The ever-growing install base of the PS5 has allowed many players around the world to enjoy Astro’s Playroom. Filled with references to hardware throughout PlayStation’s history and boasting an abundance of cameo appearances from popular characters, Astro’s Playroom celebrated PlayStation’s history in a unique way. This made Astro not just the new kid on the block, but established the bot as a character integral to the PlayStation brand.
As part of our Astro Bot guide, we’re going to reveal all Special Bots, who they are, and where to find them. One level allows you to explore a recognisably domestic world but you can drastically change size, bashing through doorways one minute and wriggling through a gap in the skirting board a minute later. Another lets you transform into an ultra-heavy version of Samus Aran’s morph ball thingy, and has brilliant stuff for you to do once you have. These levels feel so Nintendo-like because they get everything out of their ideas. If you’re small but you can become big, can you blow stuff up from inside?
According to the game’s reveal trailer and details shared on the official PlayStation Blog, Astro Bot will feature over 80 levels spread across six galaxies players will explore. That makes Astro Bot a significantly bigger adventure than Astro’s Playroom and PSVR’s Astro Bot Rescue Mission. We’re eager to see how Team Asobi expands the gameplay this time around. I don’t know if I’ve ever played a platformer before where I enjoyed literally every single boss fight and level, but I can confidently say that about Astro Bot. The stages constantly surprise and delight as they take full advantage of the PS5’s hardware.
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. That mothership crash lands on a desert planet after an evil alien attack, and Astro must now travel the galaxy searching for its missing parts and crewmates. Some of those biggest unexpected treats are the new powers that Astro gets along his journey. 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.
Crash Bandicoot – Crash Bandicoot
The hardware quality is also mixed, with one customer reporting no marks or scuffs on their unit. But what I really love about Astro Bot is that it’s also just filled with bits and pieces. Stuff to roll around in, stuff that forms little piles that can be kicked about.
What Are All Special Bots In Astro Bot? Rivet – Multiversal Rebel
However, this time, we’re getting a full-length game (with no microtransactions) that’s much bigger than Astro’s previous adventures. The game includes hidden levels that can pose a challenge even for veteran platformers, which makes it even more appealing in my eyes. For most of the gameplay, however, the difficulty is more balanced and generally easy, but this doesn’t detract from the almost childlike joy of completing each level. There’s plenty to do in the galaxies haunted by the green alien. I can’t wait to buy my own copy and work toward earning all the achievements in this charming game.
The game is simple, and some might think that it’s way too easy to play the game. If anything, the game might be a little too easy to play, as its intended target audience is anyone that’s able to launch the game. As the game will have even more challenges and a new speedrun mode to be included for free, this might not even be a con when it does release eventually. It only really has a few universal mechanics to learn, and most of the game will have you interact with the stage gimmicks for the most part.
It’s not something we can often say about new games but in this case, the experience is so bulletproof and polished that it feels as if the team perfectly achieved what they set out to do. Some games just can’t help but keep a smile on our faces, and Astro Bot, a 3D platformer developed by Team Asobi, is one of them. In 2020, to coincide with the launch of the PS5, every console came with Astro’s Playroom pre-installed, completely free of charge.
They’re usually just tied up or waving for help or, in the case of Solid Snake, just hanging impotently from a tree. The characters make for fun rewards for completing a level, or finding a secret, but as a tribute to the games they originate from they’re almost entirely useless. Although half of the bots you’re rescuing look identical to Astro, just without the cape, the other 150 are all based on characters from other games. Or rather they’re normal bots cosplaying as characters from other games. These cameos are far more extensive than we expected and include not just deep cuts from Sony’s back catalogue but references to games from Activision, Konami, Embracer Group, Atlus, Bandai Namco, Capcom, and others.
There are secret exits in several Astro Bot levels, all of which will unlock a new stage in the mysterious Lost Galaxy nebula. To unlock them all, you’ll need to scour certain levels and even solve some mini puzzles. Pulling together tips and tricks for a game that is so welcoming to all types of players feels a bit odd. But, because Astro is a silent protagonist and a lot is inferred rather than explained outright, some of the game’s elements left to the player to decipher may not be all that obvious to all. Team ASOBI has crafted a next-gen platforming experience that showcases everything the PlayStation 5 has to offer, from stunning visuals to innovative DualSense features. From incredible Astro Bot speedrun records to creative gameplay challenges, our community continues to discover new ways to enjoy this beloved platformer.
I found my whole body involuntarily drifting from side to side as I guided Astro’s ship with the motion controls. I’d also recommend turning your controller speaker volume up if, like me, you have it muted by default – you’ll be missing out on some fantastic audio flourishes otherwise. And while there’s nothing to quite rival the GPU earworm of four years ago (despite the best efforts of a giant singing tree), the music is a consistent delight throughout. Customers find the game incredibly engaging and fun to play, with one customer noting that the themed levels include unexpected gimmicks. Customers praise the game’s quality, describing it as a champion of platforming games and one customer noting it’s the best arcade-meets-open world-chapter experience. Dive back into supersized adventures with ASTRO and this limited-edition controller!
Where it shines is the game’s level designs, unique gimmicks, and usage of everything the PS5 has to offer. It’s been quite a rough few weeks for Sony and PlayStation fans out there, and it’s great to know that it’s not all doom and gloom as Astro Bot is here to save the day. As a casual fan of platformers, Astro Bot blew me away and reminded me of the nostalgia and fun that is to be had with the genre. The last time to do this was Nintendo’s Super Mario Odyssey, which is a very high standard to beat or match in recent years.
Though completing levels will spawn new ones within the same solar system, there are also hidden mini-levels. You can unearth these by flying into the comets and meteors scattered around, especially once you’ve completed most of the bigger main levels in a zone. Astro Bot follows the tiny but brave Astro as his PS5 mothership is attacked by his galactic nemesis, scattering the crew throughout space. Only Astro can set things right, and he needs your help to rescue the stranded crew and rebuild the mothership on his biggest mission yet. When the PlayStation 5 mothership is attacked by ASTRO’s long-standing galactic nemesis, scrambling its wires and scattering the crew throughout space, only ASTRO can make things right!
It truly takes advantage of all the different features the PS5 remote offers and is just pure awesome joy. Here are the games released during 2025 that have won major industry awards or received nominations for those awards. We’ll update our awards tracker whenever new awards and nominations are announced. It even feels like some popping candy has smuggled its way into your controller as it fizzes and pings away, sweetly reacting to whatever is happening on screen. OK8386 COM is a showcase for the DualSense’s bells and whistles unlike anything since, well… Triggers tighten in your fingers and rumbles are sent through your thumbs.