When Sony’s PlayStation 5 was released, Astro’s Playroom came as a free pre-loaded showcase, introducing the full capabilities of the PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller. At the time, it was the best implementation of the controller’s motion and haptic feedback abilities …until now.

Zooming forward a few years, Team ASOBI returns with Astro Bot, another super stellar adventure with our loveable little hero. For longtime PlayStation fans and avid gamers, this is one of the most awe-inspiring games I’ve ever experienced and one of the best representations of Sony’s gaming legacy.

For those born in the 90s, like myself, PlayStation has significantly contributed to our fondest memories. Astro Bot is an incredibly nostalgic adventure that celebrates some of the biggest gaming hits of the 30 years of PlayStation’s existence. All the while, Astro Bot still stands on its own as a solid gaming experience with its quirky roster of characters and wonderfully crafted worlds.

The thrilling adventure flies into motion in space when the gooey green alien and “Space Bully” Nebulax encounters the PS5 mothership. Nebulax takes particular interest in the system’s GPU, pulling it out and dismantling the console.

Its remains hurtle toward a planet and the resident bots are scattered throughout the galaxy. Astro’s mission is to journey through space, rescue his friends, and recover all the components of the PlayStation console from various baddies to restore it to its former glory.

Using the DualSpeeder, Astro travels throughout the galaxy with multiple nebulas to explore over 80 levels and 50 planets between them; the adventure is a big one for a little bot. Every world feels unique, from splashing across colourful beaches to hanging out with funky flora to exploring deep, dark caves; no two worlds feel too similar. Each planet is stacked with collectables, secrets to uncover, and, most importantly, missing bots.

The action-adventure platformer harkens back to platformers of the late 1990s and the early 2000s but completely modernises it. Platforming and impeccable timing are super important, but so is using everything at your disposal to overcome all obstacles. Astro has a massive arsenal of gadgets, including frog-like boxing gloves, a bulldozing bulldog, and a ridiculous jetpack resembling a chicken. Astro Bot constantly mixes things up, changing which gadgets are needed to keep things fresh. Once I got the hang of them, I swung, slid, and soared through environments like an absolute pro.

Astro won’t just be traversing his way through the worlds; plenty of malicious critters are looking to ruin his day, including evil mechanical bunnies, spooky ghosts and firey foes. Astro’s abilities can be used to spin, shoot, grapple, and punch anyone who dares get in his way. However, the real challenge is the massive bosses, all putting up a mean fight. Platformer gameplay can get repetitive and dull after a while.

However, in Astro Bot’s case, the whole experience was delightfully satisfying. The gameplay was so varied that it continued to shine. There are so many things to see and do, with heaps of secrets I’m still finding well after the credit rolled.

Astro Bot is a masterclass in implementing the PlayStation 5 DualSense functions. The action-adventure platformer tests the limits of the controller’s abilities and then some. The DualSense’s haptic feedback takes centre stage, from feeling every little footstep to feeling whacks and zaps. Using the controller has never felt so immersive.

The adaptive triggers come into play quite a bit; for example, when scaling large structures to pull back a slingshot before flinging Astro into the sky, there’s a natural tactile feeling of resistance from the controller that feels right. A few instances required combat using the motion controls to aim, which was tricky to manoeuvre, but these moments were minimal. Overall, Team ASOBI provided the pinnacle of the DualSense experience. I’d like to see more PlayStation games that use the controller at its full power.

Astro Bot is most definitely family-friendly, but it presents a decent amount of challenge so there may be a learning curve for some. Thankfully, checkpointing is incredibly generous, and Astro never gets spawned back too far. Mastering the gameplay is great—I found myself speedrunning levels almost flawlessly and makes for quick work during the completionist cleanup run.

Astro Bot is a graphical marvel with crisp, vibrant worlds, adorable bots and an impressive amount of details in every single nook and cranny. I had a few minor instances where there was a slight framerate drop but it was very subtle and rare. The options menu is minimal. I would’ve loved a performance or graphics mode and more options for customisation.

Audio settings are limited, and there is no way to adjust music and SFX levels, they’re very well balanced out but sometimes I would’ve liked to crank the SFX to listen out for bots in distress or pump up the jams.

The soundtrack is stacked with catchy, upbeat poppy and techno music. There are some certified banger new songs, reworks of PlayStation classics, and returning hits like “I’m Your GPU”, that I could not resist bopping along to as I played. As a bonus, sound effects come through the controller, making the DualSense experience even more glorious.

For those who enjoy the search, there are over 300 bots to find. With its 30-year history behind it, Sony has plenty of characters appearing. Many new and returning characters and updated versions of heroes have since had new outings. In Astro’s Playroom, the bots merely had cameos. Here bots are massively involved and sometimes crucial to complete missions. I got so attached to all the Astro Bot-field PlayStation All-Stars, including the staples like Ratchet and Clank, Crash Bandicoot, and Spyro, alongside more recent icons like Nathan Drake and Bloodborne.

For collectors, coins in your travels can be used on the gacha machine to unlock PlayStation-themed outfits and unique poses for each bot while they’re hanging in the hub world. I loved returning to the hub world, seeing all the bots I saved, and watching them as they performed some of their iconic moves or engaged in their various hobbies. The pure nostalgia hit of interacting with them made me want to revisit so many games and dive into new ones. Astro Bot is such a joy-filled experience, bringing to the forefront quite a few games I’d love to see back in the spotlight with a fresh coat of paint.

Astro Bot celebrates the past, present, and future of PlayStation offering a promising glimpse into the future of gaming in a family-friendly way. This is one for the history books or, I guess, gaming archives. It’s a loving tribute to a long legacy of PlayStation All-Stars and is guaranteed to put a smile on your face or bring a tear to your eye. I nominate Astro to be the mascot for PlayStation as this game perfectly represents everything there is to love about gaming – excitement, heart and the joy of play. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some more bots to save.

Written by: Yasmin Noble