''Astro's Playroom'' is a 2020
platform game
A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...
developed and published by
Sony Interactive Entertainment
Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) is an American video game and digital entertainment company that is a major subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation. It primarily operates the PlayStation brand of video game co ...
for the
PlayStation 5
The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North ...
. A sequel to ''
Astro Bot Rescue Mission'', the game comes pre-installed on every console, serving additionally as a free
tech demo
A technology demonstration (or tech demo), also known as demonstrator model, is a prototype, rough example or otherwise incomplete version of a conceivable product or future system, put together as proof of concept with the primary purpose of sho ...
for the
DualSense controller.
''Astro's Playroom'' was announced on June 11, 2020, at the
PlayStation 5 reveal event. The game was released on November 12, 2020 to generally favorable reviews from critics.
''Astro's Playroom'', alongside
''Demon's Souls'', was the final game released by Japan Studio before their reorganization in April 1, 2021. The game's development group was formally spun-off into a new studio within Sony's
PlayStation Studios
PlayStation Studios (formerly SCE Worldwide Studios and SIE Worldwide Studios) is a division of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) that oversees the video game development at the studios owned by SIE. The division was established as SCE Worl ...
in the same day. A full-length sequel, ''
Astro Bot'', was announced on May 30, 2024, and was released for the PlayStation 5 on September 6, 2024.
Gameplay
''Astro's Playroom'' is a
3D platformer in which the player controls the title character Astro Bot using the
DualSense controller. Like
the previous game, he is able to jump, hover, punch enemies and objects, as well as use a spin attack by charging his punch. The
haptic feedback of the controller is used to provide realistic tactile vibrations from actions, such as walking on different types of material, like sand, walking through rainfall, and walking against the wind. The game starts in a hub world called
CPU Plaza which is modeled after the inside of the
PlayStation 5
The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North ...
console and provides access to four worlds which are each themed after a component of the console, and the artifacts are themed after the corresponding console:
GPU Jungle (
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
&
PlayStation VR
The PlayStation VR (PS VR) is a virtual reality headset developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, which was released in October 2016. The headset works with the company's PlayStation 4 video game console and is forward compatible with PlaySta ...
),
Cooling
Cooling is removal of heat, usually resulting in a lower temperature and/or Phase transition, phase change. Temperature lowering achieved by any other means may also be called cooling.
The Heat transfer, transfer of Internal energy, thermal energ ...
Springs (
PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...
,
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...
, &
PlayStation Vita
The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, then in other international territories on February 22, 2012, and was produced ...
),
SSD
A solid-state drive (SSD) is a type of solid-state storage device that uses Integrated circuit, integrated circuits to store data persistence (computer science), persistently. It is sometimes called semiconductor storage device, solid-stat ...
Speedway (
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
&
PS2 Slim), and
Memory
Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembe ...
Meadow (
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...
,
PocketStation &
PSone). The plaza also houses two other areas: Network Speed Run, in which players can compete in unlockable time trials for the fastest time which can be shared to online leaderboards, and
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...
Labo, which houses all of the collectables a player has collected.
Each of the four worlds are split up into four levels that are interconnected with each other. Two of these levels involve regular platforming whereas the other two involve a special power-up suit which makes use of the DualSense controller's capabilities. For example, one world features a frog suit with a spring at the bottom in which the controller must be tilted laterally to guide the frog and the trigger pressed down to compress the spring, which offers resistance similar to how a real spring would using the adaptive trigger system. Another example is the ball suit in which the player must swipe the touchpad to guide the ball. The worlds also contain large numbers of other robots performing various activities, including acting out scenes from various current and former PlayStation-exclusive game franchises, such as
''God of War'' and ''
Resident Evil
''Resident Evil'', known as in Japan, is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...
''. In the worlds, there are cable wires that Astro Bot can pull to collect projectiles, coins, and artifacts, including other robots, with some on enemy robots. If Astro Bot falls or gets defeated, the level will restart from the latest checkpoint cleared.
Three types of collectables exist within each world: coins, puzzle pieces, and artifacts. Coins collected from collecting and defeating enemies can be used at a
gacha machine in PlayStation Labo to potentially obtain collectable in-game figurines as well as more puzzle pieces and artifacts. Puzzle pieces are used to fill in a PlayStation mural that adorns the walls of the PlayStation Labo area. Finally, artifacts are 3D rendered representations of real-world objects from the history of PlayStation, such as consoles, controllers, and accessories. When collected, the player is able to examine them by moving the DualSense controller around and interact with them using the touchpad or built-in microphone. Artifacts are stored in PlayStation Labo where Astro Bot (and many other robots) can later interact with them by punching or jumping on them.
At the end of each world, there is an area inspired by the startup sequences of the previous four PlayStation home consoles, where the player receives an artifact of the respective console as a reward for completing the world. Once all four worlds have been completed, a secret fifth world opens up called 1994 Throwback, in which Astro Bot must complete a boss fight inspired by the
T-Rex tech demo
A technology demonstration (or tech demo), also known as demonstrator model, is a prototype, rough example or otherwise incomplete version of a conceivable product or future system, put together as proof of concept with the primary purpose of sho ...
from the
original PlayStation's first demo disc. Once the T-Rex has been defeated, the
credits roll and the player is rewarded with artifacts from the PlayStation 5 era, including the DualSense controller and the PlayStation 5 console itself.
In anticipation for the release of ''Astro Bot'', ''Astro's Playroom'' received several updates throughout 2024 to promote the upcoming launch. These include new gacha prizes that add new artifacts to the PlayStation Labo room for PlayStation 5 hardware released since the original release of ''Astro's Playroom'' (the slim model of the PlayStation 5, the DualSense Edge, Access controller, PlayStation Portal, and the PlayStation VR2 and its associated "Sense" controllers). These are stored in a new room below the PlayStation Labo room called the "Secret Labo". Within the Secret Labo a portal to preorder Astro Bot can be found (prior to the launch of Astro Bot the portal led to a countdown to the midnight release of Astro Bot on Sept. 6). Additionally special "VIP bots" were hidden in each world that can be rescued by completing a specific series of actions unique to each bot. The VIP bots are themed around ''Gran Turismo'', ''Returnal'', "''The Old Hunters''" downloadable content for ''Bloodborne'' and ''Ape Escape'', and will appear in the portal room when rescued. Furthermore rescuing these bots will also make them available to rescue and add to the player's rescued bots at the crash site in Astro Bot.
Development
Team Asobi began development on ''Astro's Playroom'' in early 2018. The game initially started as a series of tech demos for the PlayStation 5's DualSense controller, although its status as a launch title was not established until later in development. According to creative director Nicolas Doucet, at least 80 tech demos for the DualSense controller had been designed while working on the game.
As a celebration of the PlayStation brand, the game features appearances by characters from several
PlayStation franchises, as well as characters from series by
third-party
Third party may refer to:
Business
* Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller
* Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party
* Third-party insurance, such as a veh ...
developers, such as
Bandai Namco Entertainment
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game video game publisher, publisher, and the video game branch of the wider Bandai Namco Holdings group. Founded in 2006 as it is the successor to Namco's home and arcade video game ...
,
Capcom
is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...
,
Square Enix
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...
,
Konami
, commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...
, and
Activision
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...
. Team Asobi consulted with the original developers, such as ''
Tekken
is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting games developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco). The franchise also includes film and print adaptations.
The main games in the series follow the events ...
'' series producer
Katsuhiro Harada, for the numerous easter eggs found in ''Astro's Playroom'' referencing the different video game franchises, In designing the cameos, concept artist Toshihiko Nakai focused on capturing recognizability, humor, and fan appeal. A number of animators at Team Asobi had previously worked on some original titles referenced in ''Astro's Playroom''.
Reception
''Astro's Playroom'' received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
.
In a highly positive review, ''
Electronic Gaming Monthly
''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews.
History
The magazine was fou ...
''s Mollie Patterson awarded the game a perfect score, lauding the variety of the gameplay and the game's nostalgia factor. She felt emotional finding all of ''Astro's Playroom'' secrets, writing "No matter your console or company allegiances, it's easy to forget just how much those 25 years of the PlayStation's existence as a gaming platform has meant for our hobby."
''
Destructoid
''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017 and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022.
Histor ...
''s Chris Carter praised the gameplay as being a great showcase for the DualSense and the instant load times.
Similarly, ''
Eurogamer
''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network.
In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...
''s Martin Robinson praised the game for being a promising glimpse of the future for the PlayStation 5 and remarked it as being "one of the best launch titles I can remember in an age."
The usage of cameos and references to various PlayStation and PlayStation-related franchises such as ''
Uncharted
''Uncharted'' is an action-adventure video game series and media franchise published by Sony Interactive Entertainment and developed by Naughty Dog. Created by Amy Hennig, the ''Uncharted'' franchise follows a group of treasure hunters who trav ...
'', ''
LittleBigPlanet
''LittleBigPlanet'' (''LBP''; stylised as ''LittleBIGPlanet'') is a Puzzle video game, puzzle platform video game series created and produced by British developer Media Molecule and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Most games in th ...
'' and ''
Crash Bandicoot
''Crash Bandicoot'' is a video game franchise originally developed by Naughty Dog as an exclusive for Sony's PlayStation console. It has seen numerous installments created by various developers and published on multiple platforms. The series c ...
'' was praised by ''
Game Informer
''Game Informer'' (''GI'' is an American monthly Video game journalism, video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and video game console, game consoles. It debuted in August 1991, when the video game reta ...
''s Joe Juba, comparing their inclusion favorably to the various licensed
Lego
Lego (, ; ; stylised as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. Lego consists of variously coloured interlocking plastic bricks made of acrylonitri ...
video games.
''
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
''s Mike Epstein enjoyed the game's visual fidelity and solid platforming, but was critical of the game's motion control sequences.
Jonathon Dornbush, writing for ''
IGN
''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'', enjoyed the game's homages to PlayStation's history and the DualSense interactions, but criticized how it felt more like a technical showcase than a full game.
During the
24th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is a non-profit organization of video game industry professionals. It organizes the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain Summit, better known as D.I.C.E., which includes the presentation ...
nominated ''Astro's Playroom'' for "
Family Game of the Year".
See also
*
''Astro Bot'' (series)
*''
Astro Bot Rescue Mission''
References
External links
*
{{portal bar, Video games
3D platformers
2020 video games
Astro Bot
Free-to-play video games
Japan Studio games
Pack-in video games
PlayStation 5 games
PlayStation 5-only games
PlayStation Network games
Single-player video games
Sony Interactive Entertainment games
Team Asobi games
Video games about robots
Video games about video games
Video games developed in Japan
Video games scored by Kenneth Young
Video game sequels