| Astro Bot | |
| Developer: | Team Asobi |
| Publisher: | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| Genre: | Platform |
| Modes: | Single-player |
| Director: | Nicolas Doucet |
| Composer: | Kenneth C. M. Young |
| Platforms: | PlayStation 5 |
| Released: | September 6, 2024 |
is an upcoming platform game being developed by Team Asobi and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It is a sequel to the 2020 game Astro's Playroom, and is the third game in the Astro Bot series. The game is scheduled to release for the PlayStation 5 on September 6, 2024.
Astro Bot is a 3D platformer where the player controls the title character, a small robot named Astro Bot, through the use of the DualSense controller. Astro's core moveset is identical to how it is from previous entries, maintaining his ability to jump, hover, punch and spin-attack.[1] The ability to swim underwater also returns from Astro Bot Rescue Mission, having been absent in Astro's Playroom.[2]
The game boasts over 80 levels, which are split across six galaxies and 50 planets. Each of the levels fall under three different difficulty settings: Easy, Normal and Hard. The main story levels primarily fall under the easy/normal difficulty, whereas the optional challenge stages fall mainly under the hard difficulty. Each level also contains a difficulty indicator, which is highlighted before entering the level.[3] Traversal between these galaxies is achieved through the "Dual Speeder"; a spaceship shaped like a PlayStation 5 DualSense controller. The Dual Speeder is controlled by holding down the analog triggers and physically tilting the DualSense. It can also move around freely on the level selection screen[4]
Similar to Rescue Mission, every level contains a set number of Bots which Astro has to rescue, ranging from seven Bots in the main platformer levels to only one or two Bots in the boss fights and challenge levels. There are 300 bots that can be rescued and recruited in total.[5] Unlike in Rescue Mission, "V.I.P. Bots" (collectible Bots which reference various PlayStation characters in their visual appearance) can also be rescued and recruited. There are said to be over 150 V.I.P. Bots which can be found, with more rumored to be arriving via free DLC updates.[6] [7] Many of the "deep cut" characters from PlayStation's history are said to be rescuable in the game's challenge levels.[8] All of the Bots that have been collected can be viewed in a centralized location being described as a museum), where they can be viewed and interacted with.[9]
Collectable coins are scattered across the planets, which can be used to purchase a variety of things. The main way to spend coins is in the Gatcha machine, gifting the player items for the V.I.P. Bots. These items are specific objects which were used by the characters, causing them to perform specific actions which reference their home games. In addition to this, the coins may also be used to purchase a bird helper, allowing them to collect any missing Bots or puzzle pieces. The bird helper is only available for purchase from the second attempt of a level onwards.[10]
Astro has access to 15 new abilities, each of which resembles an animal. They attach onto him and enhance both his traversal and combative capabilities. Some of these new abilities include Barkster the Bulldog Booster, granting Astro the ability to air-dash through enemies and terrain, and the Twin-Frog Gloves, allowing Astro to punch enemies from a distance and swing/slingshot off of certain surfaces. The boss battles present at the end of each galaxy are fought using these abilities.[11]
The game provides a selection of accessibility settings, which include granting the player the option to play the game with a single analog stick (with camera controls coming from a single button press), support for the PlayStation Access controller, and the option to turn off gyro controls.
Astro Bot is cited to be over four times the length of Astro's Playroom, and will not contain any microtransactions.[12]
Development of Astro Bot started almost immediately after Astro's Playroom was completed, and took roughly three years with a development team of around 60 people. It is reportedly the largest game that Team Asobi has developed.[13] [14] Unlike its predecessors Astro Bot Rescue Mission and Astro's Playroom, Astro Bot was named without any subtitle proceeding it. Doucet says the reasoning behind this was to signify a new beginning for the Astro Bot series.[15]
In an interview with Edge magazine, Doucet stated that he and Team Asobi considered giving the game an open world structure, but ultimately decided on focusing more on a level-based structure instead. He notes that the reason behind this decision was "because that was the one that gave us the most control over the game's variety."[16] In order to make the game accessible for gamers of all skill levels, the difficulty of each of Astro Bot’s levels were put into great consideration. The main levels were designed to be relatively easy, allowing anyone to beat the game regardless of their skill level. The optional levels, meanwhile, were designed to be much more difficult as a way of satisfying the more experienced gaming crowd.
Astro Bot will not be playable on the PlayStation VR2, in spite of the fact that previous Team Asobi games featuring Astro (such as Astro Bot Rescue Mission and The Playroom VR) required the use of PlayStation VR in order to be played.[17] Doucet stated that Team Asobi had never considered developing a PlayStation VR2 game after finishing Astro's Playroom, instead opting to develop a larger scale version of the tech demo, assuming that it was received well enough by the general public. He acknowledged that, while there are games that are playable in both VR and non-VR, this design philosophy could not work for an Astro Bot game, stating "for a game like Astro, if you were to make a VR version, it has to be fully designed for that medium. And if it's not a VR version, it has to be fully designed for that medium."[18]
Astro Bot implements many of the DualSense controller's features in gameplay, particularly the haptic feedback and the adaptive triggers. In order to make the most out of the DualSense's features, Team Asobi formed a small group solely dedicated to getting as much out of the controller as possible. Nicolas Doucet, the game's director, notes a few examples of these features, which included using the adaptive triggers to simulate squeezing water out of a sponge by changing its resistance level and using the haptic feedback to feel certain irregularities on a surface to uncover a hidden secret. Many features are first developed in isolation before the best ones become integrated into the main game (with the afformentioned sponge ability being an example).
Each of Astro's abilities also utilize the DualSense's features heavily. Doucet notes the difference in how Astro's Playroom and Astro Bot went about implementing the DualSense abilities in gameplay, with the former segmented the platforming and abilities into different sections, and the latter instead opting to integrate the abilities into the platforming gameplay. He also mentions that, because of the stronger emphasis on platforming during development, touchpad related gameplay mechanics were utilized much less frequently. The reason for this, as stated by Doucet, was because using the touchpad requires the player to move their fingers away from the jump button, thus causing the game to become more uncomfortable to play.
Doucet has mentioned the significance of the V.I.P. Bots referencing prominent PlayStation IPs on multiple occasions. He and Team Asobi made the decision to "double down" from the number of PlayStation references present in Astro's Playroom. The reason he gives for this was because it could potentially work as a generational bridge; a child wondering who a certain Bot is referencing could receive an explanation from their parent who had played the games previously.
One challenge that implementing the V.I.P. Bots presented was how the team had gone about representing these longstanding characters. Carried over from Astro's Playroom, punching these bots causes them to have a funny reaction and reference something specific from their respective games. Doucet noted there was a balance to be had with maintaining this aspect of humor present in the previous the Astro games while simultaneously being respectful to the legacy of the characters they were "taking the piss and being funny with". Various PlayStation Studios studios, such as Santa Monica Studio and Naughty Dog, have responded positively to the implementation of their characters being represented as Bots.
Another challenge that came about from the V.I.P. Bots was how the sheer amount of PlayStation characters and references present could overshadow the identity of Astro himself. Doucet said he and Team Asobi had considered not implementing any PlayStation branding in the upcoming game, instead allowing Astro to "stand on his own feet". Ultimately, he and Team Asobi decided against this, reasoning that fans of Astro's Playroom who enjoyed the PlayStation references would likely be disappointed if the sequel had done away with them entirely.
Kenneth C. M. Young, having previously composed the music for Astro Bot Rescue Mission and Astro's Playroom, will return compose the soundtrack for Astro Bot. This was confirmed through his Twitter account.[19]
Astro Bot was announced on May 30, 2024, during Sony's State of Play livestream presentation. The game is scheduled to release exclusively for the PlayStation 5 on September 6, 2024.[20] [21]
The 400th issue of Edge magazine features 10 front cover variants, each of which highlighting a different V.I.P. Bot (such as Ratchet & Clank from their self-titled series and Aloy from the Horizon series).[22]
Three versions of the game are currently available for pre-order, being the digital standard, physical standard and digital deluxe editions. Each of these versions also comes with rewards for pre-ordering the game. The digital standard version comes with an in-game outfit for Astro resembling the character PaRappa the Rapper, a Dual Speeder graffiti skin featuring a variety of different V.I.P. Bots, and two different PlayStation Network avatars (one featuring Astro and the other being a V.I.P. Bot referencing Parappa). The digital deluxe version, alongside featuring all of the rewards in the digital standard release, also adds two outfits (one of which being a golden outfit and the other referencing the Yharnam hunter from Bloodborne), two controller skins (one called 'Neon Dream' and the other 'Champion's Gold'), 10 PlayStation Network avatars (showcasing more renders of Astro and various V.I.P. Bots) and a download code for the official soundtrack and digital art gallery.
Kiosks featuring a playable demo of Astro Bot were present at Summer Game Fest and EVO.[23] They highlighted five different levels; two of which were the platformer stages (named Sky Garden and Construction Derby, the latter of which referencing the video game Destruction Derby), one being a boss fight against an octopus utilizing the Twin-Frog Gloves ability, and two being the shorter, more difficult challenge stages (named Swinging Senteries and Slowdown Showdown, both of which were also themed after different PlayStation symbols).[24] Astro Bot was also one of the games featured at ChinaJoy, where in addition to the demo kiosks being present, portions of the playable demo were livestreamed on the website Weibo.[25] [26]
To help further promote the game, Astro's Playroom received a free content update on June 7, 2024. It added in extra artifacts in the Gatcha machine, such as the PlayStation VR2 headset and the PlayStation Portal, and four new bots which can be rescued, one for each of the worlds present in Astro's Playroom. These Bots reference PlayStation characters such as Lady Maria from Bloodborne,[27] Selene from Returnal,[28] and the driver from Gran Turismo.[29] Each of these Bots will release on a monthly basis, and collecting them allows them to be transferred to the starting crew of Astro Bot.[30]
A DualSense controller modeled after the Dual Speeder was announced on July 29, 2024. Pre-orders started on August 9 and the controller will be released on the same date as the game.[31]