There are 24 artifacts (6 in each world) and 40 puzzle pieces spread across four worlds. Collecting these not only earns trophies but also unlocks special content. These trophies encourage players to thoroughly explore each level‚ making the journey to 100% completion both rewarding and engaging.

But overall, in a free game, a slew of challenge levels to test yourself in is just icing on a near-perfect cake. In between each standard platforming level are dedicated sections to unique suits for Astro. Memory Meadow, for instance, Astro becomes a little roller ball that uses the Dualsense’s trackpad for control instead of the left thumbstick. Astro’s Playroom is a very simple and small in-scale and scope game. Every bit of platforming presents almost no challenge, and so do the enemies.

Every level is full of references and Easter eggs to hardware and games that have released over the course of PlayStation’s 25-year history. I’ve been playing on PlayStation for pretty much as long as they’ve been around and seeing every single one of these things kept a smile on my face while I was playing. Trust me when I say you should go into this game seeing as little about it as possible. Unique Actions and Challenges in Astro Playroom require players to perform specific in-game actions‚ such as jumping three times during a spin attack on ice or punching a hidden bush to reveal a secret bot.

Dualshock Controller

It also teases that a selection of gatchas, or collectibles that can be earned via an in-game arcade machine, have been added, too. See in action a level of Astro’s Playroom, the platformer that comes free with your PlayStation 5 and shows off the cool new features of the DuelSense controller. You don’t usually see this kind of charm and polish in the genre unless it has Mario’s name attached to it. Granted, Astro isn’t as acrobatic as our favorite Italian plumber. He has a simple move set consisting of a jump, a hover, and some punches. But Astro’s Playroom never feels dull for a second thanks to its unbounded creativity.

The level of detail and fidelity in the haptics is incredible, layering different feelings like attacking enemies and other environmental interactions on top of the feel of the surface you are walking on. It all feels exactly like it should, a tactile experience a game has never given me before. At this point, you should have finished all levels and maybe got some miscellaneous trophies. A lot of these trophies will have you interact with an object in the PlayStation Labo.

Jump onto the left-hand one, right it up, then Beam Glide to the block on the right. At this spot, look at the wall between the red and green level entrys to find a ramp heading to the basement floor of the Plaza, where many different Bots are hanging out. The Astro franchise is built upon the success of the PlayStation brand and became the de facto mascot.

Cooling Springs Easter Eggs

You can jump down to the wooden platforms, then into a cave where you can pull a wire for this artifact. Puzzle Piece 2/4 – In the next section when riding the lily pad, you’ll need to jump over a series of obstacles to move forward. Jump onto the last one with the large coin above it, then jump up again to the right to reach this puzzle piece.

The platformer also paved the way for the successful Astro Bot, Team Asobi’s hit game from 2024 that earned numerous Game of The Year awards. While link tg88 may have eclipsed Astro’s Playroom, it seems developers have not forgotten about the adorable Astro’s first adventure, as the robot’s first game recently received new content. What caught me off guard the most was the hub area, CPU Plaza, having surprise platforming sections along its walls that spring to life instantly. However, the gameplay highlights in Astro’s Playroom are the special suits of the four areas. A grassy plain looks stunning in 4K, only for the plants to be lead with PlayStation face button symbols rather than flowers. A rocky wall you need to climb has coves jutting out that… are actually recreations of trigger switches.