Well, to unlock the “Thaw, God of Thunder!” trophy in Astro Bot, you need to trick Kratos Bot into freezing Thor Bot instead. Did you know you can catch the bugs in Apes On The Loose with your net? You can find the Golden Butterfly at the very back of the Apes On The Loose level, in a bush to the right of the sky bridge where you find Sky-Walking Ape Special Bot.
Not every level does require you to be quick on your feet, but it’s a good reminder for when you’re tackling some of the harder levels. Team Asobi has teased that tools will eventually be added to Astro Bot that should appeal to speedrunners. With that tool and a bit of post-launch content updates, Astro Bot’s fun could last a lot longer than it does, and that would be a welcome inclusion for a game with a short run time. Still, any frustration with the game ultimately stems from wanting more of what Astro Bot provides, which at its core is a top-tier platformer with innovation, charm, and enjoyment to spare. When the PS5 launched, it included a free game called Astro’s Playroom. The short adventure worked as an effective tech demo, starring Astro, for the PS5’s multifaceted (and heavily underutilized) DuelSense controller.
The secret exit in Djinny of the Lamp is at the very end of the level, after you defeat the Djinny. Instead of taking the normal exit, look to your right and you’ll see a platform with jewels raining down on top of it. Past that platform, you’ll see another covered in the same jewels. Jump to the far platform and use your spin move to push some of the gems away. You’ll see a wooden floor underneath, so use your cannonball backpack to slam it, which will launch you into the sky and up to a rumble wall.
The mothership — a PS5, finally filling a role it’s always looked designed to play — crash lands on a desert world at the centre of several nearby galaxies. These systems house the game’s stages, where you’ll spend most of your time, but you’ll also regularly return to the hub world, which evolves and expands as you progress. It falls into a great rhythm of exploring each galaxy and its stages, then returning to the hub to drop off your robot buddies and discover new things to see and do. This proverb rings loud and true for Team ASOBI as they are flung into AAA spotlight. The PlayStation first party studio got its start in 2013 with The Playroom, an augmented reality tech demo coinciding with the release of the PS4.
Besides the main bosses, mini-bosses pop up in other levels unexpectedly, and they are also a lot of fun to fight. The new game, simply called Astro Bot and developed (like the others) by Team Asobi, kicks off when a group of robots’ PS5 mothership is attacked, scattering the robots throughout the galaxy. Your job as Astro is to go around to all the planets and collect your friends.
You won’t explore past PlayStation consoles, but the mothership you’re trying to repair is just a giant PS5, and the spaceship you use to explore the overworld is a DualSense controller with wings. It feels a bit like that meme of Obama awarding Obama a medal, but it’s not distracting, so ultimately, it’s fine. In another that sees Astro shrink to the size of a mouse, the miniature world reveals new woodsy and backyard-like scenery that regular-sized Astro couldn’t reach. Some levels even drastically change the art style, as seen in a series of voxel-art levels I was glad to discover each time, or some others I dare not spoil. A new batch of five levels were added in July 2025, adding five new cameo bots including a couple of Final Fantasy characters. Astro Bot speed running levels have begun rolling out as weekly updates, adding two new cameo bots with each level.
Astro Bot is, without a shadow of a doubt, this year’s best platforming game. Hell, it could even be a contender for Game of the Year (GOTY) because of how complete the game is as a whole package. The game is visually stunning, has great sound design, has simple yet fun gameplay, makes use of the exclusive PlayStation controls, and, most importantly, has a ton of content. Sony and Team ASOBI have knocked it out of the park with this game, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this game is regarded as one of Sony’s best releases to date.
The Iron Suit is an impenetrable set of armor that will weigh players down with power. Its main functionality is to transform players into a tiny ball which is impervious to attacks be it rolling through spikes or getting pelted with lava. Players can even shove themselves in vacuums to clog up enemies or mini volcanoes to blast elsewhere in a stage. There are hero stages in Astro Bot based on big properties like God of War and Uncharted. In https://hm88.cafe/ of War stage, Astro Bot can use Kratos’ axe, for example, which is great, but the hero examples go so far beyond power-ups into their own territory. So, let’s go through the main, animal-based power-ups that give Astro Bot a ton of abilities in throughout the adventure.
What Are All Special Bots In Astro Bot? Sylens – Cherished Wanderer
With the success of Astro Bot Rescue Mission, Team Asobi and Astro Bot jumped to the PlayStation 5. The post regarding the new Astro Bot update also teased new Special Bots for each stage, and gave the first look at the Atsu bot based on the protagonist from Ghost of Yotei. The rest of the new bots are based on fan-favorite Square Enix characters that PS5 players will certainly enjoy. Each of the 11 levels can be found by finding a secret exit in various other levels throughout the universe. There are 91 stages in Astro Bot, making this one of Team Asobi’s biggest and most ambitious games to date. Between them, they boast well over 460 collectibles, including 120 Puzzle Pieces, 10 Lost Galaxy Warps, and 332 stranded Bots that are just waiting to be rescued.
It really shows what the DualSense can do like no other game before it. The image quality is superb, showing off the vibrant and detailed worlds wonderfully. While it doesn’t have the graphical heft of other first-party titles, it’s incredibly visually pleasing thanks to clean, consistent art direction. On top of that is silky smooth 60 frames-per-second performance, with not one hitch spotted in all our time playing. Oh, and special mention must be made for the soundtrack, which is just excellent throughout. Astro Bot also manages to find the right balance of difficulty.
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This isn’t a bad thing, since players don’t need to have that much story or depth for Astro Bot, or platformers in general. Instead of having a full narrative, Astro Bot lets the gameplay shine and do the talking for it. Team Asobi could go back to the tech demo days of the franchise’s past and showcase some new hardware, like the PSVR 2. But now that players have been treated to a fully-fledged platformer, it could feel reductive to go back to those smaller adventures.
Time trials and secret areas that unlock after collecting enough hidden materials can provide many more hours of entertainment, especially if time trial modes exist for friends to compete against one another. While there are hidden levels to discover in Astro Bot, after those are completed, there is little incentive to revisit previously conquered stages. This means that after the thrill of the game’s nostalgic moments wears off, there is not much reason to play after its 15 hours are up. [newline]Finding each of these characters is a constant highlight of Astro Bot.
The addition of the new levels brings Astro Bot’s total level count to over 90. Here are Metacritic’s 10 lowest-scoring video games released in 2025. As I collected them, I found myself getting surprisingly emotional as deep-cut games I grew up with got their lovingly crafted due. Every time I found an old friend, I was transported back to that kid in the backroom of my parent’s house playing PS1. The unbridled joy I felt when firing up a game I’d never seen before came flooding back to me.
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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. There were so many surprising elements that I was utterly confused as to how they pulled it off.
Feel every hop, punch and crack through your DualSense wireless controller. After acquiring the balloon power-up, backtrack to the previous platform and float to the opposite side. In the beginning of the stage, immediately knock out the ladybug and use it as a trampoline to get onto the pillar to the left, the puzzle piece will be found here. After getting the balloon power up from the huge robot, immediately use it to get to the robot’s head to find the hidden bot. Astro Bot is a love letter to not just the history of PlayStation but gaming as a whole. Yes, Astro Bot stands on its own as an undoubtedly solid platforming adventure, but what elevates it above that is the Super Smash Bros.-style set dressing that can be found all over.
