It may be 2024’s most immersive game, and it achieves that without a line of dialogue. Instead, each level tells a story, clear as day, about where you ought to go next and what you should do there. Astro Bot is one of the year’s biggest and best titles and it’s easy to see why. There’s a lot to do, it’s visually stunning and it’s a welcoming platformer. You can jump onto the title even if you haven’t played Astro’s Playroom or a PlayStation game in general.

You’ll also explore a giant singing tree, a vibrant casino, and the inside of a giant hourglass — all one-and-done ideas. 789win isn’t just the level’s themes that are varied; many have their own gameplay ideas as well. One later stage involves swapping from day to night, changing the geometry of the level, while an underwater planet adopts a more open design — and equips Astro with a power-up unique to that stage. While there are some recurring themes and mechanics, the overall variety meant we were constantly excited to see what was coming next.

Obviously, there’s no way you can feature everything from across four decades of gaming, but I consistently found myself amazed by the rich variety of references and games featured. Finding these little bots was like taking a walk down memory lane, fondly remembering the hours I sunk into these beloved titles, while providing value for this current experience. Astro Bot is an adventure platformer where you control Astro as he explores six galaxies and over 80 levels across 50 planets to find his scattered crew.

Progress the level normally until you reach the ladybug trampoline burrowed in the snow. If you jump on it, you’ll notice a rather large seal made out of ice perched on a nearby tower. Ignore this for now and continue a bit further up the path, where you’ll find a charging pig. Dodge the pig and then grab its tail to spin it around and around.

The Playroom

There are only a handful of baddies to bash aside from the bosses, and while they get a little tougher with tweaks to their attacks, this is the one area where it risks growing stale. Still, Team Asobi may argue its smaller complement of baddies that grow in complexity are what keep it consistent. It’s a play straight out of Mario’s book, and in the platforming world, the plumber is still the king even as a new pretender climbs higher to the summit. Players will be able to find a Puzzle Piece floating around in space in the Tentacle System, Serpent Starway, Camo Cosmos, and Feather Cluster galaxies. Crash Site serves as a kind of hub world, in which players can find 35 Bots and 11 Puzzle Pieces. Like many of PlayStation’s limited edition DualSense controllers, the Astro Bot DualSense is based on one of its many franchises, specifically 2024’s Game of the Year, Astro Bot.

With the help of your simian backpack buddy, you will climb, swing and fling yourself up to the summit. So stop monkeying around and beat those birds to the top to rescue your special bot friends. Test your skills in five additional speedrun levels available now, and collect new Special Bots.

All ‘trapped In Time’ Bots And Puzzle Pieces In Astro Bot

It’s clear from the very first frame of Astro Bot just how much love and reverence Team Asobi has for the history of Sony’s consoles and their library of games. You choose a new save file by selecting one of three original PlayStation memory cards and are then thrust into a scene taking place on your PS5-shaped mothership. That mothership crash lands on a desert planet after an evil alien attack, and Astro must now travel the galaxy searching for its missing parts and crewmates. Some of those biggest unexpected treats are the new powers that Astro gets along his journey. The basic movement of our little robot pal is great, with his jump, double jump, and hover hitting that sweet spot between floaty and finely tuned.

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Time trials and secret areas that unlock after collecting enough hidden materials can provide many more hours of entertainment, especially if time trial modes exist for friends to compete against one another. While there are hidden levels to discover in Astro Bot, after those are completed, there is little incentive to revisit previously conquered stages. This means that after the thrill of the game’s nostalgic moments wears off, there is not much reason to play after its 15 hours are up. In Astro Bot, there are 300 bots to find, including 169 cameo bots, as well as dozens of puzzle pieces and several secret Void levels hidden within the game.

The Dude Raiding level unlocks after you defeat the final boss of Serpent Starway, Lady Venomara. You unlock Photo Mode at the same time you unlock Safari Park at the Crash Site, by picking up the camera as soon as you enter the building. This will take a total of 64 Puzzle Pieces, or four groups of 16. There are 42 Rescued Bots to collect in Serpent Starway, and you must rescue all of them in order to unlock the Fangs Very Much! This includes all Rescued Bots on secret worlds in Serpent Starway. There are 43 Rescued Bots to collect in Tentacle System, and you must rescue all of them in order to unlock the Tentacular Spectacular trophy.

Just before you lift the massive bridge out of the ground, you’ll find some moving metal boxes in the poison lake to the right. Cross them (destroying them as you go) and then boost up when you reach the final platform. You’ll reach another PlayStation bot hanging in the mouth of a gold snake statue. Like everyone else, I was thoroughly impressed with the game itself, not to mention all the free content it’s gotten since launch. But even if I think Astro Bot was every bit as deserving, I had my proverbial money on Elden Ring being the first game to win GOTY twice, with secret hopes for Balatro to pull an indie upset and turn the Game Awards on its head. Still, I can’t deny that Astro Bot deserves every bit of praise it gets.

Now, I’m sure the gamers who haven’t tasted the sweet joys of Astro Bot yet will agree with me once they get their hands on this PlayStation title. So, congratulations on your well-deserved award and success, Team ASOBI. I’m indebted to you for pulling me back into the world of platformers. Instead of leaping to the boss fight, approach the large snowball that’s being nurtured by two penguins — after you defeat all the enemies.