come with each level that make things truly exciting. The Twin Frog gloves are a particular favourite, with their sticky tongues flinging out to provide a grapple swing option. They’re also spring-loaded, meaning any incoming projectiles can be sent back from whence they came, exploding in an enemy’s face. I also very much enjoyed the mouse mechanic, which reduces you down to a super small size, effectively turning on a “Toy Story” mode that lets you clamber up oversized shelves and leaves in search of secrets. Unlike ASTRO’s Playroom, ASTRO BOT is a standalone, full-sized adventure that offers over four times more worlds, 300 bots to rescue and dozens of new powers and features to discover.
From time-bending casinos to Japanese bath houses, each level brings novel mechanics and creative challenges that rival Nintendo’s finest platformers. Astro Bot represents the pinnacle of PlayStation’s platforming excellence, evolving from its origins in The Playroom VR to become one of gaming’s most beloved mascots. Originally introduced as a tech demo character, Astro Bot has grown into PlayStation’s definitive platforming hero. A few months ago, Sony issued a free DLC (downloadable content) for “Astro’s Playroom” that connects the previous game with the new one.
Astro Bot begins with a PS5-shaped spaceship traveling the stars when its crew of 300 Bots suddenly encounters a mischievous alien who breaks the ship and scatters its pieces and crew across multiple galaxies. As players take control of Astro, they’ll work to repair the ship and rescue their crewmates. Astro Bot is a platformer adventure game released on September 6, 2024, for the PS5, serving as a sequel to Team Asobi’s Astro’s Playroom from 2020 and the third game in the series. Players take on the role of the lovable Astro Bot, embarking on a space-faring adventure through diverse environments, including waves of sandy beaches, lush jungles, and fiery volcanoes. Along the way, Astro gains new powers and transformations to aid in the journey. Released in celebration of PlayStation’s 30th anniversary, the game pays homage to the brand’s legacy by allowing players to find and reunite with over 150 iconic PlayStation characters.