I don’t hide the fact that I’m a genuine PlayStation fan, wearing PS symbol t-shirts often and sporting my Crash Bandicoot controller holder — it’s not really a secret. So getting to literally dig up fossils of the past and then have the physical representations of my nostalgia gamified within a game even further was just magical. Toro the cat filled the role to a degree in Japan but he never fronted any major games and has since faded from the limelight.

But now there is a new challenger and while Astro isn’t much of a character his games are becoming some of the best in Sony’s line-up. Puzzle Piece 3/4 – Just after the pinball area you will slide across some ice blocks. This puzzle piece is just after one of the ledges you drop down on the blocks. You can hold the touchpad button down to bring yourself to a stop on the ice. Puzzle Piece 2/4 – In this same pinball area, knock out the 6 bowling pin enemies around the center bumper to make this puzzle piece appear.

Dualshock Controller

Puzzle Piece 1/4 – At the second checkpoint instead of going forward, go to the left and up to a platform where you can find a spot to blow into the mic. Puzzle Piece 3/4 – When you reach the next checkpoint, before going down the ramp, follow the path back to the right where you can hit a small jump which propels you into the air to grab this puzzle piece. Puzzle Piece 2/4 – After going underneath the large controller statue and entering the road area, this puzzle piece is on the left on the section of music chips.

Yes, the game is a great showpiece for the PS5’s DualSense controller, applying its haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and motion-sensing technology to a variety of inventive situations. But Astro’s Playroom is much more than a tutorial; it’s a joyful and polished platformer that ushers in a new generation of PlayStation hardware with a big smile. To add the four bots to Astro Bot, play until you’ve completed the first nebula and unlocked the Crash Site hub. Here, you can continue to unlock additional collectibles, including puzzle pieces and bots to add to your totals.

This references Ridge Racer, released on the PS1 in 1994 and developed by Namco. The car being driven is the one of the game’s boxart, the F/A Fiera, also known as the Kamata Fiera. After defeating the stone dragon boss and reaching the start of Mt. Motherboard, look to the left to spot two fighters, one victorious over the other. The scene depicts the canon ending of the game, where Kazuya Mishima is victorious over his father Heihachi. About halfway into the level you’ll cross over a DualShock Cable that is then blown by a fan.

Ghost of Tsushima was the last first-party PlayStation game developed exclusively for the PS4, after which the PS5 released. What this means is that if you, say, reach a Checkpoint with 10 Coins, then pick up 5 more Coins, then die, you’ll respawn at the Checkpoint back at 10 Coins, and need to collect the other 5 Coins again. What this means is that holding X to jump will make Astro jump higher compared to just tapping X, which will only give a short hop.

Astro’s Playroom – Review

Each bit of grain is felt through your hand, which makes it intense in the best way. Then, the magic starts happening when these features are combined. Take when you’re exiting the beach and you’re walking against the fans that are blowing sand across you. The microphone makes the wind more intense while the vibrations of the sand are felt as the controller feels like a sandstorm.

The game is a fantastic tech demo for the DualSense controller while also being an enjoyable platformer in its own right. Astro’s Playroom has been described as a love letter to PlayStation, as the game is full of references to past and present Sony franchises. As you’re exploring Playroom’s levels you’ll also stumble across Astro Bots wearing a blue cap and holding a camera. They’re mostly there for the fun of it all rather than to accumulate anything, but every single one of them made me smile, even the few that I had to take a moment to try and guess at. I won’t spoil any more here so as to not rob anyone of the joy of first discovering them.

For a free game that comes with the PlayStation 5, one largely designed just to showcase all the bells and whistles of Sony’s next-gen DualSense controller, Astro’s Playroom is surprisingly fun. It’s not just a great toybox to experience the DualSense’s haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, microphone, and more, it also delivers the best proof-of-concept pack-in I’ve played since Wii Sports. This is a truly joyous homage to PlayStation history, as well as an experimental platformer I can only hope to see turned into a larger experience during the PS5’s lifetime. Astro Bot Rescue Mission is a 2018 platform video game developed by Japan Studio’s Team Asobi and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 4’s PlayStation VR headset. It stars a cast of robot characters first introduced in The Playroom, where they appeared as robots that lived inside of the DualShock 4 controller.

Alongside the Nintendo 64 and Sega Saturn, the PlayStation was one of the first video game consoles to specialize in 3D graphics. Early models featured RCA jacks for video and audio output and a Parallel I/O port, but these were all removed by the 1999 models. At the top, wait for the last block to slide left so you can stand on the left-hand side. Use a jump and Beam Glide to land on top of the block (just like you did before), then ride the block left through the Coins. From here win79 can jump left one last time to land on a button that reveals a Yellow Trampoline.

As you get better at playing games, you’ll get better at being able to make things up as you go. Aside from being a technical showcase, Astro’s Playroom is also a game that was clearly made with a lot of care and passion. Each world is themed after a particular computer component, and one of the main goals is to collect secret items that are all pieces of classic PlayStation hardware. There’s even a trophy room where you can interact with them, using your little robot hands to turn on a gigantic PSP Go, or hop on the eject button of an original PlayStation to see the lid pop open. At its most basic, Astro’s Playroom is a fairly straightforward platforming game. You play as a cute little robot named Astro, exploring four different worlds set in a universe that appears to exist inside of a computer.

Puzzle Piece 3/4 – In the third hang glider section you will need to avoid a number of mines that appear in the air. Just before reaching the platform at the end, a puzzle piece will appear directly in the middle of the area that you need to grab before landing. Puzzle Piece 3/4 – When crossing the tightrope while being blown to the side, jump over to the platform with the flower.

Throw the cannister with the net inside at the blue aura when the lock-on symbol appears to reveal the Special Bot. Go under the bridge and immediately on your right pull the exposed cable cords to grab a throwable canister with a net inside. Punch the shell to reveal a steering wheel, then stand in front of it push the Options button to bring up the map. Go to the far right corner of the beach, next to the building, on the opposite side of where the Gran Turismo Astro Bot is. Proceed through the stage as normal until you reach the first dynamite enemy.