Astro Bot | Special Editions Announced

[Moonface]

Developer: Team Asobi
Platforms: PlayStation 5
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: September 6, 2024
Official Website: Link

Join ASTRO in a brand-new, supersized space adventure! Board ASTRO's trusty Dual Speeder and get ready for an amazing adventure through spectacular worlds that are full of fun, secrets and surprises. The PS5 mothership has been wrecked by ASTRO’s alien rival, leaving his crew scattered across multiple galaxies. Can you help ASTRO rescue his stranded bot buddies and rebuild the mothership? Enjoy powered-up platforming action over 80 exciting planets. Make the most of ASTRO’s new abilities, from froggy boxing gloves to a giant ASTRO-shaped sponge!

Become a galactic explorer
Blast through the galaxy on ASTRO's Dual Speeder in the search for his Bot friends across six galaxies with more than 80 levels. Explore sky gardens, spooky graveyards, undersea cities, scorching volcanoes and much more!

Powered-up platforming
Take on crazy enemies and gigantic bosses with over 15 awesome new abilities, such as:

• Bulldog Booster lets you air-dash and smash through enemies, metal and glass
  
• Twin-Frog Gloves that offer long-range punching and the ability to swing
  
• Giant Sponge that lets you suck up water from the environment to grow huge and cause massive (and slightly moist) destruction
  

Feel their power through the DualSense wireless controller!

Take on a galaxy of foes
With more than 70 enemy types and massive bosses at the end of each galaxy, ASTRO will have their hands full during their journey. Defeating each boss will uncover a wonderful secret, and for the brave ones of you craving even more challenge, the game comes packed with die-and-retry levels to test your reflexes.

A PlayStation celebration
Rescue over 150 iconic VIP Bots inspired by legendary characters from 30 years of PlayStation history.

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Man, ever since this game got revealed at the recent State of Play I can't stop thinking about it. I'm so excited for it and I'm absolutely buying this on day one without hesitation. Astro's Playroom was phenomenal and that game is tiny compared to what this one is going to offer.

[ShiraNoMai]

This looks SO good and it's great that it's coming out this year. Felt like there wasn't much on the radar of games to come out in the second half of this year, and this is looking to be a highlight of the fall season!

[Moonface]

This looks SO good and it's great that it's coming out this year.

I think this might actually be the shortest time between reveal and release for a first party Sony game now that I think about it. Most games in that SoP were that way too so hopefully it means more developers are trying to reduce how far out they announce their games. 

Because we can't really speculate properly about any of the gameplay stuff, my focus right now has been on the 150 PlayStation themed bots the game is going to have. I doubt any game is going to be excluded unless it's under ownership of a third party, i.e. Crash and Spyro, but there isn't enough games to have only a few games getting multiple bots so I wonder what specific characters beyond the main protagonists are getting in from each game?

[queenzelda]

I'm actually excited for this title. What's funny to me is that when it was advertised, it reminded me so much of the original Little Big Planet days when it showed. Because of how many Sony ips were shown in the game. It was the same in the LBP series, in that Mm had Sack Thing in outfits that looked like other characters that you could gather outfits from in game. Reminded me a LOT of that.

[Moonface]

I'm actually excited for this title. What's funny to me is that when it was advertised, it reminded me so much of the original Little Big Planet days when it showed. Because of how many Sony ips were shown in the game. It was the same in the LBP series, in that Mm had Sack Thing in outfits that looked like other characters that you could gather outfits from in game. Reminded me a LOT of that.

Yeah, I'd say that this game is clearly showcasing Astro as the new platforming mascot for PlayStation since Sackboy. It'll be interesting to see how this game performs sales wise compared to Sackboy: A Big Adventure too.

[Moonface]

Astro Bot | Special Editions Announced
Starting Friday, June 7, you can pre-order Astro Bot for PlayStation 5 in different 3 editions:

• Physical Standard Edition
  • Physical poster
    
  • PaRappa Lovestruck Lyricist outfit
    
  • Glorious Graffiti Dual Speeder paint color
    
  • 2 Astro Avatars
    
  
  
• Digital Standard Edition
  • PaRappa Lovestruck Lyricist outfit
    
  • Glorious Graffiti Dual Speeder paint color
    
  • 2 Astro Avatars
    
  
  
• Digital Deluxe Edition
  • Everything from the Digital Standard Edition
    
  • Astro’s Yharnam Tourist outfit
    
  • Astro’s Golden outfit
    
  • The Neon Dream Dual Speeder paint color
    
  • The Champion’s Gold Dual Speeder paint color
    
  • The official Soundtrack and Digital Art Gallery
    
  • 10 Astro Avatars
    

All outfits and Dual Speeder paint colors can also be unlocked as you play through the game; these special editions just unlock them early.

Source: PlayStation Blog

[ShiraNoMai]

Not a fan of games having their deluxe editions tied to digital copies of the game these days. But I get that making physical bonuses is definitely more costly than it used to be or for companies to keep up with a demand that's higher than ever before.

[queenzelda]

I think for me the special edition might come down to price. If it's the same price as what I can get physically, sure. Otherwise, I'm a cheapskate. 😂🤷‍♀️But, for now we'll see since I feel the 'special edition' seems to be a lot, so I'm taking a shot in the dark thinking it'll be pricier. 💵

[Moonface]

For anyone who has played Astro's Playroom or plans to, it got an update yesterday out of nowhere that adds new content to it including levels. I'm definitely looking forward to checking it out when I get home from Texas after the weekend.

[queenzelda]

For anyone who has played Astro's Playroom or plans to, it got an update yesterday out of nowhere that adds new content to it including levels. I'm definitely looking forward to checking it out when I get home from Texas after the weekend.

New content you say? I'll have to update it and take a look. Thanks for the heads up. :3

[Moonface]

Yeah, I can't find a reliable summary of what exactly got added but from what I can tell the new bots are hidden in existing areas of the game and might require solving a riddle of some kind? The new levels thing may have been a clickbait title as the site that was stating it has removed it now.

I think the update added four new bots with one hidden in each area, and a trophy for finding each one. That might be all it added but a lack of official patch notes makes it hard to know.

[ShiraNoMai]

Hands-On Impressions from Floor Demo (via IGN, summarized by Shinobi602)

• "Primed to be a big hit", "feels like a 3D Mario game"
  
• "Tight, responsive experience", Astro still has his trusty jump, attack, charged spin attack, and versatile laser-hover ability
  
• Difficulty Modes: Easy, Normal, Hard (hard will "challenge seasoned platforming fans")
  
• Overworld consists of multiple galactic maps, each full of colorful planets with their own unique levels
  
• Some planets are harder than others. Hovering over them reveals their difficulty level
  
• Completing some 'hard' levels unlocks other, new hard levels
  
• 80 levels to visit packed with hidden bots, puzzle pieces, boss battles, goofy power-ups, coins, and challenges that lead to other secrets
  
• Levels are full of fun, interactive bits: bouncy inflatable balls roll down a waterslide with you, gooey paint buckets, shiny bolts, and colorful spray paint cans all with detailed physics
  
• Sky Garden Level: Consists of multiple connected floating islands giving a vision of idyllic paradise with pink robo-flamingos in blue ponds, cherry blossom trees whose petals float across the ponds
  
• Swinging Sentries Level: "Hard" level featuring multiple platforms with enemies swinging spiky ball-and-chain weapons
  
• Slowdown Showdown Level: Astro throws an hourglass item to slow down enemies, platforms, and environmental hazards "that move impossibly fast"
  
• Construction Derby Level: A miles-high construction site with cranes, beams, scaffolding, etc. A "sumo-bot" guards a helipad halfway through the level, forcing Astro to target his vulnerable backside
  
• Astro can collect a new item that pumps him full of air in order to reach new hidden heights
  
• Astro can now explore underwater for hidden bots and treasures
  
• Exploration is rewarded - for example, an underwater area concealed by a bubble holds a secret bot whose themed after Rivet (Ratchet & Clank) surrounded by enemies you have to defeat in order to rescue
  
• New ability: A robotic dog partner clings to Astro’s back, granting a jet-powered boost that serves as both an attack and air boost
  
• Tons of PlayStation themed bots to discover - a game menu indicates how many bots are hidden throughout each stage, and PlayStation symbols mark hidden cameo bots
  
• DualSense haptics and adaptive trigger implementation as great as Astro's Playroom was
  
• Wako Tako: Big octopus boss battle seen in the trailer - Astro lands on a shipwreck and gets a new item: "extend-o frog boxing gloves". These allow Astro to punch from far away, swing across grapple points, do slingshot style attacks, etc. Boss fight has many "twists and turns"
  
• Mythical companions join Astro's journey, like discovering bot versions of Kratos and Atreus under a capsized floating canoe
  

Source: Shinobi602 on Twitter, via IGN's hands-on impression