Astro Bot is a 2024 platform game created by Team Asobi and released by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5 to celebrate PlayStation's 30th anniversary. It is the fifth game in the Astro Bot series, following Astro's Playroom (2020), and Team Asobi's first game since leaving Japan Studio.

In the game, players control Astro, who must rescue lost robots, collect parts for the PlayStation 5 mothership, and fight the alien Space Bully Nebulax. Like Astro's Playroom, Astro Bot uses features of the DualSense controller, such as adaptive triggers and haptic feedback.

Astro Bot was the highest-rated game of 2024 on Metacritic. Reviewers praised its gameplay, level design, and content, with some comparing it to Nintendo games, especially the Super Mario series. The game won several awards, including Game of the Year at the Game Awards 2024, the 21st British Academy Games Awards, and the 28th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.

Gameplay

Astro Bot is a 3D platformer game where players control a small robot named Astro Bot using the DualSense controller. Astro’s abilities, such as jumping, hovering, punching, and spinning, are the same as in previous games, Astro Bot Rescue Mission and Astro’s Playroom. The ability to swim underwater, which was not available in Astro’s Playroom, returns from Astro Bot Rescue Mission.

The base game includes 90 levels divided into six galaxies and 60 planets. Each galaxy has progression levels (required to unlock boss stages) and challenge levels (optional and harder). After completing enough progression levels and collecting a specific number of Bots, players unlock a boss stage. Completing the boss stage unlocks a level focused on a special V.I.P. Bot. Finishing that level unlocks a new galaxy.

Travel between galaxies and levels is done using the "Dual Speeder," a spaceship modeled after the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller. Players control the Dual Speeder by pressing the analog triggers and tilting the DualSense. It can move freely on the level selection screen, where it can collide with asteroids to unlock optional stages and collect puzzle pieces.

Like Astro Bot Rescue Mission, each level requires rescuing a set number of Bots. Main platformer levels have seven Bots, while boss and challenge levels have fewer. Players must collect a certain number of Bots to progress. A total of 332 Bots can be rescued: 301 in the base game, 27 in DLC levels, and 4 from Astro’s Playroom. V.I.P. Bots, which resemble PlayStation characters, can also be rescued. Over 150 unique V.I.P. Bots are included, with more expected through DLC. Some Bots are based on characters from PlayStation’s history.

Five levels are inspired by classic PlayStation franchises: Ape Escape (PlayStation), God of War (PlayStation 2), Uncharted (PlayStation 3), LocoRoco (PlayStation Portable), and Horizon (PlayStation 4). These levels let players use abilities from those games, such as Spike’s Monkey Net in the Ape Escape level or Kratos’ Leviathan Axe in the God of War level.

Astro gains 15 new abilities that improve movement and combat. Examples include Barkster the Bulldog Booster (enables air-dashing), Keri Kero the Twin-Frog Gloves (allows punching from a distance and swinging off red surfaces), and Handy-D the Monkey (helps climb banana-shaped holds and throw rocks). Boss battles use these abilities.

The game includes accessibility options, such as playing with one analog stick, support for the PlayStation Access controller, and the ability to disable gyro controls, haptic feedback, and adaptive triggers. A bluebird helper can be purchased to help find missed Bots or puzzle pieces.

All collected Bots are viewed in a hub world called the Crash Site. Some V.I.P. Bots perform special actions when punched, like a Bot based on Ratchet from Ratchet & Clank dropping Bolts. The Crash Site also contains hidden items, Bots, and companions that require rescued Bots to unlock. Collecting puzzle pieces unlocks the Gatcha Lab (where players can spend coins for collectibles), the Dual Speeder garage (for customizing the ship), and Astro’s outfit collection. The Safari Park lets players interact with robotic animals and unlock Photo Mode.

Collecting all puzzle pieces and 300 Bots unlocks the "Great Master Challenge" level, accessible only from the Crash Site. Completing this level rewards a V.I.P. Bot based on Chop Chop Master Onion from PaRappa the Rapper, a retro-style "Throwback Outfit" for Astro, and a Dual Speeder skin modeled after the original PlayStation controller.

Plot

Astro, a robot captain of a mothership that looks like the PlayStation 5 console, and his team of Bots are traveling through space when a green alien named Space Bully Nebulax attacks them. Nebulax removes the mothership’s CPU, causing Astro and the mothership to crash onto a desert planet. Astro becomes unconscious, and his crew, along with the mothership’s core systems, are scattered across the universe.

Astro is awakened by his Dual Speeder, a smaller spaceship shaped like the DualSense controller. Together, they work to reactivate satellites and explore galaxies to rescue the crew and rebuild the mothership. With help from his team, Astro confronts Nebulax’s minions, defeats them, and retrieves parts of the mothership: the system memory from Mighty Chewy the gorilla, the solid state drive from Wako Tako the octopus, the graphics processing unit from Lady Venomara the snake, the cooling fan from Mecha Leon the chameleon, and the ship covers from Falcon McFly the bird. Along the journey, Astro rescues V.I.P. Bots (guest characters from other games) and visits planets inspired by Ape Escape, God of War, Uncharted, LocoRoco, and Horizon.

After recovering all parts except the CPU, Astro and his crew use ships based on older PlayStation hardware to form the "PlaySquadron" and confront Nebulax, who has been troubling the CPU throughout the game. Astro retrieves the CPU, and when he and his crew destroy Nebulax’s spaceship, a black hole forms and begins to pull Nebulax in. Nebulax tries to take Astro with him, but the crew attempts to save him. Astro refuses to let his crew sacrifice themselves and lets go, falling into the black hole, which explodes into a supernova.

The crew grieves for Astro as sad credits begin to play, but the scene is interrupted when a damaged Astro falls back onto the mothership. Crew members find replacement parts and use the mothership’s repair systems to rebuild Astro, who regains life. The crew celebrates as Astro revives and departs on his Dual Speeder before the credits finish.

After the credits end, a severely injured Nebulax and his minions are seen floating in space. They threaten the player, but the words "THE END" suddenly appear, sending them flying away.

Development

The development of Astro Bot began right after Astro's Playroom was finished. It took about three years to create, with a team of around 60 people working on it. It is said to be the largest game Team Asobi has ever made. Unlike earlier games, such as Astro Bot Rescue Mission and Astro's Playroom, Astro Bot was given a name without any subtitle. Nicolas Doucet, the creative director and producer of Astro Bot, explained that this decision was meant to show the start of a new chapter for the Astro Bot series.

In an interview with Edge magazine, Doucet said that Team Asobi considered making the game an open world format but chose instead to focus on level-based gameplay. He explained that this choice allowed the team more control over the variety of experiences in the game. To make the game accessible to players of all skill levels, the difficulty of each level was carefully planned. Main levels were designed to be easy, so anyone could complete the game. Optional levels, however, were made more challenging to appeal to experienced players.

The game includes many improvements to the background and environment in each level. A new game engine allowed for better visuals, physics, and the inclusion of over 70 different types of wildlife, such as polar bears, elephants, and insects.

Astro Bot cannot be played on the PlayStation VR2, even though earlier Team Asobi games, like Astro Bot Rescue Mission and The Playroom VR, required the PlayStation VR headset. Doucet said that after finishing Astro's Playroom, the team decided not to create a VR2 version. Instead, they focused on making a larger version of the tech demo, assuming players would enjoy it. He explained that for an Astro Bot game, if a VR version were made, it would need to be fully designed for VR. If not, it would need to be fully designed for non-VR play. Doucet also mentioned that a PC version might be possible if there is enough demand after the game's release.

Astro Bot uses many features of the DualSense controller, such as haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. A small team was formed to explore how to best use these features. For example, the adaptive triggers were used to simulate squeezing water out of a sponge by changing resistance levels. Haptic feedback was used to let players feel surface textures to find hidden secrets. Many of these features were tested separately before being added to the main game.

Each of Astro's abilities also uses the DualSense controller. Doucet noted that unlike Astro's Playroom, where abilities were separated from platforming, Astro Bot integrated abilities directly into the gameplay. He explained that touchpad controls were used less often because they could cause friction during gameplay by requiring players to move their fingers away from the jump button.

Doucet has spoken about the importance of the V.I.P. Bots, which reference famous PlayStation characters. The team decided to include more cameos than in Astro's Playroom. One reason was that Astro Bot could help connect younger players with older fans who recognize the references. A challenge was making sure the V.I.P. Bots honored the characters they represented while keeping the humor from earlier games. Studios like Santa Monica Studio and Naughty Dog praised the inclusion of their characters as Bots.

Another challenge was ensuring that the many references to PlayStation and third-party characters did not overshadow Astro's own identity. Doucet said the team considered removing PlayStation branding but ultimately decided to keep it, as fans of Astro's Playroom might be disappointed without the references.

The V.I.P. Bots were not always exact copies of their source material. For example, characters with hair often had it replaced with vinyl. The Bots also had blue LED eyes, which were a key design feature. Some Bots needed full head masks instead of LED eyes because their original designs relied on more stylized eyes.

There are 194 V.I.P. Bots in the game, including characters from Sony-owned franchises like Ratchet and Sackboy, as well as third-party characters from other PlayStation games.

Kenneth C. M. Young, who previously composed music for Astro Bot Rescue Mission and Astro's Playroom, returned to create the soundtrack for Astro Bot. His work was shared through the game's digital deluxe edition and later released on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music on October 5, 2024. The soundtrack includes new music by Young and reused tracks from earlier games, such as The Playroom VR, Astro Bot Rescue Mission, and Astro's Playroom.

In an interview with VGC, Young described how he used a dev kit to access an early version of the game and find inspiration for level music. He called this process "really important, especially for levels where the needs were unclear."

The game also includes remixed versions of themes from other PlayStation games, such as Greg Edmonson's music from the Uncharted series, Bear McCreary's themes from God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarök (2022), and themes from LocoRoco by Nobuyuki Shimizu and Kemmei Adachi. Some of these themes were not credited.

Marketing and release

Astro Bot was announced on May 30, 2024, during Sony's State of Play livestream. The game's release trailer and a behind-the-scenes video were shown on the PlayStation YouTube channel on August 30, 2024. The game was released only for the PlayStation 5 on September 6, 2024. The 400th issue of Edge magazine includes ten different cover designs, each showing a unique V.I.P. Bot, such as Ratchet and Clank from their series and Aloy from the Horizon series.

Three versions of the game are available: digital standard edition, physical standard edition, and digital deluxe edition. Each version includes rewards for people who preorder the game. The digital standard version includes an in-game outfit for Astro that looks like PaRappa the Rapper, a Dual Speeder graffiti skin with different V.I.P. Bots, and two PlayStation Network avatars: one with Astro and one with a V.I.P. Bot inspired by PaRappa. The digital deluxe version includes all the rewards from the digital standard version, plus two outfits (one golden and one inspired by the Yharnam hunter from Bloodborne), two controller skins (called 'Neon Dream' and 'Champion's Gold'), 10 PlayStation Network avatars showing more designs of Astro and V.I.P. Bots, and a download code for the official soundtrack and digital art gallery.

Playable demos of Astro Bot were available at events like Summer Game Fest, EVO, ChinaJoy, and PAX West. At Tokyo Game Show, a giant replica Gatcha machine was displayed. Visitors who used the machine received one of four Astro Bot-themed t-shirts.

A DualSense controller modeled after the Dual Speeder was announced on July 29, 2024. Preorders began on August 9, and the controller was released with the game. A console bundle including a PlayStation 5 (standard and digital-only) and a digital copy of Astro Bot was released on March 13, 2025, in the United States and Europe.

To connect Astro Bot with its predecessor, Astro's Playroom received a free update on June 7, 2024. The update added new artifacts to the Gatcha machine that match PS5 slim models and accessories like the PlayStation VR2 headset and PlayStation Portal. These artifacts can be stored in a new room accessed through the PlayStation Labo room. The update also included a new "mission room" that shows a countdown until Astro Bot's release and directs players to the game's official store page.

Four new Bots were added to Astro's Playroom, each representing a different world. These Bots are inspired by characters like Lady Maria from Bloodborne, Selene from Returnal, a racer from Gran Turismo, and a Pipo Monkey from Ape Escape. Each Bot collected in Astro's Playroom can be used in the Astro Bot game.

After its release, Astro Bot received updates that added new levels and V.I.P. Bots.

On September 24, 2024, during a State of Play event, five speedrun levels were added to a new galaxy called Stellar Speedway. These levels became available weekly from October 17 to November 14, 2024. Each level included two V.I.P. Bots, such as the Shock Troopers from Helldivers 2 and Eve from Stellar Blade.

On December 11, 2024, a Christmas-themed level called Winter Wonder was announced in a PlayStation blog post and released the next day. This level featured seven V.I.P. Bots inspired by characters like Croc, Tomba, and Rayman. It also included four new Dual Speeder skins and four new outfits.

On February 13, 2025, a PlayStation blog post announced five challenge levels in a new galaxy called Vicious Void. These levels were released weekly from February 13 to March 13, 2025. Each level included one V.I.P. Bot, such as Heihachi Mishima from Tekken and Jade from Beyond Good & Evil. The update also added improved features for the PS5 Pro.

On June 4, 2025, during a State of Play event, five challenge levels were announced and released on July 10, 2025. These levels were not released weekly and were added to the existing Vicious Void galaxy. Each level included one V.I.P. Bot, such as 2B from Nier: Automata and Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII.

Astro Bot has inspired a variety of merchandise, including figurines from Funko, Good Smile Company, and Youtooz, plushies and a vinyl soundtrack from Fangamer, keychains from Faithful, and jackets and socks from Insert Coin. Astro Bot has also appeared in advertisements, such as a Red Bull commercial and on Pepsi bottles in Asia.

Reception

Astro Bot received very high praise from critics, according to review websites Metacritic and OpenCritic. Metacritic reported that 99% of critics recommended the game, and it was ranked the highest-rated game of 2024 on both sites. In Japan, four critics from Famitsu gave the game a total score of 36 out of 40, with each critic awarding it a 9 out of 10.

Simon Cardy of IGN compared Astro Bot to a theme park and Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, saying the game offers exciting surprises around every corner and after every jump. He praised the game for making the most of the DualSense controller’s special touch features, similar to those in 2020’s Astro’s Playroom.

Mark Delaney of GameSpot praised the game’s level design, noting that it often rewarded players with hidden surprises when they strayed from the main path. He also said the game’s abilities improved gameplay without making it hard to control. However, he mentioned that the underwater controls were difficult to learn.

Critics compared Astro Bot to games in the Super Mario series, such as Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy, and Super Mario Odyssey. They also compared its mechanics to games in Nintendo series like Arms, Pikmin, and Splatoon. Masahiro Sakurai, the creator of Kirby and Super Smash Bros., praised the game on Twitter.

Some critics said the game lacked innovation and relied too much on characters and ideas from other games. Kotaku’s Cole Kronman wrote that while the game was polished and enjoyable, it did not stand out much from other platformers it was inspired by. TheGamer’s James Lucas compared the game to a "graveyard," saying its heavy use of other series’ elements highlighted how long it had been since those games were released.

In the United States, Astro Bot was the second most sold game in its first week, selling 21% more than Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart’s debut in the UK. In Japan, it sold 12,672 physical copies in its first week, making it the second best-selling retail game of the week. By September 30, 2024, it had sold 34,902 physical units in Japan, and by December 8, it had sold 47,392.

On November 8, 2024, Sony announced that Astro Bot had sold 1.5 million units by November 3.

As of April 9, 2025, Astro Bot became the most awarded platformer game of all time, with 195 Game of the Year nominations and wins.