Astro Bot is the moment Sony’s cheerful little robot stops being a tech demo mascot and becomes the star of a full, confident platformer. Built exclusively for PS5, it expands the ideas of Astro’s Playroom into a galaxy-hopping adventure that doubles as a love letter to PlayStation history and a showcase for the DualSense controller.

Crucially, this is not just a nostalgia tour. Across dozens of levels spread over multiple galaxies, Team Asobi keeps finding new mechanical hooks, visual gags and tactile tricks that make each stage feel distinct. The result is a game that has drawn breathless praise, multiple Game of the Year awards and comparisons to Nintendo’s best platformers. The question is whether that reputation holds when the dust settles, and whether Astro Bot works for players who are not already steeped in PlayStation trivia.

Game Snapshot

Developer: Team Asobi
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Release Date: 6 September 2024
Platforms: PS5
Price: £59.99/$59.99 RRP (often discounted at retail and during sales)
Rating: PEGI 7 | ESRB Everyone 10+
Genre: 3D platformer, action adventure
Length: 10-12 hours (main story), 15-20 hours (story + side content and challenges)
Install Size: ~ 35–40 GB at launch on PS5, depending on region and updates

Presentation and World Design

Astro Bot’s levels feel like miniature theme parks. Each planet riffs on a simple idea – a beach crowded with crabs, a jungle of elastic plants, a casino drenched in neon – then pushes it as far as it can without outstaying its welcome. The visual style is clean and colourful rather than chasing photorealism, which allows for bold shapes, readable silhouettes and a constant stream of sight gags that reference PlayStation’s back catalogue without alienating newcomers.

On PS5, the game runs at a near-locked 60 frames per second, with crisp image quality and dense animation work for Astro, enemies and the many background bots reenacting scenes from classic games. The camera keeps things comfortable, mostly sitting behind Astro at a fixed distance, which reinforces the toy-like diorama feel of each stage.

The hub, styled as the crash site of a PS5-shaped mothership, ties everything together. Rescued bots populate the area, interact with each other and unlock side attractions, turning your growing collection into a physical celebration of your progress.

Gameplay and Combat

Astro Bot is first and foremost about movement. Astro’s basic toolkit is deliberately simple – a jump, a short hover, a spin attack and a punch – but nearly every level layers on a new ability or environmental twist that reframes those inputs. One stage might give you rocket boosters for air-dashing through destructible walls, another straps frog-like boxing gloves to your arms so you can swing between grapple points or punch distant enemies.

These power-ups are time-limited within their levels, so the game avoids the complexity creep that can make late-game platformers unwieldy. Instead, Astro Bot keeps you in a pleasant state of discovery, asking you to learn a new trick, master it in a few escalating challenges, then move on. Enemy designs support this approach; they are readable, themed to their planets and usually exist to test the ability of the moment rather than demand intricate combat mastery.

The DualSense is woven deeply into the feel of play. Adaptive triggers stiffen as you charge a punch or pull back a slingshot, while nuanced haptics make surfaces, weather and environmental hazards feel distinct, from pattering rain to the crunchy scrape of sand. Together with positional audio, this turns relatively straightforward movement into a rich sensory experience, and it rarely feels like a gimmick.

Story and Characters

Astro Bot keeps narrative extremely light. An alien called Space Bully Nebulax smashes your PS5-shaped mothership, scattering parts and bots across multiple galaxies, and Astro sets out to repair the damage. That is essentially the entire plot, delivered via short, charming cinematics and context in the hub. There is no dialogue beyond musical cues and robotic chirps, which keeps the focus firmly on play.

What sells the journey is character through animation and visual humour. Astro is endlessly expressive, from the little wind-up before a sprint to the way he braces for impact. The rescued bots, especially the VIPs that reference famous PlayStation heroes, often perform miniature routines when you find them, offering a quick gag that rewards exploration.

Because the game leans into archetypal platformer storytelling, it is accessible to younger players and pleasantly low-pressure for adults. There are no heavy thematic swings here, just a consistent tone of joy, mischief and gentle nostalgia.

Value and Longevity

A standard playthrough of Astro Bot’s main campaign runs to around 10 to 12 hours, depending on how quickly you adapt to each new mechanic and how diligently you collect bots and puzzle pieces along the way. Going for 100 per cent, including optional challenge stages and post-launch levels, can push that into the 15 to 20 hour range or more.

Given the density of ideas and the sheer amount of bespoke art and audio work, Astro Bot feels generous at full price, particularly if you enjoy replaying stages to improve clear times or uncover missed secrets. Team Asobi has also added free DLC levels and a PS5 Pro patch that improves resolution while maintaining performance, adding extra value for players who come in after launch.

There is no multiplayer and no live service layer, which may disappoint those seeking endless content, but the focus on crafted single-player stages means the experience stays sharp from start to finish.

Technical Notes

Astro Bot runs extremely well on PS5, targeting a near-flawless 60 frames per second even in busy scenes. Technical breakdowns point to dynamic resolution scaling that adjusts within a high-resolution window to keep performance steady, and image quality remains clean thanks to strong anti-aliasing and clear art direction.  

On PS5 Pro, a dedicated update adds a new “constant best resolution” 60fps mode that leans on Sony’s PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution) upscaling. In practice, that means a sharper, more stable 4K-style image while still holding the same smooth frame rate, giving Pro users noticeably crisper edges and distant detail without sacrificing responsiveness.  

The real technical showpiece remains the integration of DualSense haptics, adaptive triggers and 3D audio. Fine-grained vibration maps different surfaces and events to distinct patterns, while sounds often play partly through the controller to reinforce the toy-box illusion. Accessibility options include tweaks for camera controls, reduced motion, simplified inputs and support for the Access controller, alongside the ability to tone down or disable haptics and gyro for those who need it. Stability is strong, and loading between planets is quick, framed by short travel animations rather than long waits.

Final Word

Astro Bot feels like a statement of intent from Team Asobi and from Sony. It proves that there is still room for colourful, mechanically inventive 3D platformers at the top of the AAA pile, and it does so with a level of polish and confidence that rivals the genre’s biggest names.

If you bounced off Astro’s Playroom, Astro Bot may not convert you, but for anyone who enjoyed that pack-in or has any affection for PlayStation’s wider history, this is essential. It is approachable for children, rewarding for seasoned platformer fans and an outstanding showcase of what PS5’s hardware can do when a studio designs around it from the ground up.

FAQ

Do I need to play Astro’s Playroom before Astro Bot?
No. Astro Bot is a full standalone adventure with its own story, levels and mechanics. If you have played Astro’s Playroom you will recognise some moves, enemies and the general tone, and you will appreciate certain callbacks more. However, new players can jump in without any confusion, and the game does not assume detailed knowledge of PS5 history or controller features.

How long does Astro Bot take to finish?
Most players will reach the end credits in around 10 to 12 hours if they follow the main path and pick up a reasonable number of collectables along the way. A more thorough run that chases every hidden bot, puzzle piece and optional challenge stage can push the total into the 15 to 20 hour range or higher, especially once you factor in post-launch DLC levels.

Is Astro Bot good for children and families?
Yes. Astro Bot is PEGI 7 and designed to be family friendly, with no explicit violence, blood or strong language. Difficulty ramps up gradually, and generous checkpoints mean younger players can experiment without harsh penalties. Some late-game and DLC challenge levels are demanding, but the core campaign is approachable, and the clear visual language makes it easy to read hazards and platforms.

Does Astro Bot support local co-op or multiplayer?
Astro Bot is a single-player game. There is no local co-op mode, and you cannot share control of Astro with a second player. However, online leaderboards and time-attack elements offer indirect competition, and the relatively short levels lend themselves well to taking turns in a family setting.