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. 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. You can also hover over the Nebulas to see how many total collectibles there are in the sub-levels.

The lack of story in Astro Bot reflects the character’s origin in PlayStation 4 tech demos The Playroom and The Playroom VR. As such, he’s never been given any backstory and he only communicates in baby talk. Except for wearing a cape, he looks identical to all the other robots and, quite frankly, he’s beginning to seem under-designed – especially when one of this game’s main gimmicks is dressing him up as other PlayStation characters. I am annoyed I can come up with animal abilities for better navigation/quest access in BIomutant, oh no we have gliders (other features, a merchant like BOTW I’ll never find again) and vehicles but why can’t I dig, fly, swim?

Astro Bot Characters

Astro Bot took what players loved about those tech demos and expanded upon them immensely into a fantastic platforming experience. In this game, players once again have to save Astro’s crew across multiple galaxies. Along with that, they also have to repair their PS5 mothership and experience the history of PlayStation through collectibles, unique levels, fun little robots, and so much more. And now that it has gone on to become one of the best-selling PS5 games, there are likely plenty more adventures on the way. Astro Bot is rolling back the years, not only shining a light on 30 years of PlayStation history through a ton of cameos and level design tributes, but by putting platformers back at gaming’s pinnacle. A fantastically colourful and creative romp through a huge variety of settings, it’ll have your thumbsticks clicking, your heart racing, and even your lips blowing – yep, that’s a mechanic in the game.

Recommended Games

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.

Pressing down on the touchpad activates a vacuum that can bring the AR Bots back inside. AR Bots also appear in the downloadable activity Ninja Bots, where one playable AR Bot appears. You can see that most of those are indies with fewer reviews counted, and the scores I omitted are for “definitive collections” or remasters which I’m not going to count. And an expansion or two like Elden Ring’s or Destiny 2’s The Final Shape. But if we’re talking about full games, GOTY-potential games, Astro Bot is on top.

Final Encore Bot Locations

Part of that Nintendo feel is also shown across the game’s bosses. 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. [newline]Still, the other fights are very impressive and constantly shine.

It even feels like some popping candy has smuggled its way into your controller as it fizzes and pings away, sweetly reacting to whatever is happening on screen. Astro Bot is a showcase for the DualSense’s bells and whistles unlike anything since, well… Triggers tighten in your fingers and rumbles are sent through your thumbs. I found my whole body involuntarily drifting from side to side as I guided Astro’s ship with the motion controls. I’d also recommend turning your controller speaker volume up if, like me, you have it muted by default – you’ll be missing out on some fantastic audio flourishes otherwise.

This is because while Astro Bot is that celebration of PlayStation’s history, it’s also a visual graveyard of IP that will never again see the light of day, making their appearance absolutely sting. It’s great to see ASOBI showing this level of appreciation of what has come before, but it also shows Sony’s very apparent inability to leverage what built them up in the first place. Jigsaw pieces can also be discovered if you’re skilled and/or keen eyed, which eventually open up a variety of features that enrich the entire experience. There’s a safari you can unlock, too, allowing you to take pictures with the many animals found on the game.

If you don’t have enough coins you can always replay levels to get more. Nothing is missable, you can still replay all levels after the story and go back to all areas. If you don’t want to replay levels, the most efficient method is to collect everything on the first run. You need most bots anyway to unlock the boss levels in each Nebula.

Stranded in space following an attack from a googly-eyed alien, Astro’s mission is to repair their ship and rescue all 300 pals scattered across five main clusters of planets, each composed of individual levels. Naturally, the story is not the focus here, and yet I was so immersed in the 15-hour game that I beat it in two long sittings. It may be 2024’s most immersive game, and it achieves that without a line of dialogue. Instead, each level tells a story, clear as day, about where you ought to go next and what you should do there. According to Jamie Smith, Team Asobi’s Principle Animation Director, the animations of Astro and other characters in the game have been drastically increased.

Astro’s adventure takes him to various galaxies full of planets to explore as he tracks down his scattered crew. kuwin of our Astro Bot guide goes over each and every level in the game, highlighting where to find all collectibles and more. Every level brings something new, and the controls feel perfect. The bright graphics and little PlayStation references make it even better.

We’ll just have to see what Team ASOBI has in store for Astro Bot’s next adventure. Developers are still working hard to bring even more content to Astro Bot in future updates, and while it’s early days yet, we do have some initial details to run with. The Stranded Scout, Nightmare Guardian, Greedy Ape, and Pro Driver Cameo Bots will only be available at the Crash Site once players have unlocked them in Astro’s Playroom. The following guide includes the identities of every Astro Bot cameo character, as well as information about the stage or area in which they’ll need to be unlocked. Players can also watch the video at the top of the page to see their animations and Gatcha Lab items. Yeah, and of course every game is different – different art styles, different engines, different visual goals, etc.

I just wish there were one or two more of them, but perhaps I’m being greedy. Over 150 of them in fact, as characters from PlayStation’s vast library of games have made their way into Astro’s world in the form of other bots. There are the ones you’d expect like Lombaxes, tomb raiders, and a certain rapping dog but, delightfully, some are plucked from the more obscure end of the scale.

These are just three examples, but quite literally every level in the game has some kind of unique idea or design. There are some repeats in terms of power-ups that Astro Bot is given, little devices or creatures that give them new moves. For example, the dog power-up lets you charge straight ahead and smash through walls, the clock lets you slow down time, a penguin gives you a quick dash through water, and a monkey holds cymbals that let out a massive shockwave. Even though these power-ups appear across multiple levels, they’re always used in tandem with that level’s unique design, making them feel fresh.