Put simply, just about anyone can appreciate Astro Bot’s strengths, not just seasoned gamers or astute, wizened audiences. “Each level comes with a brand new Special Bot to rescue and, once that’s done, can be replayed in Time Attack mode with online rankings.” Sony is releasing another stream of Astro Bot expansions, the first of which is available today, February 13, adding a total of five new levels and as many special bots. This is joined by a PlayStation 5 Pro patch, which allows the best resolution while running at 60 frames per second.

To collect the Mothership’s Memory in Astro Bot, you need to complete all main world levels in the Gorilla Nebula. Is there anything more satisfying than getting that Platinum trophy? To score your Platinum trophy in the PlayStation classic Astro Bot, you must first collect all other Astro Bot trophies. This means not only 100%ing Astro Bot (collecting all Rescued Bots, Puzzle Pieces, and 150 out of 169 Gacha Lab prizes) but uncovering all the little secrets and PlayStation easter eggs which unlock trophies. Now bring back Jak and Daxter, Sly Raccoon and Ape Escape please.

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Astro Bot confidently shows us that we don’t need to abandon that thinking just because tech has changed and the industry has grown. There’s still room for an expertly designed collect-a-thon platformer that’s filled with love and wonder. Astro Bot really is the video game equivalent of venturing through Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory; a delightful concoction of experimentation and joy, just without the child endangerment. Chocolate death pipes and fizzy lifting drinks are instead swapped out for sinkholes leading to treasure and an inflatable friend who helps you reach floating platforms.

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That nirvana is thrown into disarray when a dastardly alien interrupts the party, stealing the mothership’s parts and scattering hundreds of bots across the universe. LUCK8 have a lot of colorful characters you’ll meet along the way. Astro Bot is developed by Team Asobi, who also worked on previous titles where Astro appeared, including the PS5 console’s tech demo Astro’s Playroom. It’s not for “helpless people who already can’t beat the game”.

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By paying respect to PlayStation’s heritage in new interactive ways, Astro Bot also seems like the perfect game to mark PlayStation’s 30th anniversary. “For Astro’s Playroom, there have mainly been two types of audiences,” says Doucet. They’re mostly the type who crave more colorful games and want to go back to 3D platformers. These players are also happy to see how we treat the PlayStation heritage.

This Japan Studio series, about a boy who catches naughty monkeys in his net, is one of many faltering attempts by Sony to create a family game franchise to rival Nintendo’s, and like most of them, it didn’t really stick. Astro Bot is very much its inheritor, even down to the hardware connection — the first Ape Escape was intended as a showpiece for the original DualShock analog controller. After defeating the first galaxy’s end boss in Astro Bot, a level is unlocked that fully and faithfully recreates Ape Escape’s anarchic chase gameplay within Astro Bot’s world. It’s a wonderful touch; for one level, a near-forgotten series is brought back to glorious life in a modern context, and Team Asobi honors the memory of the ceaselessly inventive studio it used to call home. Many of the bots — 173 of them, to be precise — are dressed as characters from PlayStation games past and present. They’re digital collectible figures, Funko Pop alternatives for 30 years of PlayStation gaming, celebrating almost every Sony property you can think of.

Sony proves with Astro Bot that the company can still put out charming action platformers, but the love letter to PlayStation fans fails to include features that made previous games of the genre so fun to replay. Even within a level, an ability is used in several different and creative ways, but always stemming from its singular mechanic featured in that level. It ramps up the platforming and combat sequences via an approachable but challenging incline and chains these little moments together in such a way that there’s never a lull in any level. Whereas many platformers may drill down on a key feature or small set of features, Astro Bot displays confidence by often disposing of exciting new tools shortly after introducing them.

It’s a game that oozes creativity, consistently delighting and surprising the player with new mechanics, gameplay twists, smart boss battles, and jaw-dropping set-piece moments. But past that, it’s also a grand celebration of PlayStation and video game history as a whole — the only game that’s been able to rival Super Smash Bros. in that regard. Astro Bot is easily the best game on the PS5 to date and a platformer that can proudly stand shoulder-to-shoulder with anything Mario has done. Astro Bot is a delightful 3D platformer that has captured the attention of critics with its creative level design, smooth controls, and nostalgic PlayStation references woven throughout. It delivers a fun, accessible experience that should appeal to new players and long-time fans. Critics have praised its charming aesthetics and the seamless gameplay mechanics, but some note the occasional repetitive elements.