Upgrade your lifestyleDigital Trends helps readers keep tabs on the fast-paced world of tech with all the latest news, fun product reviews, insightful editorials, and one-of-a-kind sneak peeks. One of the only PS5 games that really feels like it was built around the DualSense. 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.
Explore Astro’s Earlier Adventures
While fairly uncomplicated, this narrative table-setting serves as an effective foundation for the adventure to come, as Astro visits various unique and exciting planets across several solar systems. However, Astro Bot elevates itself from its two predecessors, proving once and for all that PlayStation’s relatively new platforming series deserves to be mentioned among the greats of the genre. Since release, Astro Bot has received a number of additions, including speedrunning levels and a seasonal Winter Wonder update. Astro Bot has today received a free update, bringing new levels and a boost on PS5 Pro. Arriving September 6, 2024, Astro Bot is a direct sequel to Astro’s Playroom and looks to bring all its colorful platforming and more to a full-fledged game. “No chance,” Doucet said when asked if Astro Bot could come to PSVR2.
What Are All Special Bots In Astro Bot? Kulche – Energetic Blob
It’s a riot of collectibles and hub world distractions, and it’s thought about your time, too, and how to make the best of it. It looks absolutely stunning and perfect for a family-friendly platformer. The whole aesthetic and atmosphere of the game are enhanced by its distinct and recognizable designs. To add to this, the game’s callbacks to its older and other IPs by integrating character designs into Astro Bot are amazing as well, since they’re instantly recognizable the moment you see them. The animations are also a work of art since they took time to make unique interactions for the special bots.
Astro Bot is an adventure platformer where you control Astro as he explores six galaxies and over 80 levels across 50 planets to find his scattered crew. While “toy” has become a derogatory term when talking about video games, Team Asobi sees no shame in embracing it. I can see that when I find a cardboard standee in a construction site level. I poke my head through it, only to summon a flock of pooping pigeons.
It could have been easy for Team Asobi to overdo the callbacks and make this game nothing more than a self-indulgent reference fest. Instead, they treated these cameos and references like a spice that was only occasionally sprinkeld throughout the game. The game puts a lot of this “spice,” but understands that too much will kill the dish. That said, Astro Bot has a lot more than just references, as some levels are solely focused on recreating and paying tribute to past PlayStation games. Like its predecessor, Astro Bot is filled to the brim with PlayStation references and cameos. The most visible ones come in the form of the Special Bots — bots dressed up as famous and obscure PlayStation family characters.
Obviously, there’s no way you can feature everything from across four decades of gaming, but I consistently found myself amazed by the rich variety of references and games featured. Finding these little bots was like taking a walk down memory lane, fondly remembering the hours I sunk into these beloved titles, while providing value for this current experience. As you’d expect from a 3D platformer, Astro Bot contains hundreds of collectibles for you to find. In this part of our Astro Bot guide, we have checklists for where to find every collectible in the game, including all Bots, Puzzle Pieces, Lost Galaxy Warp Portals, and more in your quest for 100%.
Click the link to find detailed information on where to find the Bots hidden in all the stages. Thankfully, the Bots themselves have cute personalities that carry Astro Bot. They speak in robotic gibberish, but are physically very expressive. It’s hard not to care for these adorable robots, and spend hours on end just meeting more of them. On the flip side, this leads to a nitpick regarding the enemies. Besides the bosses, none of the enemies have names or identities.
Once you’ve beaten all 10 of the Lost Galaxy levels (although it’s currently unclear if you also need to get the 100% completion gold flag on these levels as well), a present will appear in the middle of the nebula. Fly over and activate the present to enter the Final Encore level, which has five bots and two puzzle pieces — just like the rest of the Lost Galaxy levels. Team Asobi has announced that five new levels are coming to Astro Bot as weekly drops, starting on Feb. 13. (That’s today!) As with previous additions to the Game of the Year winner, the new levels are free to download — and, of course, each comes with a new Special Bot to rescue. It’s hard to say what cute, robotic PlayStation characters could possibly top the twin Spider-Man bots from the Christmas level, but I’m excited to find out.
However, we may infer that there is a possibility that the game will head to PC in a few years, similar to their other first-party titles. TG88 is developed by Team Asobi, who also worked on previous titles where Astro appeared, including the PS5 console’s tech demo Astro’s Playroom. Finding every bot and motif is an absolute joy in Astro Bot, really digging into PlayStation’s rich history. Once that’s accomplished, head to the Crash Site and press the big red button to initiate the boss battle. Super Mario Bros. was a formative gaming experience that changed my life. Alongside these five new levels, we are pleased to say that owners of the PS5 Pro will be able to enjoy an improved version of Astro Bot featuring a constant best resolution while still running at 60 frames per second.
Everyone should be able to play this masterpiece, but maybe the PS5 should actually get more games to play. Special Bots can be found as you progress through Astro Bot, each one dressed as a character from PlayStation’s long history. There are hundreds of them to collect, appearing in each level of the game. As part of our Astro Bot guide, we’re going to reveal all Special Bots, who they are, and where to find them. To start the year on a good note, we are delighted to announce new Astro Bot content is coming starting today.