First, it release weekly speed-running levels to put your skills to the test, but now an entirely new world called Winter Wonder has dropped as a special holiday gift. This is a winter-themed paradise filled with presents, bells, and even more new bots to rescue. But not everyone can open this gift, so let’s talk about what you need to do before you can chill out in this new level. PlayStation 5 launched four years ago, shipped with a pack-in game known as Astro’s Playroom – a brilliant platform game full of heart and creativity that captured the imagination of new PS5 owners.
This Japan Studio series, about a boy who catches naughty monkeys in his net, is one of many faltering attempts by Sony to create a family game franchise to rival Nintendo’s, and like most of them, it didn’t really stick. Astro Bot is very much its inheritor, even down to the hardware connection — the first Ape Escape was intended as a showpiece for the original DualShock analog controller. After defeating the first galaxy’s end boss in Astro Bot, a level is unlocked that fully and faithfully recreates Ape Escape’s anarchic chase gameplay within Astro Bot’s world.
What Makes Astro Bot Special?
Luckily, none of the collectibles or Hidden Trophies in Astro Bot are missable, so even if you miss one of these things during your first playthrough, you can always go back to grab what you’re missing for that Platinum Trophy. Now Team Asobi has been given the chance to unleash all that expertise in playfulness on Astro Bot, a full-scale game that exists for its own ends rather than to serve a Sony marketing plan. When we award the Polygon Recommends badge, it’s because we believe the recipient is uniquely thought-provoking, entertaining, inventive, or fun — and worth fitting into your schedule. If you want curated lists of our favorite media, check out What to Play and What to Watch. If you want to collect these yourself in your own game, check out our guide to all bot locations, or the 100% walkthrough. If you’re curious about some of the most obscure characters, we have a guide to 21 of the more tricky ones, with details on where you’ve seen them before.
It serves as both a celebration and an advertisement of the fun that Sony Interactive Entertainment offers. The number of references to games released over the years is overwhelming. At times, it’s so extensive that, even as a Sony fan, I wasn’t able to recognize all the brands and references.
Astro Bot – Full Game 100% Walkthrough
Given the robust nature of what Astro Bot offers here, I could see many spending dozens of hours once that time trial mode is released. Players guide Astro Bot through dynamic environments filled with moving platforms, enemies, and interactive objects. The game encourages exploration, rewarding players for finding hidden collectibles and secret areas. Astro Bot’s abilities, such as high jumps, hovering, and special gadgets, allow for creative movement and problem-solving. Each level presents new challenges, from navigating tricky terrain to overcoming environmental hazards. Astro Bot is a platforming adventure game where players take control of a small but agile robot exploring vibrant, interactive environments.
To collect the Mothership’s GPU in Astro Bot, you need to complete all main world levels in the Serpent Starway. After beating kuwin com in the Dude Raiding, you will recover the Mothership’s GPU. To collect the Mothership’s SSD in Astro Bot, you need to complete all main world levels in the Tentacle System. After beating Nidhog in the Bot of War world, you will recover the Mothership’s SSD. To collect the Mothership’s Memory in Astro Bot, you need to complete all main world levels in the Gorilla Nebula. Is there anything more satisfying than getting that Platinum trophy?
As it stands, no Bots from those series are in the game, so there’s every chance they serve as some VIPs in the DLC. “It’s not going to be a huge amount, but it will be focusing on one of the features people enjoyed in Astro’s Playroom – that was the speedruns. Four years after Astro’s Playroom charmed PS5 owners upon release, the new PlayStation mascot has arrived in full force.
One of the best mechanics–which I very much hope becomes standard in the genre moving forward–is a robot bird companion who can join you in any level you decide to replay. The bird pings for collectibles and leads you right to the remaining bots, secret Void levels, and puzzle pieces you’ve not yet found. This makes playing the game to 100% completion a joy and never a grind.
Unlike the last game, they do not need to be saved and serve as simple NPCs throughout the CPU Plaza and its worlds. Many Bots appear reenacting famous scenes and/or cosplaying characters from the many games throughout PlayStation history, and often appear near Bots that carry cameras and wear blue PlayStation hats. When the 1994 Throwback is unlocked in the CPU Plaza, Bots gather around the new portal in fear. Bots return under their current name in Astro Bot Rescue Mission, where they serve as the crew of their captain, Astro Bot, similarly to Robots Rescue. In this game, they traveled peacefully with Astro in the Astro Ship through space, until the Alien appears and attacks the ship, stealing a headset and scattering the crew across five worlds.
It checks all the boxes of being a complete package with its visuals, story, value, audio design, and most importantly, gameplay. The game is worth every dollar that it costs, and everyone that owns a PS5 should look to try this game out. Hopefully this game convinces Sony to revive their older IPs and even look to create more amazing single player experiences such as this. The fact is that the game is both easy to learn and play, yet it’s able to be entertaining with the sheer amount of things to collect and discover. While exploring a certain level in the first world, I came across a portal of sorts that actually led me to unlock a few of the game’s secret levels.
Bosses appear at the end of each cluster of levels and randomly in the middle, always with a new way of attacking that forces you to use powers in new ways, think differently, and experience the level in a fresh light. [newline]Platformers used to be this bold and seemed to shed that personality in favour of retreading safe old ground. But despite being a museum to Sony’s past, Astro Bot is more concerned with looking forward, not backwards. I expected it to be a pretty fun little cartoon romp where the main draw would be pointing at the screen and going “Look! It’s Nathan Drake!”.
Astro bot Rescue Mission (VR ONE) is still the MOST transformative game I’ve played in my adult life. If you’ve become jaded or gaming bores you, it’ll legit make you feel like a kid playing games for the first time again. That feeling that desentized adults have to take drugs to feel, I kid you not.
Environmental puzzles and exciting set pieces await players in Astro Bot’s dozens of stages that can take anywhere from a couple minutes to a quarter of an hour to complete. Fans of PlayStation history will be very tempted to spend more time on each stage thanks to the many nods to past franchises and moments. I won’t talk about the other buildings players can build in Astro Bot’s hub world, but rest assured they are great as well, giving players extra incentive to hunt down every single collectible. The bird costs 200 coins, so players have to give up some gacha pulls to use it, but it’s a great way to keep players from getting stuck. Astro Bot pulls out all the stops when it comes to referencing older titles in the game.
There are one or two surprising absentees, but on the whole it’s a remarkable selection that had us grinning with every character we recognised. It’s all delivered with so much affection that it’s hard not to love it. Speaking of power-ups, our robo-hero makes use of numerous new toys throughout the game.
Astro Bot may feature a simple tale, yet it is a gleeful game that absolutely nailed all the aspects of a platformer. It became the highest-rated standalone game of 2024 for a reason, right? Team ASOBI redefined the modern 3D platforming experience with the vibrant adventures of Astro Bot. From beloved PS5 pack-in game to Game of the Year winner, Team ASOBI’s ASTRO BOT has achieved gaming’s highest honor at The Game Awards 2024, triumphing over acclaimed titles with its innovative gameplay and creative excellence. No, each planet already has plenty of coins to find and spend in the Gatcha Lab! The game provides a complete experience with all content available through gameplay.