adminSimply interact with each one, help the bots lift up the rock, and they will be added to your collection. Around the edge of the main hub area is where you will find the bots from Astro’s Playroom. These will appear automatically once they have been unlocked them; there is no specific importing process or menu screen to go through first. Go back along to the front of the blue pipes and the sandstorm, and this time, go along the outside on the right.
After the second use of the Hang Glider, on the left you’ll find a massive sword stuck in the ground. This is an unmistakable reference to Final Fantasy VII for the PS1, released in 1997 by Square Enix. In particular, the use of the Buster Sword under a spotlight makes this is a reference to the game’s title screen. The first level of the game opens with Astro barreling down a waterslide before splashing in some water and walking up onto a beach. It’s hard to put into words, but the thunk of landing in the water is a dull, flat sensation that feels, well, like landing in water. Similarly, there’s a grainy effect when you walk across the beach, as if you could feel the sand.
As you get better at playing games, you’ll get better at being able to make things up as you go. Aside from being a technical showcase, Astro’s Playroom is also a game that was clearly made with a lot of care and passion. Each world is themed after a particular computer component, and one of the main goals is to collect secret items that are all pieces of classic PlayStation hardware. There’s even a trophy room where you can interact with them, using your little robot hands to turn on a gigantic PSP Go, or hop on the eject button of an original PlayStation to see the lid pop open. At its most basic, Astro’s Playroom is a fairly straightforward platforming game. You play as a cute little robot named Astro, exploring four different worlds set in a universe that appears to exist inside of a computer.
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What’s so remarkable about Astro’s Playroom is that while it’s ostensibly about showing off the features of the PlayStation 5, it’s also a fabulous platformer. Levels constantly throw me new toys to play with that totally change the way the level plays. Later levels include a spaceship (with rockets powered by the adaptive triggers) and a rolling ball (controlled by swiping the touchpad on the DualSense), intermingled with platforming sequences.
Alongside the Nintendo 64 and Sega Saturn, the PlayStation was one of the first video game consoles to specialize in 3D graphics. Early models featured RCA jacks for video and audio output and a Parallel I/O port, but these were all removed by the 1999 models. At the top, wait for the last block to slide left so you can stand on the left-hand side. Use a jump and Beam Glide to land on top of the block (just like you did before), then ride the block left through the Coins. From here you can jump left one last time to land on a button that reveals a Yellow Trampoline.
I went into this game expecting it to be nothing more than a quick tech demo, I was very wrong. What I was meet with was a platformer where you played as a charming little robot in a world that has a better art style then most modern games. Astro’s Playroom is the perfect game to play first to kick off the PlayStation 5 generation. It’s a fluid and fun 3D platformer sure, but it being built around showing off what the DualSense controller can add to gaming Is what really starts to make it special. Add in all of the PlayStation love letters scattered about inside these worlds and you have another magical, must-play experience from Team Asobi. I wish Astro’s latest adventure lasted longer but I have no doubt that we’ll be seeing more of the new PlayStation mascot in the future.
Positive Gameplay
Following Astro’s Playroom (2020), it is the fifth overall installment in the Astro Bot series and marks Team Asobi’s first game developed since its separation from Japan Studio. Astro’s Playroom was the final game released by Japan Studio before their dissolution in April 2021. Team Asobi was formally spun-off into an independent studio within Sony’s PlayStation Studios in June 2021. A full-length sequel, Astro Bot, was announced on May 30, 2024, and was released for the PlayStation 5 on September 6, 2024. As someone that has owned and loved every single PlayStation console from the PS1 to the PS Vita and PS4, it was an absolute treat to play Astro’s Playroom.
With rotating platforms, ones that disappear shortly after stepping on them, and lightning platforms that can take out Astro in one hit. G28 is basically it, a game that even small kids (6y) can play and enjoy. It also uses the capabilities of the controller in creative ways that hopefully all games capture in the future for a better experience. As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He’s an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators.
It’s good when you say other critically acclaimed games aren’t doing it well. That’s not to say all games aren’t doing this, as Returnal and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 used the controller capabilities to the max. Press the Options button on your controller whilst next to the blue steering wheel to bring up the Map Menu; you should hear the sound of an engine revving up. Jump up the steps and head right to get to the top of the structure and to a line of asteroids (which will be guarded by Spitters and other various enemies). Continue along the thicker beam section (a line of Coins will appear when you do this), and around the corner you’ll find a tiny astronaut toy.
