Since its release, Astro Bot has received several free updates that greatly expand on its content. First, there was a series of five speedrunning levels between October and November, challenging players to complete their trials as quickly and efficiently as possible. More recently, this was followed by Astro Bot’s Winter Wonder update, a free, Christmas-themed level with plenty of fun holiday surprises for players to discover.

At times, it’s so extensive that, even as a Sony fan, I wasn’t able to recognize all the brands and references. Perhaps an in-game encyclopedia would be useful, briefly describing the robots dressed in non-familiar outfits. Such a feature would make the game an even greater treat for fans of the Japanese console. Astro Bot is a stunning 3D platformer, and easily among the best games in PS5’s library. It fully delivers on the promise of Astro’s Playroom, building on the rock solid core of tight controls and inventive gameplay and turning everything up to 11. With tons to see and do, almost endless fresh ideas, innovative use of the DualSense’s features, and truly charming presentation, it’s a confident and cohesive experience that players of all ages will love.

Astro Bot takes every lesson these previous works taught, and precisely refines them with both overwhelming charm and genre re-defining innovation. 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 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. Pay the 200-coin fee, then pull on the wires to reveal a robot bird.

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Ingenious one-off mechanics like this feel like they could serve as the basis for an entire game; that’s how well-crafted they are. There are over 300 bots to collect with 173 advertised as special bots, all dressed as characters from the PlayStation family past and present. Finding these bots felt like collecting Waddle Dees in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, but with nostalgic excitement every time a special bot is recognized. Every bot collected throughout the levels gets sent to a hub world called The Crash Site. 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.

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They wanted me to laugh, like I suspect they did when designing it. It’s easy to recommend Astro Bot to anyone, both kids and grown-ups. I cannot speak highly enough about my experience with Astro Bot so far, its creativity in both gameplay and its sweeping nostalgia through the entire history of PlayStation in a way that can almost bring a tear to your eye.

All Special Bots

There are 300 bots to find, and many are pulled from the wider world of gaming. Plenty of the branded bots originate outside of Sony’s stable, with big hitters from Capcom, Konami and Sega represented well — a few of them definitely made my partner yell in excitement, which was adorable in its own right. goal123.com of the more memorable levels stem from popular Sony franchises like God of War, with Astro wielding Kratos’ ax on one planet. Team Asobi really mined Sony’s vaults, far beyond simple Crash Bandicoot callbacks, and into weird and wonderful games like LocoRoco and Vib-Ribbon.

Sure, some are coated in different colours of paint or dressed to fit in with their surroundings, but they are all vanquished via the same few fundamental jump and hit combos. Later on, though, the design book opens up and introduces some of my favourite foes. These include an anthropomorphic playing card that flings a hand of clubs and spades your way, which you can then jump on to make your way towards the enemy to deal a killing blow of your own. That soundtrack scores levels that seem simple at first, but soon unfurl themselves to reveal tantalising depths and secrets. Most are fairly linear, but some go the extra mile and are enjoyably knotty, providing sandbox-like areas to hunt for collectibles in. There’s never the openness found in the large-by-comparison Mario Odyssey levels, but enough nooks and crannies to get stuck into nonetheless.

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. Still, the other fights are very impressive and constantly shine.

It also features dozens of characters from first and third party PlayStation games from throughout the decades – although the way they’re handled is one of the game’s few failings. After the disaster of Concord comes the triumph of Sony’s Astro Bot, with a new single-player classic that is one of the best 3D platformers ever made. There is a second set of Tripcaster wires in the clearing with the Tallneck. Irritate some ground-bound enemies into following you, then hop into or behind the square enclosure (yes, there’s enough space for you to stand between the wire and the rock).