The boss fights deliver on visual spectacle, have a nice challenge to them, and above all, are fun to conquer. Besides the main bosses, mini-bosses pop up in other levels unexpectedly, and they are also a lot of fun to fight. Like Team Asobi’s previous games, Astro Bot revolves around a community of tiny white robots. Following the events of Astro’s Playroom, they are attacked by the evil green alien that served as the final boss of Rescue Mission, destroying their PS5 spaceship and scattering them across the cosmos.

Psycho Mantis – Metal Gear Solid

Critics have praised its charming aesthetics and the seamless gameplay mechanics, but some note the occasional repetitive elements. Despite minor flaws, it stands out as one of PlayStation’s finest platformers, with many calling it a Game of the Year contender. Astro is revived by his Dual Speeder, a smaller spaceship resembling the DualSense controller, and together they begin reactivating satellites and exploring galaxies to rescue the crew and rebuild the mothership. Along the way, he rescues V.I.P. Bots (guest characters from other games) and explores planets based on Ape Escape, God of War, Uncharted, LocoRoco, and Horizon. The second highlighted moment comes after Mighty Chewy has been vanquished.

Team Asobi releases a new update for Astro Bot, adding the final level and cameo from the previously announced Vicious Void Galaxy DLC. The game’s popularity has continued well into this year, after becoming one of the surprise hits of 2024. Not only has Astro Bot claimed a bunch of industry awards and game of the year titles, but it continues to keep players coming back with new DLC levels as well. “For Astro’s Playroom, there have mainly been two types of audiences,” says Doucet. They’re mostly the type who crave more colorful games and want to go back to 3D platformers. These players are also happy to see how we treat the PlayStation heritage.

The controller features a white and blue trim that perfectly matches the Dual Speeder in-game, as well as a smiling set of eyes on the touchpad. Sony just never seemed to have an answer to Nintendo’s Mario or Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog. Crash Bandicoot was an iconic character that was exclusive to the PlayStation at the time, but he belonged to a third-party studio. And while Toro from the Doko Demo Issho series reached mascot-like status in Japan, the cute feline character was hardly known outside of PlayStation’s home country.

The monkey power-up lets you scale walls, while the mouse ability shrinks you down to access tiny spaces. There’s even a Super Mario Sunshine-esque F.L.U.D.D power that uses liquid to move Astro around. The sequel to a simple pack-in game is a flawless love letter to both PlayStation’s history and video games in general. Carefully jump onto the invisible platforms above the other sunken stones in the desert until you reach the other side (remember to use your booster dog). Open it and take the secret exit to unlock the High-Suction Hero level in the Lost Galaxy.

How Many Bots Are There To Collect In Astro Bot?

This includes all Rescued Bots on secret worlds in Tentacle System. It does but that’s just recycling mechanics or aspects from those games, it’s not that original, it doesn’t fill in gaps those games don’t offer either regardless of platformer then horror, RPG or open world contexts. 10/10 — OutstandingThe pinnacle of a given genre at the time of release, these titles raise the bar in virtually all critical categories.

The dioramas are especially fun, as they turn all your collected bots into animated statues, like one that shows Nathan Drake playing a game called Dude Raider on his couch. Even the most serious of characters are turned into caricatures, like a scene you can create in which The Last of Us’ Joel goes to throw a brick, but it slips out of his hand and bonks him on the head. All of the 169 cameo bots fill in the would-be barren desert sands like a virtual shelf of Funko Pops. My favorite aspect of the game is how it seems to read my mind. Every time I’d divert off the main path in search of a secret or reward, I would find one.

I hate the level design, totally unbalenced when compared to the rest of the game. Essentially, here, key mechanics from the most recent God of War are put to use – specifically the axe where you can throw, freeze and retrieve the axe. This puts a completely different spin on platforming and combat. But they go even further to the point of referencing those narrow passages you often see in big AAA cinematic titles where the camera pulls in and your character slowly makes their way through it. The game is constantly toying with expectations, introducing ideas and concepts you might never have expected – it’s overflowing with fun. On top of all this, Astro Bot is basically a tribute to PlayStation’s history and, in fact, in some ways, the medium as a whole.

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. 789win when you expected them and boss fights when you absolutely didn’t. There are jokes about tech demo ducks in here, then, but there’s also the sense the whole thing is, on some level, a huge tech demo. It’s a sustained tech demo, one that never runs out of new wonders to show you, new marvels to fling at you and swiftly discard. Previous Astro Bot games have been employed to showcase new bits of kit. It feels like Sony is trying to channel its whole spirit into this game.

Astro Bot is a platformer that genuinely thinks like the best platformers out there. It anticipates the things that you will anticipate, and then goes one better. An entire level set on a dream of 1930’s skyscraper construction sites!

Mario gets various power-ups throughout the game and often they only feature a couple of times — it’s like that. And it’s the same in terms of level design as well, just a huge level of variety that means certain motifs and mechanics are explored only once or twice. In my opinion, the variety and constant new ideas is a big part of what makes this game great, but it sounds as though that might not align with your taste. If you liked Playroom overall, though, you’ll definitely like this. I read the review, not worried about spoilers in a platformer, and I’m wondering how many of the different one off play mechanics felt gimmicky? I really like platforming but going back to Playroom I really hate that climbing gyro mechanic, doesn’t feel fluid or natural at all.