The DualSense controller becomes an extension of the game as its haptic feedback technology allows the player to feel every step and jump Astro takes, with toto hk the sensation changing on every surface. The controller’s built-in speaker acts as surround sound to the world. Upbeat audio tracks, audible footsteps, interactive and combative noises all blend into a symphonic atmosphere that pulls you through each level. Astro Bot just got a brand new update, adding five new challenge levels complete with their own new special bots to unlock. And two of the new bots are from a series that had previously gone unrepresented in the game, despite being beloved by PlayStation fans.

The crash site hub world has its own areas to explore and is packed full of quirks, such as eventually letting you customise your ship and outfit. The gacha machine mechanic makes a particularly enjoyable return, providing a satisfying way to spend the thousands of coins you’ll collect. It’s not brand-new for the series at this point, but still hits all the right spots. Astro Bot also doubles as a celebration of all things PlayStation.

Yet they never fall into the trap so many platformers do of cranking the difficulty up way beyond reasonable levels and changing the game’s essence. Astro Bot can be punishingly difficult, especially the final gauntlet once you have every collectible in hand, but it never feels unfair. As galaxies are explored and Bots are rescued, Astro Bot’s hub world stations begin to unlock, including a closet with outfits for Astro and a claw machine that gives players a place to spend all their collected coins. The machine dispenses new Astro costumes, cosmetic options for the PS5 controller spaceship, and joy for the rescued PS-themed Bots. Each is missing a beloved item that can, once regained, give them a clever new animation to perform in the hub world. However, some long-time players of platformers produced by Sony will be disappointed in Astro Bot’s current endgame offerings.

I’m a big fan of this Russian doll structure and the way it introduces new lands. It ensures a constant supply of surprises throughout Astro Bot’s roughly nine-hour duration. If 2020’s Astro’s Playroom was like a museum – albeit one with fun playable exhibits – Astro Bot is like a theme park, throwing a new thrill at you around every corner and after every double-jumped gap.

Besides his moveset, he is capable of picking up and throwing objects to attack his foes, destroy obstacles in his path or activate switches. Not only that, but he can wear an inflatable life ring to swim on the surface of the water with ease. Inflatable life rings can be located in some water or underwater levels. The second highlighted moment comes after Mighty Chewy has been vanquished. This is when you learn that there are not only special bots, but each galaxy has a special level completely inspired by a PlayStation game or series. These unique one-off levels also see Astro transmogging his abilities and appearance by borrowing an item from the character who inspired the special level.

I was expecting an average of 8s, but almost all reviews I saw are 9 and above. As usual, happy to answer any questions about the game and the review Thank you for reading. Since releasing Astro Bot earlier this year on PlayStation 5, we have been submerged by lovely comments from you and the PlayStation community, and we are delighted with the critical response to the game all over the world.

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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. And while there’s nothing to quite rival the GPU earworm of four years ago (despite the best efforts of a giant singing tree), the music is a consistent delight throughout. Here are the games released during 2025 that have won major industry awards or received nominations for those awards. We’ll update our awards tracker whenever new awards and nominations are announced. Dive back into supersized adventures with ASTRO and this limited-edition controller!

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. This year has been a very special journey for us at Team Asobi, and we thank you for joining us. Until next time, we wish you a very relaxing and restful end of the year, full of gaming of course, but above all, full of good health and happiness all around. I’ve played all of the GOTY nominees, except FF VII Rebirth, this year.

And while it is fun to go around and interact with the bots here, there is a small chance that you will recognize every single one of them. If I have one complaint about the game it is that the record keeping system that keeps track of the bots collected, does not break down who the special bots are and the game(s) they are from. It was tempting to spin a narrative around Balatro’s chances, especially after we at Polygon selected it as our own game of the year. It had the reviews, and by indie standards, it was very widely played. The last time an indie game appeared to seriously challenge for Game of the Year at The Game Awards was Hades’ run in 2020.

See why critics are calling ASTRO BOT the most innovative platformer of the generation. Feel every moment through the DualSense controller with advanced haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and motion controls. Each Astro Bot release pushes the boundaries of PlayStation hardware, from PS VR to PS5’s DualSense controller features. Team ASOBI’s masterpiece claims the prestigious Game of the Year award at The Game Awards 2024.

It comes with a plethora of powers, but they never feel overused. One of them is a set of cymbals that moves the platforms of the world around that other, lesser games might build their whole universe around. Astro Bot puts it in the final treat that you only get to even play if you beat every other level, including all the secret ones (and boy, are there a lot of secret ones). If you haven’t played Astro Bot yet (and seriously, why not?), it’s currently on sale for $39 as part of the PlayStation Black Friday sale. After announcing the news back in February, the DLC levels for Vicious Void Galaxy are now all available.

If anything, the game might be a little too easy to play, as its intended target audience is anyone that’s able to launch the game. As the game will have even more challenges and a new speedrun mode to be included for free, this might not even be a con when it does release eventually. To put it simply, Astro Bot is quite literally a complete package. Each aspect of the game is superb and should be taken as the gold standard of how to release a game.