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.
Other than say Ride 4 having a Forza Motorsport 1&2 region mechanic expanded upon I can’t say I’ve come across similar in the racing genre or many others as many devs just copy and paste to compete…. Now the racing genre is just race, time trial, drift/elimination if your lucky. Forget unique modes, slight changes to be like 3 different drift modes or last man standing. Even Wreckfest we can’t even have Flatout style (predecessor) flinging the driver target practice. I can go to TOCA 3/V8 SUpercars 3 or DTM 3 or whatever for PS2 and DS/PSP/PS2-Xbox-PC are all different.
Across my 25 hours fully completing the game and earning the Platinum (it took 11 hours to reach the main ending), I could count on one hand the amount of times I died and felt it was the game’s fault, not mine. Gyro can be disabled as an accessibility feature if players prefer. The DualSense also produces some unique audio if it isn’t hooked up to headphones, so try to play without any if you can for a more immersive experience. “Unlike our last update Winter Wonder, which was a walk through the Xmas park, this new update features harder levels to test your jumping skills,” said director of developer Team Asobi, Nicolas Doucet. Matthew Adler has written for IGN since 2019 covering all things gaming, tech, tabletop games, and more.
Astro Bot (ps
Astro Bot hides over 300 secret bots, including 195 cameo bots from other games spanning PlayStation’s long history. Astro Bot is an adventure platformer where you control Astro as he explores six galaxies and over 80 levels across 50 planets to find his scattered crew. Astro Bot received PlayStation 5 Pro support and new, more challenging levels back in February. Team Asobi’s platformer won numerous Game of the Year awards, including at 2024’s The Game Awards and the 2025 BAFTA Awards. The game features more than 50 diverse planets spread across six themed galaxies, each offering unique challenges and environments to explore.
One level allows you to explore a recognisably domestic world but you can drastically change size, bashing through doorways one minute and wriggling through a gap in the skirting board a minute later. Another lets you transform into an ultra-heavy version of Samus Aran’s morph ball thingy, and has brilliant stuff for you to do once you have. These levels feel so Nintendo-like because they get everything out of their ideas. If you’re small but you can become big, can you blow stuff up from inside?
@MrMagic Yeah it’s going to be between this game, ReBirth and Balatro, two of which are exclusive to Playstation. [newline]A congratulations are in order for delivering something that can give people joy. Smyths just sent me the pre-order bonus code.The order for the game and controller just updated to Preparing for Dispatch.Feck me I’m excited! dangky g28 said not to expect any major titles this year, meaning that they don’t consider this a tentpole release.
What are you going to play a adult copy and paste game part whatever. I’d say your only potential hurdle is some of the challenges, as they can be quite tough, but broadly speaking the game is on the easy side. @RubyCarbuncle Oh I don’t doubt there’s an audience for VR, I just don’t see Sony alloting much time or resources to it for their new golden child (Asobi) with this sort of success on the vanilla console under their belts. I never thought i see the day push square giving a ps game a 10 score .. Digital Foundry just dropped their Astrobot video, I haven’t had a chance to watch yet but I think the title says it all.
From 2012 to 2020, the Tokyo-based outfit made small games, often distributed for free, whose purpose was to demonstrate the interactive potential of Sony’s hardware. The Playroom demonstrated the PlayStation Camera; The Playroom VR and Astro Bot Rescue Mission the PlayStation VR headset; Astro’s Playroom the PS5’s DualSense controller. The team had a talent for unearthing delightful and satisfying interactions from the devices, and they peopled their games with cute little robots who acquired more personality with each installment.
A Fantastically Inventive Platformer Packed Full Of Playstation Memories
Its wild characters and artful, innovative games are particularly favored in Astro Bot’s directory of PlayStation history. Team ASOBI has crafted a next-gen platforming experience that showcases everything the PlayStation 5 has to offer, from stunning visuals to innovative DualSense features. However, collecting all 300 bots, finding all secrets, and achieving 100% completion can extend playtime to 18+ hours. From incredible Astro Bot speedrun records to creative gameplay challenges, our community continues to discover new ways to enjoy this beloved platformer.
And it’s the same in terms of level design as well, just a huge level of variety that means certain motifs and mechanics are explored only once or twice. In my opinion, the variety and constant new ideas is a big part of what makes this game great, but it sounds as though that might not align with your taste. If you liked Playroom overall, though, you’ll definitely like this. I read the review, not worried about spoilers in a platformer, and I’m wondering how many of the different one off play mechanics felt gimmicky? I really like platforming but going back to Playroom I really hate that climbing gyro mechanic, doesn’t feel fluid or natural at all.
Airtight platforming and level design give Astro Bot a strong foundation, but its real secret sauce is its toy-like appeal. If you talk to a parent who has played a game with their child, you’ll likely hear them outline how differently kids and adults interact with games. While adults tend to barrel forward with a focus on the end goal, kids are more likely to interact with as much as they can, picking up on more subtle animation details. 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.
Some worlds require special powers to navigate, and those, too, are pretty standard in function if not in form. The monkey power-up lets you scale walls, while the mouse ability shrinks you down to access tiny spaces. There’s even a Super Mario Sunshine-esque F.L.U.D.D power that uses liquid to move Astro around. Astro Bot is filled with standard platformer tropes, but it pulls off a sense of wonder in their presentation. As you explore galaxies to find your fellow robots and unlock new parts of the game, you’ll find a lot of familiar elements, only to see them executed in quirky and delightful ways. Just about every platformer has an ability that lets you shoot across longer distances, but none of them let you do it by strapping a bulldog to your back.
You need to fly around the Nebula with your space ship until a UFO appears that holds the puzzle pieces, simply fly into it to collect it. If you replay levels, you can buy a satellite at the start for coins that marks the collectible locations. However, you need 15,000 coins to buy 150 gatcha items for the Money Well Spent trophy, so it’s best to not spend coins on the satellites. After reaching 100% completion you will have close to 15,000 coins if you don’t spend them on satellites.