Astro Bot crams in nearly two dozen boss encounters, some that repeat in certain ways, but all of them are truly special events. From flying atop a bird as you smash away at its helmet, to a Djinn or a Gorilla, these fights are simple in their design, but due to the wondrous abilities and the slick controls, are engaging and often magical. That said, the final battle is likely the weakest, coming across as the less creative design of the entire bunch, which is a shame since the game goes to great lengths to show us Nebulax between each world. Still, the other fights are very impressive and constantly shine. Other abilities, like the Monkey Climb has you scaling walls with long extended arms.

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.

Those devs are also real gamers with passion and vision who made tons of classic and unique games back then. Sony seem to misunderstand and think everything needs to be a 100 million, 60 hour epic in order to sell. They could easily fund 3 or 4 quality 20 hour titles (see uncharted lost legacy, Miles morales) for a fraction of the cost and at significantly reduced development times. This is what Shawn Layden called for all those years ago, but he seems to have been ignored.

What Are All Special Bots In Astro Bot? Patapon Flagbearer – Tribal Flagbearer

At the Crash Site, you can call on your Rescued Bots to help unlock new areas or find new Bots and Puzzle Pieces. Sometimes the Rescued Bots will stack on top of each other to transform into a Bot Wall that you can walk up. Press down on the D-Pad to emote while standing in front of Crash Bandicoot. Give Astro Bot a chance to complete a full dance with Crash Bandicoot to collect the Let’s Twist Again trophy. If you give Kratos Bot a friendly punch at your Crash Site, he’ll use his axe to freeze you into an ice cube.

What Are All Special Bots In Astro Bot? Fetch – Neon Avenger

We’ve discussed that in a separate boxout, because none of that affects the game, but it is all very odd – and gives the distinct impression it was shoehorned in halfway through development. There are much more difficult optional levels – a set based around the face button symbols being the hardest – but these are all quite short and completely linear, with no checkpoints. They’re reminiscent of Super Mario Sunshine void levels but it’s a shame none of the normal levels also offer an increased challenge. The most interesting though is probably the one that shrinks you down to the size of a mouse, allowing you to explore levels at two different sizes.

But maybe the PlayStation didn’t need an answer to Nintendo and Sega’s beloved mascots. Games were entering an era in which more realistic human characters like Cloud Strife, Solid Snake and Lara Croft were becoming the new industry icons. As this more mature stream of gaming culture evolved, cutesy mascot characters and the 3D platformers they called home became less and less common. When Microsoft entered the industry with the Xbox in 2001, Halo’s Master Chief instantly shaped the console’s image. Microsoft’s purchase of Rare, a studio that had created platformers with mascot-like characters for Nintendo, almost seemed like an afterthought.

If you’re looking for even more savings this season, check out the entire PlayStation’s 2025 Black Friday sale for deals on games, consoles, and more. To unlock the levels in “Lost Galaxy” you must find the 10 Secret Level Exits (‘Lost Galaxies’) in the other Nebulas. The Puzzle Pieces are needed to unlock new areas in the Crash Site hub area. After finishing all 10 Secret Levels you unlock the 11th Secret Level.

However by your comments because I questioned this, you feel that you are justified to make various comments above. I will let other people and the moderators consider if this was justified. I mentioned my age to explain the reasons for my lack of appeal for the game, not to provide spurious ammunition,and in hindsight being honest and forthright appears to have been a mistake.

Playstation Innovation

The most alluring feature, though, is its PlayStation-themed collectibles. Every level has a set of hidden bots that Astro needs to rescue. That would be a charming Easter egg hunt, but Team Asobi isn’t just investing in empty references. It uses the opportunity to show its love for PlayStation history.

Some distinctive PlayStation-themed bots — think one wearing Aloy’s red hair or Kratos’ beard — serve a more special purpose. When you rescue them, they can give you that character’s power and take you to a special level modeled on a game like Horizon Zero Dawn or Uncharted, so detailed that they’ll even include side quests from the original. And I defy you to feel something other than the warmest nostalgia during the final boss fight and credits sequence — I didn’t know just how much emotion a PlayStation Move controller could make me feel. 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. Spending coins in the game’s shop unlocks dioramas, ship paints, and costumes for Astro, even some based on unexpected series such as Bloodborne and Gravity Rush.

Throw a complete lack of checkpoints into the mix as well, and these are easily some of the toughest tasks in Astro Bot, with a final level that’s a real tough nut to crack. It’s a non-stop gauntlet of quickfire threats that made me piece together everything I had learned up until that point in a frantic, but still fun test. 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.

I have bought £70 games which have bored me within 3 hours and £15 games that I play for years. Price point is fine and if not it will be on sale within 6 months…no one is forcing you to buy it day one or at all for that matter. Does 777X have unique enough mechanics like older platformers nope. The ears look cool, no mechanic, small size theme/cosmetic, sigh.

Astro Bot revels in showing the player something new around almost every corner. Few ideas are even revisited, making some moments feel memorable and unique. While it can border on not allowing some of those ideas to creatively breathe, given how quickly they can be cast aside in favor of something new, I never felt robbed of my time with any moment, or spectacle. Every stage in Astro Bot provides its own challenges, forcing players to think outside the box or make use of unique power-ups. Astro Bot is a beautiful game featuring nicely crafted physically-based materials, especially metallic surfaces, and richly detailed levels.

Astro Bot makes incredible use of the PS5’s DualSense Controller, with clever implementation of haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. If you have even the slightest interest in the platformer genre, Astro Bot is a must-play game. Following the release of the first set of speedrun-style DLC levels, many fans were wondering if Team Asobi had anything else planned for the popular game.