When you buy a PlayStation 5 console and boot it up, one of the first gaming experiences available to you for free is ASTRO’s Playroom.

For all intents and purposes, it is a longer format demo game masquerading as a showcase of the new buttons, layout, and features of the DualSense controller that PlayStation designed for its current-gen console.

While it is still a game demo, ASTRO’s Playroom does introduce a great protagonist in the form of ASTRO, who is brimming with charm and is engaging in a rather interesting way given his effervescent need to explore.

For whatever reason though, it has taken four years since the launch of the current-gen console for PlayStation to develop a standalone game built around the PS5’s mascot. It is a little baffling too, considering the success of IP from Nintendo in a similarly cute platformer style in recent years, but now we finally have ASTRO BOT as that standalone game.

We recently played it to find out if it’s worthwhile picking up a game for R1 299 that is based on the same mechanics of a free demo.

No bot left behind

The premise for ASTRO BOT is fairly straightforward, with ASTRO’s mothership being a massive PlayStation 5 console that is intercepted and attacked while travelling in space, leaving its precious cargo of hundreds of bots strewn across the galaxy.

ASTRO then has to journey to 50-plus themed worlds on his trusty Dual Speeder, freeing or finding captured or lost bots and returning them to the mothership, which has crash landed on a desert planet (not Arrakis).

Each planet is clustered into separate “galaxies” that is seemingly resided over by a boss that must be defeated at the end. A fairly simple premise, the exciting elements come in the form of how unique the environments for each planet are.

You can also see the painstaking attention to detail that has been paid to each planet. Each feels like their own little world, and while the general objective is the same throughout, the developers have found interesting ways to make traversal, exploration, and puzzle solving feel both rich and rewarding.

If you are a long time player of PlayStation games too, you will see many references to iconic titles, such as a jungle planet that feels ripped straight out of the Crash Bandicoot universe for example.

While getting from one side of the map to the other is fairly straightforward, but in order to progress in the game, finding bots is essential. It is not only key to progressing to different planets and galaxies, but also to rebuilding the destroyed mothership, along with the usual bevy of in-game rewards for doing so.

As such, players feel compelled to replay planets a few times to ensure they have checked out every possible area they could.

You are also rewarded for trying out new things in different environments.

For example, there were a series of logs placed fairly innocuously in one section of the first planet. You can jump on top of them, but a double jump and hold activates ASTRO’s laser boots which beam down to not only help him float, but also attack enemies that you cannot approach on foot. This same mechanic can be used to cut up the logs, revealing a bunch of wires that can be pulled for an additional reward in the form of coins.

This is something we only discovered after returning to the planet for another run through to see if there’s anything that was missed.

The other way that ASTRO BOT keeps gameplay fresh is with the power up weapons/mods. These are in-game items accessible on certain planets to assist ASTRO in their mission, whether that be opening up different sections of the map, blasting through walls, floating to areas you cannot jump to, or simply dealing more damage than normal.

The power ups also play a vital role when taking on the bosses, which are accessed after visiting all planets in a particular galaxy and meeting the bot threshold required (there are 300 in total you need to find).

References abound

As you make your way through ASTRO BOT you are going to come across special bots. Some are simply nods to iconic PlayStation game characters, such Aloy, Nathan Drake, Ratchet, and more, while others are a little more important.

These are normally the bots you encounter near the end of completing a particularly galaxy, with these bots featuring a special power or weapon that can also be used to complete a level. In the case of Kakeru (or Spike) from Ape Escape, you gain access to hit net for catching monkey bots. Upon completion of the mission while donning the Kakeru skin, you gain access to the boss mission which involves fighting a giant mechanical monkey.

Whether this is a reference to Donkey Kong, which is of course an IP from a rival is unclear, but there are little nods through ASTRO BOT that are open to interpretation, and we’re sure fans of PlayStation will have plenty of fun picking up on the references throughout.

One we think we spotted was the fact that the alien bad guy who attacked the PS5 mothership mid-space flight is Green. Is that a reference to Xbox or are we simply reading too much into it?

Either way, there are all these little hints and nods that easter egg hunters will no doubt have plenty of fun with.

Not since Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart have we seen the DualSense controller used in such interesting ways. Entering a new planet for example while riding the Dual Speeder is linked to the horizontal positioning of the controller, which is used to avoid obstacles.

When you find missing mothership components, the controller is used too like a hammer, so outside of the usual gameplay, the developers have certainly looked to find ways of utilising the controller in weird and wonderful ways.

In fact, it is something that we’re surprised more exclusives made use of. It was something hinted at when the PS5 launched, but only a handful have truly leveraged everything the DualSense has to offer.

Final verdict

ASTRO BOT is a great platformer.

Its lead character has an infectiously endearing quality, the worlds that have been designed all truly feel unique, and the gameplay is solid while being easily accessible. Add to that all the references to iconic PlayStation games, characters, hardware, and more, and there is plenty to enjoy, especially if PlayStation has been your console of choice for a number of years.

The game warrants as much exploration as possible, and completionists are sure to get a kick out of earning every in-game reward you can.

The reason why we would not wholeheartedly recommend it, however, is pricing. At R1 299, ASTRO BOT is on par with most AAA console titles when it comes to cost, which means players have to make tough decisions on whether to buy it, or another game they may have been eyeing.

This isn’t a fault of ASTRO BOT per se, as game pricing is out of hands these days, but when you have to limit the number of titles you pick up each month, ASTRO BOT falls further down the line.

If this game were more competitively priced, it would be easier to recommend, but at its current cost, it may be more worthwhile to wait for the game to reduce in price. It’s a pity too, as there is a charming little game here that more people would likely pay if they had the money to.

FINAL SCORE: 7.5 OUT OF 10.