This level provides a harder challenge than its slot predecessors, which might take a few attempts to work out. On the golden platform there are three large enemies that look like bells in the center. You can’t directly damage them with your laser jump, but you can use it to create a hole all the way around them. Once you have done that, their platform in the middle will drop down and be replaced by a new one containing a Pro Evolution Soccer Bot that you can rescue.
And 10 more of these special bots are being added in the newly teased free DLC. I’m told Astro Bot has around 80 levels to visit, all bursting with hidden bots, puzzle pieces, boss battles, goofy power-ups, coins, and little challenges leading to delightful secrets. Astro Bot is a platforming adventure game where players take control of a small but agile robot exploring vibrant, interactive environments. Each level is designed with unique obstacles, hidden secrets, and creative mechanics that require precision and quick thinking. The game combines classic platforming elements with modern gameplay innovations, making every stage feel fresh and engaging.
Loading between levels never robs you of control and is super fast. It feels finely tuned from top to bottom and I think that’s something to commend. Let’s get the traditional Digital Foundry bullet point specs out of the way. Astro Bot uses dynamic resolution scaling and I noticed a 1440p to 2160p rendering window (though of course, this could change according to content).
As of now, Sony does not have a PlayStation 6 on the horizon, nor does it seem to have any other major new hardware coming soon. Because of that, Astro does not have anything new that he can try to repair across multiple galaxies. Additionally, the celebration of the PlayStation brand may get stale after two entries do the same exact thing.
Doing so is a pretty epic task, requiring you to rescue all 300 bots and find all 120 puzzle pieces. This means you also need to find all secret exits to gain access to the hidden levels in the Lost Galaxy Nebula. For example, when Astro descends into a level riding his PS5 DualSense-shaped ship, you can hold down on the L2 and R2 triggers to fire off thrusters to move faster. Some of the collectibles can actually only be found this way, making it a compelling reason to start the level even earlier.
If you’re small but you can become big, can you blow stuff up from inside? 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. When it comes to the challenge levels, however, you may find yourself struggling. While there’s a plethora of things you could do, the number one tip is to keep moving. Try to press on and not stop, as you’ll become an easy target for projectile enemies or obstacles like fire or thin ice.
But developer Team Asobi cheekily doesn’t name them directly, giving each one a cluelike codename (“Aristocratic Archaeologist” for Lara Croft, “Raider Dude” for Nathan Drake) and a further hint-filled description. So browsing the collection is both a guessing game and a test of how deep your PlayStation fandom goes. Previously, in Astro’s Playroom, the little mechanical bot was no stranger to being surrounded by Easter eggs and cameos from other PlayStation games. It seems that tradition will, happily, continue in Astro Bot, and many glimpses of cameos were already present in the announcement trailer.
But it’s not just PS1 reminiscing that makes Astro Bot so great—not by a long shot. A true audiovisual tour-de-force, Astro Bot makes full use of the PS5’s DualSense controller, utilizing it in ingenious, but also somehow obvious, ways to maximize enjoyment. And “enjoyment” is certainly an apt descriptor, as few modern games are capable of evoking the sense of childlike joy that Astro Bot excels at, regardless of player age.
New Report Finds Most People Barely Buy Two Games A Year
However, most don’t realize there is a secret 301st bot to uncover once the rest have been found. Unfortunately, there’s no way to skip straight to this bot, so you’ll have to put in some work if you hope to find it. Final Fantasy’s absence was still odd, however, given both its prevalence in PlayStation history and the fact that Cloud’s iconic Buster Sword appeared in the PS4 platformer Astro’s Playroom. If Square Enix was hesitant about putting its spikey-haired hero in Astro Bot at one point, it seems like it got over it, because Cloud and his rival Sephiroth are now both featured Special Bots in the new update. That being said, you can replay levels as many times as you’d like, or you can start a new save file to experience the adventure all over again.
Sony Interactive Entertainment Announces The Integration Of Wholly Owned Subsidiary Sn Systems
Again, I’m cautious of spoilers, but there’s a level themed around one of my favorite PlayStation franchises, Uncharted. And when the iconic theme song kicked in (with an Astro Bot twist) and I came face-to-face with a robot version of Nathan Drake, I was grinning so much my cheeks started hurting. Each power-up you encounter is found in a level entirely designed around making each one feel useful. I don’t want to spoil too much (the joy of discovery is one of Astro Bot’s biggest strengths), but the developers at Team Asobi get pretty creative. Not to mention, powers-ups are only sporadically repeated in levels so you never get bored of them. If you played Astro’s Playroom when you picked up your PS5, you’ll have a general idea of how Astro Bot plays.
There are still plenty of characters Astro Bot is missing, though. Maybe we’ll see Sora from Kingdom Hearts in a future update now that Square Enix seems to be okay with its characters being added to the game. Although that might also get caught up in some Disney licensing as well.
Players can then retrace their steps if at all possible although in some stages backtracking isn’t as easy, unlike a Metroidvania. The Elephant is a fun one to use because the game keeps coming up with novel ways to implement it. The first big stage it’s in, Trunk of Funk, allows players to suck up sap to disperse below them. This can bounce players up and it can be deployed three times after every sucking motion. Players can also deploy grass shrubs below them to do some platforming.
Every time I’d divert off the main path in search of a secret or reward, I would find one. Yes, I can, and for scaling it to the very top I’d find coins to spend on cosmetics. “What if I peek over this ledge?” There’s a hidden cave below, hiding another puzzle piece used to open shops in the game’s hub world. Whenever I’d wonder if my intuition was leading me to something valuable, I’d find I was right.
That is now the case, so it’s likely we can expect at least one more expansion in 2025, and as there’s currently an empty region in the top left of the galaxy map that would seem perfectly suited to having a new area added. Bear in mind that while the initial update was free, it’s likely that future DLC will be a paid-for expansion. Some of Astro Bot’s best moments are reserved for an even more special level type, however. In most games, these powerups would form the basis of dozens of levels, but in Astro Bot, you’re lucky if you use them for more than a few minutes. It feels like Team Asobi has scientifically calculated the moment you might get bored with one powerup, and decided to end the level at exactly that moment. Thanks to this, there is such an incredible pace to the main campaign, where you’re constantly wondering what the next level will throw at you.
A few of Astro’s new abilities, such as the frog-shaped boxing gloves, get a feeling of springy tension with the adaptive triggers when he’s punching enemies from a distance, too. Before entering a level in a galaxy, like the first one in Astro Bot called the Gorilla Nebula, the stage will showcase what players have collected. This includes bots, puzzle pieces, and one other secret that will be discussed later. Knowing what will be in a level may focus players more so than normal. It was tempting to spin a narrative around Balatro’s chances, especially after we at Polygon selected it as our own game of the year. It had the reviews, and by indie standards, it was very widely played.…
