Astro Bot triples the PlayStation cameos with "over 150" VIP bots, restoring hope for a Bloodborne breadcrumb

With the upcoming Astro Bot, developer Team Asobi is leaning hard on PlayStation easter eggs, with over 150 characters from other PlayStation franchises set to make appearances in the game, in addition to themed levels, cosmetics, and more. That is, of course, something that the IP’s previous outing, Astro’s Playroom, became known for as well, but should we expect this to become a franchise tradition going forward?

When pre-orders went live for Team Asobi’s Astro Bot, it was revealed that players would receive the Yharnam Hunter outfit early with the Deluxe Edition. Of course, you can unlock this by playing the game, but many were curious about its conclusion. The inclusion of Lady Maria from The Old Hunters DLC via a free update to Astro’s Playroom was also convenient.

Astro Bot is arguably Sony's most promising first-party exclusive for 2024 in a year otherwise devoid of big releases. The platform game looked great on its State of Play debut, but it won't support PS VR2 despite the franchise launching on the first PS VR headset with 2018's Astro Bot: Rescue Mission.

New impressions for Team Asobi’s Astro Bot are available courtesy of PlayStation Blog, which went hands-on with an early preview build. While PlayStation confirmed over 80 levels spread across multiple galaxies, they’ll fall into one of three difficulties – Easy, Normal and Hard.

It was in 2018 with the launch of the incredible Astro Bot Rescue Mission that the mascot platformer IP really started gaining traction, while in 2020, the free PS5 pack-in tech demo Astro’s Playroom was also well received by players. Later this year, however, the series will be making its full console debut with Astro Bot– which, according to creative director and studio head at developer Nicolas Doucet, was always the plan.

Sony and developer Team Asobi billing Astro Bot is a big game, and with the game set to feature over 80 levels and over 300 bots to rescue at launch, it’s clear that it isn’t going to be lacking where content is concerned. As it turns out, however, Team Asobi has yet more content planned for the platformer that it will be adding post-launch.

Update: Pre-orders are now open for Astro Bot on the PS Store and at retail, with the MSRP for the standard edition being £59.99/$59.99 and the Digital Deluxe Edition being £69.99/$69.99. This is cheaper than most tentpole PS5 exclusives.

Sony may not be releasing any flagship first-party games this year on the level of something like a God of War or Horizon, but there are several PlayStation Studios games lined up for release in the coming months nonetheless- and none that looks as promising and delightful as Astro Bot does. Announced last month, the 3D platformer is being billed as the series’ biggest outing ever, and with pre-orders having gone live today, details have now also emerged on its pricing.

The upcoming Astro Bot for PS5 from Team Asobi will receive three different editions, and pre-orders kick off today.

Pre-orders go live for Team Asobi’s Astro Bot today, though it may already be available in your region. In a new PlayStation Blog post, studio head Nicolas Doucet details each of the editions while confirming that all players will receive a PaRappa the Rapper outfit and “Glorious Graffiti” paint color for the Dual Speeder early alongside two Astro avatars for free.

Sony has confirmed that its upcoming Astro Bot game for PS5 will once again go ham with its PlayStation cameos.

Team Asobi’s recently announced Astro Bot, a new entry in the 3D platforming series, is a “really, really big game”, per studio head Nicolas Doucet. There are over 80 levels, more than 15 abilities and +70 enemy types, which certainly adds credence to the statement.