The first two hits on an animal will give you one Coin each, which the third will give you five, for a total of seven! Another unlockable display for the Labo area are some canisters with white logos in them. These are the icons for the Xross Media Bar, which debuted on the 2003 PSX console in Japan, but is more known for its use on the PSP, PS3 and on Bravia TVs. The logos are still in use today, with the exception of the old PSN logo. One of the displays that you can unlock for the Labo area is a Bot with a mess of cards with various “PS” logos. These are actually all of Manabu Sakamoto’s designs for the PlayStation logo, before he landed on the one still in use today.
These four bots are completely optional, so if you don’t have the time (or the storage space to redownload Astro’s Playroom), know that they won’t give you much of an advantage in Astro Bot. Bots are used to access new areas and puzzles, and since you’ll encounter most of the 300 bots in the sequel without too much effort, you can unlock what you need without what Astro’s Playroom can give you. Polygon Recommends is our way of endorsing our favorite games, movies, TV shows, comics, tabletop books, and entertainment experiences.
The Playroom
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. You’ll collect coins, stomp on enemies, and poke around in search of secrets.
Astro’s Playroom Review
The new Share Button, which let you take screenshots and record video, replaced the Select Button, Fortunately, almost all games moved the Select Button function to pressing down on the new touchpad. The DualShock 3 was preceded by the original SIXAXIS controller, which lacked rumble motors and had a slightly transparent plastic shell. Because of this, early PS3 games lacked rumble, but several were retroactively patched to support the feature. The DualShock 3 released exactly one year after the PS3’s launch date.
Cooling Springs for example is chocked full of various PS3 models, the PS Sharp Shooter gun, the PSP, Vita, and so on. Luckily, Sony seems intent on reliving their past in more than one way with the launch of the PS5. Puzzle Pieces 4/4 – In the area with the stomping television, use the two clouds by the checkpoint to jump on top of it when it’s on the ground, then jump to the puzzle piece when it’s in the air. Puzzle Piece 1/4 – Right at the start of the level, cross the tightrope and jump across to reach this puzzle piece. Puzzle Piece 3/4 – After another couple of checkpoints, you’ll reach a series of second colored rooms.
The soundtrack is catchy and playful just as you would expect from a platformer and the 3D audio really helps add to the immersion. The speaker on the DualSense controller plays a lot of sounds out of it which is something I always enjoy and each one is done really well here to help add to the experience. The trophy hunters out there will even find 46 trophies here including a Platinum.
Completing levels unlocks rewards, encouraging players to replay. The fun is to explore locations, jump between platforms and perform simple puzzles. From time to time, we also find enemies that we can avoid or overpower with fast punches. Because tr88 grew up playing video games in the late 90s and early 00s, the rhythms of the 3D platformer are as instinctive to me as breathing. Put me in front of Fortnite and I’m all thumbs – how can these kids think about building and shooting things at the same time!?