The Great Master Challenge can only be accessed once players have found every Puzzle Piece in the game and rescued 300 Bots. The biggest evolution of the cameo characters, however, is that four of them will actually lend you their weapons, which Astro needs to use in stages specifically designed for each one. Sony just never seemed to have an answer to Nintendo’s Mario or Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog. Crash Bandicoot was an iconic character that was exclusive to the PlayStation at the time, but he belonged to a third-party studio. And while Toro from the Doko Demo Issho series reached mascot-like status in Japan, the cute feline character was hardly known outside of PlayStation’s home country.

Many of these things are platformer standards, but that’s kind of the point, because the game always chucks something in to warp it and make it fresh. Creativity can be two things you sort of understand combined in a way you didn’t expect. That was followed up with the PSVR-exclusive game Astro Bot Rescue Mission. And then everyone who buys a PS5 gets a free digital copy of Astro’s Playroom, a short game that lasts between three and five hours, depending on how many of the collectibles you want to get. The gimmicks introduced in the game are reminiscent of Super Mario Odyssey’s level design, where stages have a central gimmick that you have to work around.

I even use the microphone to blow into a giant horn, a kind of delightful gameplay interaction that even Nintendo has moved away from in recent years. This is one of the only PS5 games that really feels like it was built around the DualSense, and it shows. What elevates that beyond a bit of throwback nostalgia is that developer Team Asobi may be the most skilled studio working today when it comes down to game feel. Astro Bot plays like a dream thanks to its ultra precise movement. Part of its secret weapon is Astro’s hover jump, which lets him float in the air a bit longer before landing. I never lose my momentum because of a mistimed jump and can usually recover if I misjudge a spinning platform’s trajectory.

In this Astro Bot guide, we have a full walkthrough of the game, pointing out where to find all the collectibles in every level. https://tg88.actor/ includes the locations of all Bots, all Puzzle Pieces, and all Lost Galaxy Warp Portals. On top of that we have pages on cosmetic items like Outfits and Dual Speeder Skins, how to secure all the PS5 Trophies, and lots more. Originally announced during Sony’s June 2025 State of Play, the update adds a new galaxy, the Vicious Void, for players to explore. Four of the levels are titled Twin-Frog Trouble, Suck It Up, Handhold Havoc, High Inflation, with Team Asobi keeping the name of the fifth as a surprise. The addition of the new levels brings Astro Bot’s total level count to over 90.

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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. It’s a wonderful touch; for one level, a near-forgotten series is brought back to glorious life in a modern context, and Team Asobi honors the memory of the ceaselessly inventive studio it used to call home. These are far from the only references to other games you’ll see. Of the 300 bots you need to rescue, over half of them are dressed as characters from some of the most iconic games to grace PlayStation over the last 30 years. 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.

Astro Bot Overall – 96/100

Anyone who doesn’t want to be spoiled by who the new bots are should check back after playing the new content. Since release, Astro Bot has received a number of additions, including speedrunning levels and a seasonal Winter Wonder update. These levels are more difficult and aim to test jumping skills.

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Across the game’s dozens of levels, you’ll see many abilities like these, and in nearly every case, they are a resounding success. There is both depth and breadth to most levels, and frequent checkpoints mean you’ll rarely be punished for exploration or missing a jump. Levels take only five to 10 minutes in most cases, but are overflowing with personality. Robot animals climb trees along the periphery or jump out of the ocean far beneath the levitating worlds you explore. Everything constantly moves around you, imbuing every level with life beyond the scraps you’ll engage in with the game’s enemies. Each level’s theme is brought to life with aesthetic assets and design ideas that strengthen their themes.

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Most of the Astro Bot cameo characters are pretty easy to identify, but there are a few VIP Bots who are obscure and thus can be difficult to place. The fact that Team Asobi’s games have the potential to become someone’s first game is something that Doucet takes seriously. “Team Asobi’s studio is just across the street from our building, so they were always the first to prototype with our hardware,” says Senior Principal Product Manager Toshi Aoki, product director for the DualSense controller.