Gyro can be disabled as an accessibility feature if players prefer. Matthew Adler has written for IGN since 2019 covering all things gaming, tech, tabletop games, and more. You can follow him on the site formerly known as Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch. If you’re looking for even more savings this season, check out the entire PlayStation’s 2025 Black Friday sale for deals on games, consoles, and more. To unlock the levels in “Lost Galaxy” you must find the 10 Secret Level Exits (‘Lost Galaxies’) in the other Nebulas.

The fun factor is unparalleled for a game of this genre, despite it’s obvious simplicity. The biggest thing to take away from the game is how well it uses the DualSense to its advantage. rr99com of the controller’s haptic feedback, gyro controls, and adaptive triggers makes the game a way better experience.

Crash Bandicoot: Warped

Astro Bot is nothing short of a masterpiece, an ingenious platformer filled with vibrant worlds and ingenious design. It’s a game that oozes creativity, consistently delighting and surprising the player with new mechanics, gameplay twists, smart boss battles, and jaw-dropping set-piece moments. But past that, it’s also a grand celebration of PlayStation and video game history as a whole — the only game that’s been able to rival Super Smash Bros. in that regard. Astro Bot is easily the best game on the PS5 to date and a platformer that can proudly stand shoulder-to-shoulder with anything Mario has done. Astro Bot is a delightful 3D platformer that has captured the attention of critics with its creative level design, smooth controls, and nostalgic PlayStation references woven throughout. It delivers a fun, accessible experience that should appeal to new players and long-time fans.

Inside Armored Hardcore, players can rescue Ezio Auditore, a master assassin representing Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed franchise. After announcing the news back in February, the DLC levels for Vicious Void Galaxy are now all available. As part of Update 1.016, the game has added a new level called Armored Hardcore, which focuses on Astro Bot’s Iron Suit ability.

The game currently holds a 4.89 out of 5 stars with over 31,000 ratings on the PSN Store. I arrived at the end credits after nine hours but had only collected 206 out of a possible 301 bots on my journey. There’s plenty to do after the main levels are done, including finding the remainder of the crew, building out the rest of the hub base, and unearthing new secrets among the stars. There’s so much, in fact, that it took me another nine hours (so, 18 in total) to 100% Astro Bot and acquire the platinum trophy that comes with it.

And two of the new bots are from a series that had previously gone unrepresented in the game, despite being beloved by PlayStation fans. Astro Bot is a platformer featuring 6 galaxies and over 80 levels in search of Astro’s scattered crew, featuring cameo appearances from characters that span the entirety of PlayStation’s history. This gameplay covers the first level of the game played on a PlayStation 5. For context, each galaxy has a boss you will face at the end in order to obtain an item used to progress the story. The first galaxy, Gorilla Nebula, has you facing off with a giant mechanical gorilla named Mighty Chewy. It is in the last level before the boss fight, titled Construction Derby, that the player has their first encounter with the beast.

If I have one complaint about the game it is that the record keeping system that keeps track of the bots collected, does not break down who the special bots are and the game(s) they are from. Making your way through one star system after another, you might find your progress blocked unless you scour every level for the robots lost within them. There are 300 to find overall, with many of them depicting classic videogame characters. In that regard, Astro Bot can be seen as a celebration of not only Sony’s hardware and impressive catalogue of software over the years, but also video games in general. It’s fun putting them to work when revisiting the crash site, too, calling upon them to help lift heavy objects and create structures like human bridges to help you continue your adventure and rescue yet more robots. I can’t recall the last time I had so much fun jumping on platforms.

This is about as perfectly executed as you can realistically expect these days and I urge you to play it. While there’s plenty to like about the hub, which we’ll get into later, the main attraction is the game’s range of levels, which are as varied, playful, and fun as you’d hope. Each galaxy contains four or five main stages, a boss, and a special last level themed around specific PlayStation franchises.

What Are All Special Bots In Astro Bot? Ky Kiske – Holy Knight

Releasing alongside the game is this limited-edition Astro Bot-themed PS5 dualsense controller. It’s just as adorable as the little robot itself, but it’s probably out of stock everywhere. Because the in-game gallery of characters uses pseudonyms for each of them, we’ve labeled them with their proper names and mentioned which series they belong to.

The game is soaked through with PlayStation branding and fan service, almost to a fault. Four of the bots at the Crash Site will only appear once players have rescued them in Astro’s Playroom. The Great Master Challenge can only be accessed once players have found every Puzzle Piece in the game and rescued 300 Bots. Astro Bot’s win for Best Family Game is probably the least surprising of the bunch. Put simply, just about anyone can appreciate Astro Bot’s strengths, not just seasoned gamers or astute, wizened audiences.

Dodge cranes, smash through crates, and even speed through a flying car wash on the way to rescue your stranded crew.

I am very happy to see Astro Bot is such a polished 3D platformer. Back to mid budget single player titles without all the heavy stakes attatched if it fails. Considering the industry is influx, it’s not farfetched this will be the go-to again. Based on what I had seen I knew this was going to be a banger but a 94 on metacritic sheesh.

It’s hard to say what cute, robotic PlayStation characters could possibly top the twin Spider-Man bots from the Christmas level, but I’m excited to find out. The reason we hesitate over the score is that in terms of the actual platforming the game is rather basic. Astro has far less moves than Mario, which reduces the options in terms of level design.

First, it release weekly speed-running levels to put your skills to the test, but now an entirely new world called Winter Wonder has dropped as a special holiday gift. This is a winter-themed paradise filled with presents, bells, and even more new bots to rescue. But not everyone can open this gift, so let’s talk about what you need to do before you can chill out in this new level.

Every action I performed with the little robot was not only incredibly satisfying but also addictive—almost like a drug. At this point, I should also mention the amazing capabilities of the DualSense controller. When our robot walks on a metal surface, we can feel it through the controller. When we launch our little ‘spaceship,’ we experience resistance on the triggers.