Astro Bot embraces that by turning each of its levels into playgrounds that give players plenty of space to poke around in the name of fun. With the basics on lock, Team Asobi lets players focus on Astro Bot’s wildly inventive level design. In one level, I get a power-up that lets me shrink Astro down to the size of an ant on command. That leads me through a fantastic puzzle-platformer gauntlet where I need to shrink down to climb into a lock or hop up a tree’s leaves. Another level drops me in a casino and puts a time-slowing PSVR on Astro’s head. I use that ability to freeze a giant slot machine as it rains down chips, turning them into platforms.

With polished gameplay and a visually appealing world, Astro Bot delivers a fun and rewarding platforming experience. The result was Astro’s Playroom, a 3D platformer that was, once again, released as a free game designed to showcase a new piece of hardware. It came pre-installed on the PlayStation 5 when it went on sale in 2020.

For many players, part of the fun was discovering all of the cameo-inspired robots in Astro Bot. Thankfully, the DLC levels continue that element and Armored Hardcore is no exception. The Vicious Void Galaxy DLC has added the likes of Jade from Beyond Good & Evil and Heihachi Mishima from the Tekken franchise to name a few.

Abilities And Controls

While a lot of them are based on first-party properties, like The Last of Us, Shadow of the Colossus, and Ape Escape, there are many more based on third-party titles — some of which are amazingly obscure. 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. Some appear more than others — the frog gloves, which let you hit enemies from afar and swing from poles, come back a few times, while some one-off mechanics are our favourites. One allows Astro to shrink in size, while another turns him into a sponge, able to soak up and then eject water.

It’s ceaselessly cute and clever, and feels more like a little kid delighted to show you their toy collection than a braggart displaying their trophies. The only ability that doesn’t work as cleanly as others is the one used in an underwater level. Meant to mimic a dolphin-like dive ability, the controls used for this one never feel as intuitive as those for other abilities. In this level, I found it unusually tricky, albeit not exactly difficult, to collect all the secrets.

Super Mario Bros. was a formative gaming experience that changed my life. Astro Bot is beautiful, and not just in a cartoony kind of way. Its landscapes are sharp and alive with interactive details, and it seems like every pixel has been polished to perfection. All I hope now is that Team Asobo is given quite literally anything it wants to make its next game because I’m already there for it.

The game combines classic platforming elements with modern gameplay innovations, making every stage feel fresh and engaging. There are 5 main Nebulas, each with 6-7 main levels, and a few side levels which are unlocked by flying into objects with the spaceship inside the Nebulas. When you hover over a level it shows how many collectibles it has and how many you still need.

What Are All Special Bots In Astro Bot? Toro Inoue – Aspirational Cat

Some are on the linear side, testing your platforming skills, but others are more open, giving you some freedom as to how to achieve your goal. You might find yourself equipped with gloves that allow you to pummel enemies at range, for example, or a bulldog strapped to your back with which you can charge into heavy items and send them flying. As previously mentioned, anyone that has played Astro’s Playroom will have a good idea of what to expect here.

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. It’s just a shame there’s not more of those levels, as that’s when the game is at its peak in terms of game design – along with one-off themes like a day/night world that you can switch between with the press of a button. Graphics aren’t the only presentational element that can elevate a game, and Astro Bot proves that perfectly, but in gameplay terms the most interesting ideas are the many and varied power-ups.

Then hopefully Sony realise that fun, original, innovative single player experiences have a place in today’s world. Older platformers ideas WERE experimental, STILL ARE FRESH/UNIQUE in the genre, no one wants to copy them, expand on them, make their own mechanics like them. https://w188tyc.com/ that the Indies even are inspired by all feel bland, & why because the level design is eh, the movesets are pathetic & to be honest they don’t have the talent & their inspiration is just weak. Is it good with cameos yes (not a graveyard indeed), is it good with core mechanics IT OFFERS yes, level design eh the themes are generic.

Did you know you can use your Twin-Frog Gloves Power Up to beat up two Wormys at once? Yep, while exploring the Wormy Passage world, be sure to keep an eye out for a pair of two or more Wormys (green worm enemies). Press both your left and right trigger (L2 and R2) to punch your left and right Twin-Frog Glove into the mouths of the Wormys. Did you know you can catch the bugs in Apes On The Loose with your net? You can find the Golden Butterfly at the very back of the Apes On The Loose level, in a bush to the right of the sky bridge where you find Sky-Walking Ape Special Bot.

Developer Team Asobi has been delivering brilliant 3D platformers since PSVR’s Astro Bot Rescue Mission, so it should come as little surprise that this latest entry in the young series is among the best games PS5 has to offer. There are fun mechanics found throughout the levels, from powered up punches to the ability to spit out platforms to full-on slow motion, and each level is designed expertly around those. On top of that, thematically, these are not just “desert, snow, jungle” levels, as if you pay attention, you can see things like how the rainbow-colored mushroom level is where you’ll find…The Last of Us characters. If you have read my Astro Bot review, you must be already aware of how this game is an elated love letter and a rich celebration of Play Station’s legacy. This videogame has the outright power and quality to challenge your perception of platformer games and it will make you say it duly earned the GOTY 2024 once you take Astro Bot for a spin. There are more levels like the Ape Escape one, in which Astro fully absorbs the personality and toolkit of another PlayStation hero and romps through a level based on that character’s own games.