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Astro Bot takes the playful platforming and cheerful world of Astro’s Playroom and builds on them with new areas, abilities, and secrets. In this hands-on preview, a selection of levels showed how the full-sized adventure can keep its stages lively and varied, with plenty to discover along the way.
Astro Bot expands its cosmic adventure
The demo begins on an outer-space map where Astro travels in a spaceship shaped like a DualSense controller. From this hub, players can visit six galaxies, represented by a red octopus, blue gorilla, purple bird, yellow lizard, green snake, and rainbow swirl. Most destinations were unavailable in the preview, so the playable section started in the red octopus galaxy.
Sky Garden: a tropical platforming stage
Sky Garden is a bright island setting with beaches, palm trees, and pools. It opens with a short flight through a sky filled with flamingos. Tilting the DualSense controller steers Astro’s ship, before the action shifts to familiar platforming: Astro can punch robot enemies or hover above them using the laser jets in his feet.
The level mixes these basic moves with playful set pieces, including a long water slide surrounded by colorful beach balls. Its first power-up is a beach-ball backpack that launches Astro upward. It can help reach a puzzle piece carried by a flamingo and, underwater, propel Astro quickly toward the surface. The R2 trigger’s resistance adds a tactile feel when activating the ability. There are seven hidden Astro Bots to rescue in the level, so exploring off the main path can pay off.
Construction Derby and its new abilities
The next stage, Construction Derby, takes place at an active building site. A giant robot gorilla appears in the distance and knocks down structures, creating the expectation of a boss encounter. The preview does not include a fight with it; the gorilla may be connected to the blue galaxy shown on the map.
Construction Derby includes smaller gorilla-like enemies and a magnet that lets Astro fling groups of iron ingots at targets. A dog backpack provides a quick forward burst, useful for breaking objects and clearing platforming obstacles. A hidden room adds a different kind of challenge: Astro must use paint to reveal invisible platforms and climb to a bot dressed as Parappa the Rapper. Rescued bots return to the hub with Astro, while the dog backpack receives a small robot doghouse.
Wako Tako brings a demanding boss battle
The demo’s final main stage pits Astro against Wako Tako, a large red robot octopus. Astro’s frog-glove power-up can punch, grab, and swing toward distant objects. Wako Tako attacks with boxing-glove tentacles that strike from above and burst through the sand below, so keeping an eye on the boss’s movements is essential.
Hitting weak points on the gloves and snorkel makes Wako Tako retreat, leading into a platforming section with sweeping tidal waves. The waves can defeat Astro in one hit if he is too close to the ground, making timing and movement especially important.
In the final phase, Astro smashes the boss’s eyes, grabs its tears, and uses the frog gloves to slingshot himself into its face, sending it flying away. After the battle, he finds a capsized rowboat. Turning it over reveals Kratos and Atreus, who join Astro aboard the DualSense-shaped ship.
Bonus challenges and overall impressions
Back at the hub, a new level inspired by God of War: Ragnarök appears, though it cannot be played in the demo. Two additional short stages are also available: one built around a red circle and another around a blue X. Both are compact platforming challenges that become easier to complete once their mechanics are familiar. The red stage features icy floating circles; the blue one uses time-slowing effects. Each can be finished in just under a minute, but both are more demanding than the main levels.
The preview suggests Astro Bot is designed to keep exploration, movement, and surprises at the center of its platforming. Distinct power-ups change how Astro navigates each stage, while hidden bots and optional rooms reward careful searching. At the time of the preview, the game was scheduled to launch exclusively on PS5 on September 6.
Why Astro Bot stands out
Astro Bot builds on the charm of Astro’s Playroom with varied environments, tactile DualSense features, and a mix of accessible routes and tougher challenges. For players who enjoy 3D platformers, the preview points to an adventure where exploring carefully can be just as satisfying as reaching the finish line.
