A full-length sequel, Astro Bot, was announced on May 30, 2024, and was released for the PlayStation 5 on September 6, 2024. As someone that has owned and loved every single PlayStation console from the PS1 to the PS Vita and PS4, it was an absolute treat to play Astro’s Playroom. I don’t hide the fact that I’m a genuine PlayStation fan, wearing PS symbol t-shirts often and sporting my Crash Bandicoot controller holder — it’s not really a secret.

The PlayStation Memory Card acted as an interim between on-board cartridge memory and storing saves on a console’s internal storage (which the PlayStation lacked, outside of the RAM). Holding a whopping 1 MB of storage divided into 15 blocks, these allowed saves to be copied, backed up and shared among friends independent of the games and consoles. Toro the cat filled the role to a degree in Japan but he never fronted any major games and has since faded from the limelight. But now there is a new challenger and while Astro isn’t much of a character his games are becoming some of the best in Sony’s line-up.

Basically, it means that the triggers can offer resistance if you’re trying to perform some task that requires a lot of effort. With the feature turned off, the triggers will do a full pull as normal. But once activated, the triggers might stop halfway into a pull, requiring extra effort to “push past” the resistance to get a full trigger pull. Ico, The Last Guardian, Demon’s Souls, Patapon are all things of the past. In Sony’s new reality, there’s seemingly no more room for funding titles that resist Western trends and set their own.

Gaming

Walking on the sand in this level provides feedback in the controller that actually feels like you’re on sand. Later in the level you’ll be in a frog robot suit equipped with a spring on the bottom of it. By holding the R2 trigger down you’ll press that spring down to jump and as you are doing it you feel the resistance in the trigger.

Dualshock 4 Wireless Controller

While many games supported the DualShock, very few utilized the right analog stick. JAPAN Studio’s own Ape Escape is famous for requiring the use of a DualShock for this very reason. It’s a wonderful celebration of PlayStation’s history but the absolute best moment is the final boss battle which is so perfectly handled we almost died of nostalgia playing it. Past games are also celebrated in fine style thanks to the little skits that are always going on in the background, often involving other bots playing the role of famous game characters.

The Bot with the staff is the Maiden in Black, a demon who uses souls collected by the player character to help them level up in the Nexus. Demon’s Souls got a PS5 remake in 2020 for the launch of the console. In the second pink field area you’ll find a large rabbit-like robot jumping over the play area. It holds the Guiness World Record as the first platform video game in true 3D, beating out Super Mario 64 by an entire year. Coin collection in Astro Playroom is straightforward but requires attention to detail. Revisit goal123.com after completing the story to find missed coins; Break objects like crates and ice blocks to reveal additional coins.

He previously shared his thoughts on video games in, e.g. various thematic groups. He plays on everything and in everything, which can sometimes be reflected in his reviews. His favorite console is the Nintendo 3DS, he plays a new FIFA every year and tries to broaden his gaming horizons.

This is a reference to 2018’s Spider-Man, developed by Insomnia Games. Its sequel, Miles Morales, would be a launch title alongside Astro’s Playroom. Holding the cross, Astro will launch lasers that will allow him to soar into the air. The laser can also break windows on the floor or kill enemies, especially those that are better left untouched. The following page of the guide for Astro’s Playroom contains some tips for getting started, which are aimed primarily at novice players. Here we also describe a few elements that you might have overlooked.

This is in reference to PlayStation Plus, a premium service that launched in 2010 that offered features such as PlayStation Store discounts, automatic patch downloads and save backups. “The Last Guy” Trophy, awarded for getting 20 Bots to follow Astro in the CPU Plaza, is named after the 2008 PSN game The Last Guy, developed by SCE Japan Studios. The game is about playing as a survivor of a zombie infestation who must find and lead stranded civilians to safety. It’s notable for using satellite imagery from Google Earth to render its cities. This section only lists games whose only easter eggs were in the Trophy list. Games who had others within the game itself are listed above instead.

Astro’s Playroom goes a step further by setting itself entirely inside your PlayStation 5, with the four worlds based on the SSD, GPU, and other major components. While platforming games do not appeal to everyone, players can spend a few good hours going through obstacle courses and hunting a few easter eggs tucked away by the developers. If you just bought a PlayStation 5 or had one at launch, it would be a shame to miss experiencing a game that is completely free in 2025.

Every level has tons of retro tech to collect and store in the PlayStation Labo. In every level of the game, a little piece of PlayStation’s history is hidden in many nooks and crannies. Whether it’s more recognizable products like the Memory Cards, or historic handheld devices like the PlayStation Portable, they all get stored in the Labo as a form of nostalgic lookback.