Astro Bot for the PlayStation 5 is a remarkable 3D platformer. From the ingenuity of the power-ups and bosses, to the countless iconic PlayStation character cameos, Astro Bot delivers a stellar single-player experience while fully utilizing the power of the PlayStation 5.

This is the third Astro Bot game, following the free PlayStation 5 launch title Astro’s Playroom (2020), and the PSVR exclusive Astro Bot: Rescue Mission (2018), with each sequel outdoing and drastically improving the Astro Bot formula. With this new game just called Astro Bot, it gives any newcomers to the series a jumping point, because like most platformers, you don’t necessarily need to play previous entries to play the new one.

The game begins with Astro and his crew of hundreds of other bots, flying in a spaceship resembling the PlayStation 5 console itself. Some of the bots beside Astro at his control deck resemble fan favorite PlayStation characters, such as Kratos from God of War and Nathan Drake from Uncharted. An evil alien, Nebulax, traps Astro and his crew and steals their ship’s CPU, making the ship crash into a distant planet. Astro embarks on a journey to find his lost crew and find the missing parts of his ship scattered throughout the galaxy. The cartoonish story fulfills the purpose of Astro’s adventure, and provides a funny and charming world for Astro to explore.

Players control Astro, in a very easy-to-learn 3D platforming space. The game is easy to pick up, as there are two buttons, attack and jump, and triggers to activate a power-up’s ability. Levels are linear, with enemies and obstacles being defeated with either Astro’s melee attacks or with his hover jump, which causes Astro’s feet to release laser beams.

Power-ups are similar to the ones found in Astro’s Playroom, as they have animal themes and use of all the bells and whistles the DualSense controller is equipped with, such as the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. From a frog’s spring-loaded boxing gloves, a dog’s rocket boosters and even a mouse-shrinking Astro, the level design entices the player to play each and every level to find out the amazing design elements that lie ahead.

The zany and fun gameplay never feels too slow or too fast to keep up. Traversing through worlds is a little too easy at first, but ramps up in difficulty in secret challenge levels and with bosses waiting to be conquered. All of these factors let the player feel fully in control with tight and responsive movement, making any mistake in this game feel like the player’s and theirs alone.

Eighty levels fill the world of Astro Bot, in a stunning 4K, 60 frames per second fidelity. Locales such as jungles, tropical islands, snowy caverns, and more awaiting the player. Bright colors and friendly beings like robotic animals contrast Nebulax’s evil technological forces.

The main objective as players traverse levels is rescuing Astro’s crew of bots. Among these bots are “VIP” bots, who are PlayStation characters from past and present (such as the aforementioned Kratos and Nathan Drake), as well as many third-party characters, such as Leon from Resident Evil 2, Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid, and Crash Bandicoot from the eponymous series.

This incentive to see if your favorite character is in the game helps drive players to keep playing, along with the level design and worlds.

The celebration of PlayStation’s many years is apparent with this game. However, it does not just end with the VIP bots. Each world ends with a level mimicking and themed to a popular PlayStation game, such as one turning Astro into Kratos, adorning his Leviathan Axe, and theming the level after God of War: Ragnarok. This comes as a very welcome surprise and makes it so much sweeter when a level mimics a game like Ape Escape, a game that hasn’t had a mainline entry since the PlayStation 2.

There are also a few sections where the PlayStation 5’s power shines with object density that has hundreds of objects on the screen independently moving. From floating flower petals to a treasure room with endless treasure falling from the ceiling to the water physics of the bathhouse level, the mechanics and endless interactable objects are mind-blowing at times and make the game feel like a premium experience.

The sound design is what you would expect from a cartoonish platformer, with cute, cat-like sounds coming from Astro and the other bots he saves. It particularly excels when the game is trying to impress the player, such as leaves in the wind or when bosses prepare for attacks. Sound cues are vital in tense moments to figure out a boss’ pattern or perhaps to learn how a group of spinning platforms work.

The music is tranquil and relaxing during early levels, but calm themes like Japanese gardens turn triumphant and epic during boss fights and when completing a level.

A hub world where the PlayStation 5 ship crash lands is where the saved bots gather. They help Astro get to new planets and solve obstacles to reach their friends in need.

Aside from bot-saving, puzzle pieces for the hub world are spread throughout the levels which unlock a variety of items and customization. These pieces first unlock a “gacha” machine, which obtains key items for the VIP bots to interact with. This includes a cardboard box for Solid Snake, or the “Aku Aku” invincibility mask for Crash Bandicoot, making these VIP bots even more rewarding to save.

The puzzle pieces also unlock new outfits for Astro of PlayStation characters, and changing the color of the “Dual Speeder” aircraft that takes Astro from level to level, providing a lot of reason to go collect every item in the game.

With the game clocking at around 8–10 hours to complete the main story, and a few more for players seeking to collect everything in the game, Astro Bot is a magnificent experience to become a part of, and a must-play title for the PlayStation 5. The developers, Team ASOBI, have outdone themselves with a unique platformer that is easy to pick up and play, marvelous visuals, and nostalgia from PlayStation’s 30-year history.

Astro Bot is available now, exclusively for the PlayStation 5.