Astro Bot Review and Gameplay Guide — GOTY 2024, Tips & Everything You Need to Know

Astro Bot is pure joy distilled into a PlayStation 5 exclusive. Developed by Team Asobi and released on September 6, 2024, it is not only the best 3D platformer since Super Mario Galaxy — it is the Game of the Year 2024, sweeping awards at The Game Awards, BAFTA, and the D.I.C.E. Awards. It also became the highest-rated game of 2024 on Metacritic. In a generation dominated by dark, demanding epics, Astro Bot is a reminder that games can be endlessly creative, genuinely fun, and deeply personal — all at once. It is PlayStation’s own Mario, and it has arrived fully formed.

🏆 Quick facts: Astro Bot — Released September 6, 2024 | PS5 Exclusive | Developer: Team Asobi | Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Metacritic: 94 | Game of the Year 2024 (The Game Awards, BAFTA, D.I.C.E.) | 90 levels, 6 galaxies | 300 Bots to rescue

🎬 Astro Bot — Full Gameplay Video

Watch Astro Bot in action — 3D platforming across six galaxies, DualSense motion controls, power-up backpacks, boss fights, and the PlayStation character cameos that make this the most joyful game on PS5.

🎮 Astro Bot gameplay footage via YouTube. Developed by Team Asobi, published by Sony Interactive Entertainment.

📋 What’s in This Article

• Story — Astro’s Biggest Mission Yet
• Gameplay — Platforming, Power-Ups & DualSense
• Six Galaxies — What to Expect
• VIP Bots & PlayStation Character Cameos
• Boss Fights
• Collectibles — Bots, Puzzle Pieces & Lost Galaxies
• Is Astro Bot Worth Playing? Our Verdict
• Essential Tips & Tricks
• FAQ

🚀 Story — Astro’s Biggest Mission Yet

The premise is charmingly simple: Astro Bot’s spaceship — a giant flying PlayStation 5 — is attacked by a galactic nemesis who tears it apart, scattering 300 crew Bots across the cosmos. Astro must journey through six galaxies, rescue his friends, and rebuild the mothership.

It’s a thin narrative by design — and that’s entirely intentional. Astro Bot’s story isn’t told in cutscenes or dialogue boxes; it’s told through the sheer joy radiating from every level, every rescued Bot’s happy dance, and every extraordinary PlayStation character cameo that sends fans into pure delight. The central hub world — the Crash Site, where rescued Bots congregate around the wrecked mothership — becomes an increasingly warm, populated home over the course of the game. It’s one of the best hub worlds in any platformer.

🎮 Gameplay — Platforming, Power-Ups & DualSense

Astro Bot’s core platforming is built on the same foundation as Astro’s Playroom — the satisfying base move set inherited from Astro Bot Rescue Mission. Astro can jump, hover, punch, spin-attack, and swim. These fundamentals feel exceptional: responsive, precise, and physically satisfying in a way that’s immediately apparent the moment you first take control.

What makes Astro Bot extraordinary is what Team Asobi built on top of that foundation:

Power-Up Backpacks

Every level introduces at least one — often several — unique power-up backpack that temporarily transforms what Astro can do:

• 🐘 Elephant Backpack — inflates Astro like a balloon, allowing him to float upward and bounce across surfaces
• 🐶 Bulldog Backpack — rocket dash that smashes through glass and brittle walls
• 🥊 Boxing Gloves Backpack — enormous retractable gloves that punch through obstacles and deliver satisfying haymakers to enemies
• 🧽 Sponge Backpack — absorbs water and launches it at targets
• 🪀 Inflate/Deflate mechanics (various) — Astro can expand and compress to fit through narrow openings or reach new heights

Each backpack is used creatively throughout its level, introduced with gentle tutorial moments and then pushed to surprising mechanical depth. The level design ensures you never feel like you’ve seen this particular power-up used to its full potential — until suddenly it surprises you again.

DualSense Integration

Astro Bot is the fullest realization of the PS5 DualSense controller’s capabilities:

• 🎮 Haptic feedback — every surface Astro lands on, every punch he throws, every obstacle he smashes into communicates through the controller with specific tactile precision.
• 🎯 Adaptive triggers — pulling back the trigger to fire a water jet feels different from using the sponge backpack’s squeeze mechanic.
• 🌀 Motion controls — tilting the controller rotates platforms, steers vehicles, and controls Astro’s direction during specific flying sections. Implemented with rare elegance.
• 🖐️ Touchpad — used for unique interactions in specific levels. Scratching the pad makes Astro scratch his head; swiping creates directional blasts.

🌌 Six Galaxies — What to Expect

Astro Bot’s base game spans six galaxies, each containing approximately 6–10 planets plus a dedicated boss stage. Each galaxy has a distinct visual identity and thematic focus:

• 🌊 Camo Cosmos — camouflage and hidden elements. Teaches you to look carefully at the environment for concealed paths.
• 🔥 Fiery Furnace — volcanic and industrial. Introduces heat-based hazards and Astro’s fire-adjacent power-ups.
• ❄️ Frosty Froth — ice and snow biomes with slippery mechanics and frozen platforms.
• 🌿 Breezy Basin — natural forest environment with wind-based platforming mechanics.
• 👻 Creaky Crank — haunted mechanical theme with clock-tower aesthetics.
• ⭐ Final Galaxy — the culminating challenge galaxy that tests everything learned across the game.

Beyond the six main galaxies, completing the game unlocks additional content including speedrun levels, Vicious Void challenge levels, and free seasonal holiday additions including the festive Winter Wonder level featuring surprise VIP Bot cameos.

🎭 VIP Bots & PlayStation Character Cameos

This is where Astro Bot transcends “excellent platformer” into “something genuinely special.” Hidden throughout every level are Special VIP Bots — tiny versions of beloved PlayStation characters dressed in their iconic outfits. Over 150 of the 300 total Bots are Special Bots.

Finding a cameo Bot of your favorite character — dressed faithfully in their iconic design — creates a joyful recognition that is impossible to manufacture artificially. Team Asobi clearly searched the entire depth of PlayStation’s 30-year history to craft this roster. Some cameos represent famous PS1 characters that haven’t been seen in decades. Others are from games released in the same year. The variety is extraordinary.

💜 Notable VIP Bots include characters from: God of War (Kratos & Atreus), Horizon (Aloy), Ratchet & Clank, Spider-Man, Ghost of Tsushima (Jin), Sackboy, Solid Snake, Crash Bandicoot, Parappa the Rapper, Heihachi from Tekken, Jade from Beyond Good & Evil, Rayman, Croc, Tomba, and dozens more spanning the entire PlayStation library.

👹 Boss Fights

Each galaxy’s final planet features a dedicated boss encounter. These fights are spectacular, creative, and appropriately challenging — they represent the fullest expression of each galaxy’s power-up and mechanical theme. Galaxy bosses are unlocked only after collecting a minimum number of Bots from that galaxy’s planets.

The boss design consistently subverts expectations — just when you think you understand the pattern, the fight evolves. All six galaxy bosses are distinct, memorable, and celebrated as some of the best boss design in the platformer genre.

🔍 Collectibles — Bots, Puzzle Pieces & Lost Galaxies

Astro Bot has three types of collectibles per level:

• 🤖 Bots — the primary collectible. Each level contains 5–7 hidden Bots to find. 300 total across the game. Essential for unlocking boss gates and the hub’s special content.
• 🧩 Puzzle Pieces — secondary collectible. Collecting enough unlocks the Safari Park area in the hub world, which in turn unlocks Photo Mode.
• 🌌 Lost Galaxy Warp Portals — hidden dimensional portals in specific levels that transport you to short bonus “Lost Galaxy” stages with unique visual aesthetics.

A collectible detector in the form of a golden bird is available to help you locate missed Bots on revisits — eliminating the frustration of hunting pixel-by-pixel.

⭐ Is Astro Bot Worth Playing? Our Verdict

Astro Bot is the most purely joyful game released on PlayStation 5. Where most of Sony’s flagship exclusives deliver spectacle and emotional weight through darkness and struggle, Astro Bot achieves similar resonance through relentless creativity, warmth, and love for the medium itself. Every level introduces something new. Every boss teaches you something it just showed you. Every Bot discovery brings a smile.

It is not a long game — main story completion takes 10–12 hours — but every minute of that runtime is exceptional. There is no filler. There is no water level that makes you groan. There is no recycled boss.

💡 Essential Tips for Astro Bot

• 🤖 Explore every corner of every level — Bots are hidden in nooks, behind obstacles, inside destructible objects, and in spots that require you to hit specific surfaces. Look everywhere.
• 🎮 Use motion controls — don’t turn them off — the motion sections are some of the game’s most inventive moments. The controls are responsive and well-calibrated.
• 🧩 Collect Puzzle Pieces as you go — unlocking the Safari Park and Photo Mode requires a specific number of Puzzle Pieces. Collecting them throughout the game avoids frustrating backtracking.
• 🌀 Revisit levels after unlocking power-ups from later galaxies — some Bots in early levels are only accessible once you’ve learned moves from later stages. The game tells you a Bot is present but beyond reach — note it and come back.
• 💛 Use the golden bird detector — it’s available at the Crash Site after reaching a specific Bot count. It highlights uncollected Bots in replayed levels, making 100% completion significantly less tedious.
• 🐾 Talk to every Bot in the Crash Site — rescued Bots interact with you, occasionally unlock hub secrets, and the animations are delightful.

❓ Astro Bot FAQ

Is Astro Bot the same as Astro’s Playroom?
No. Astro’s Playroom was a free tech demo pre-installed on every PS5 at launch. Astro Bot is a full retail game with 90 levels, 300 collectible Bots, and a complete campaign. The characters are the same but the games are distinct.

How long is Astro Bot?
The main story takes 10–12 hours. Full completion with all Bots, Puzzle Pieces, and post-game challenge levels takes 12–15 hours.

Is Astro Bot only on PS5?
Yes. Astro Bot is a PS5 exclusive and was specifically designed around the console’s DualSense controller capabilities.

Does Astro Bot have New Game+ or post-game content?
Yes. Team Asobi has continued adding free seasonal content including the Winter Wonder holiday level, Vicious Void challenge galaxy (5 levels), and additional VIP Bot cameos. The game also receives free DLC updates.

Who are the VIP Bots?
VIP Bots are special versions of beloved PlayStation characters hidden throughout the game’s levels. They include Kratos, Aloy, Jin Sakai, Sackboy, Crash Bandicoot, Solid Snake, characters from Tekken, Castlevania, Rayman, and dozens more — spanning 30 years of PlayStation’s history.

Final Thoughts

Astro Bot is what happens when a developer loves the medium, loves the hardware, and loves the players. It is the most fun you can have with a PS5 controller in your hands. Whether you’re 8 or 48, whether you know every PlayStation character or none of them, whether you want a 10-hour masterpiece or a deep collectible hunt — Astro Bot delivers. It is the pure heart of gaming.

Have you played Astro Bot? Which VIP Bot cameo made you the happiest? Drop a comment below!

Astro Bot is developed by Team Asobi and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Released September 6, 2024 exclusively for PlayStation 5. Won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2024, the 21st BAFTA Games Awards, and the 28th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. Continuing to receive free content updates.