Astro’s Playroom Review
To find the special bot in GPU Jungle, head to the Renderforest area. The gameplay features minimal cartoonish violence across each stage. For PlayStation die-hards, a run through Astro’s Playroom will be true bliss. Thanks to analytics company Newzoo, we learned what kind of next-gen games Americans played in the first days after the launch of PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Most of them involve collectibles and completing specific parts of the story.
They add depth to the game’s story and celebrate its nostalgic roots. To locate them‚ thoroughly explore each area‚ check hidden paths‚ and use Astro’s abilities like spin attacks to uncover these treasures. Collecting all artifacts is a key step toward 100% completion and earning the Platinum Trophy. Puzzle pieces are hidden throughout Astro Playroom’s levels‚ often in hard-to-reach areas. Use Astro’s abilities like spin attacks and gliding to access hidden spots. Each hub world‚ like GPU Jungle‚ contains multiple pieces across its four areas.
Astro’s Playroom Guide: Trophies
There are five challenging Gold Trophies in Astro Playroom‚ focusing on speedruns and special challenges. These require skill and precision to unlock‚ making them rewarding achievements for dedicated players. There are 14 Silver Trophies‚ focusing on core story completion and collectible-based achievements. These trophies reward progression through levels and discovering hidden items.
That was never a problem though as the game is constantly introducing new things for you to use to show off that controller and it feels really good all the way through. Every level has you trying to reach the goal at the end while collecting gold coins along the way. Puzzle pieces are hidden about in each level too that when collected will fill in murals back in the HUB area. Time trial levels can be unlocked later and competing with others online to see who can finish a level in the best time can be quite addictive. The PlayStation 5 even gives me notifications when I get online if someone on my friends list beat my score which makes me want to keep jumping back in to take my spot back. The trophies in Astro Playroom are categorized by difficulty‚ with bronze being the easiest and platinum the most challenging.
Tech Specs
The real gimmick of Astro’s Playroom is the utilization of the DualSense controller. Players can feel the vibrations simulated from the game, like raindrops on Astro’s head, or feel the strong gusts of wind, the feeling of walking on a sandy beach, and many more. There are areas where Astro must ascend while in a miniature rocket, and players must exert more effort pressing the adaptive triggers. When you get to the very end of the level, you’ll land on a Sacred Symbols rainbow bridge. Turn around and run to the start of the bridge to see two bots at the title screen of “Bot of War”. This title screen references 2005’s God of War for the PS2, developed by SIE Santa Monica Studio.
After first using the Hang Glider, check the side of the column on the left side of the landing zone to see a Bot walking on a wall. This references Kat of Gravity Rush, released on PSVita in 2012 and developed by SIE Japan Studio. As should be evident, Kat has the ability to change the direction of gravity. In 2015, it was remastered on the PlayStation 4 by Bluepoint Games.
Combined with the hardware it’s bundled on, it’s something very special indeed – and one of the best launch titles I can remember in an age. It deserves a place among the greats though – Astro’s Playroom has the coherence, character and abundance of ideas, executed with real clarity, of the very best platformers. A tech demo shouldn’t have this much of a following, but that’s the power of Team Asobi’s Astro’s Playroom. The Astro Bots made their debut with the PlayStation VR tech demo, The Playroom. They showcased the capabilities of the VR device and left an impression on the higher-ups at Sony. This spun off into their own full VR action-platformer game, Astro Bot Rescue Mission, which got a ton of critical praise and even the Best VR/AR Game award at the 2018 Game Awards.
From the checkpoint instead of continuing upwards, follow the path of coins down to the right to enter another asteroid with this puzzle piece inside. Puzzle Piece 4/4 – After landing from the above hang glider section, go to the back left of the platform and drop down to find a lower area with this puzzle piece. Puzzle Piece 3/4 – In the third hang glider section you will need to avoid a number of mines that appear in the air. Just before reaching rr99 at the end, a puzzle piece will appear directly in the middle of the area that you need to grab before landing. Puzzle Piece 4/4 – After defeating the boss, go halfway across the newly revealed tightrope and look to the right. In a hole in the wall, you can see a spot to shoot, and when you do it reveals a new platform that has this puzzle piece at the end.
These icons were displayed on the back of PS1 game boxes to show what features the game supported. The icons on the monitor are, from left to right, Memory Card block requirement, Dual Analog support, Link Cable support, DualShock support, PlayStation Mouse support, Player count, and Multi-Tap support. At the very start of Raytrace Ruins, there are some Bots on the right playing Ninja Bots. This was a free add-on to 2013 PS4 pack-in title The Playroom by SCE Japan Studio, which is the originator of the Bots and actually precedes the creation of Astro.
When first arriving on Bot Beach off the slide, head right and look for the orange boat in the water with a bearded man and a small Bot in it. This references the 2018 God of War on PS4, also developed by SIE Santa Monica Studio. The composition of this easter egg is specifically mimicking the box art of the game. Also right after the third Hang Glider use, look for a lower area to jump down to near the ramp with the Wires sticking out. Here you’ll see a Bot with a triangular object on its head pulling a hapless victim.
The game is a wave-based shoot ‘em up that is comparable to Zone of the Enders. Astro Bot Rescue Mission is referenced a second time on the PlayStation Game Disc Artefact, which has a fictional Astro Bot game label on it and a very low-polygon version of Astro on it. In the PlayStation Labo area are two Bots in VR with a third listening to music, with two microphones behind him. The mics reference 2004’s Singstar for the PS2, developed by London Studio. Singstar was a very popular franchise on the PS2, and came packed with blue and red microphones, as referenced in the Labo area.
Each represents a VIP Bot from Astro Bot, and can be found in the Mission Control Room of the new Labo Basement area once you’ve freed them. They will only appear after you’ve unlocked and completed 1994 Throwback. If for some reason you don’t like blowing into your controller’s microphone, just turn it off. When you encounter a windmill in the game, the interaction will start automatically.