We’ll update our awards tracker whenever new awards and nominations are announced. Astro’s Playroom has this infectious charm, even down to its main character, who is so cute and loveable. Sony is losing money because it does not have a plushie of an Astro Bot.
If you want curated lists of our favorite media, check out What to Play and What to Watch. I can’t say I had very high expectations for Astro’s Playroom, a game that comes free with every PlayStation 5 console. I figured it might be a cute series of minigames, akin to the robot-themed minigames in the PlayStation 4’s pack-in title, The Playroom. That PS4 game was the sort of thing you boot up once, mess around with for 30 minutes, and then forget it exists. It’s a phenomenal thing, taken even further with adaptive triggers that provide meaningful, forceful feedback.
The game runs at a full 4K resolution and a smooth 60fps as well and it makes great use of its color palette and lighting. 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.
While platforming games do not appeal to everyone, players can spend a few good hours going through obstacle courses and hunting a few easter eggs tucked away by the developers. If you just bought a PlayStation 5 or had one at launch, it would be a shame to miss experiencing a game that is completely free in 2025. Alongside releasing the four special bots and a new launch trailer for Astro Bot, Sony has announced a “special celebration countdown” for the game in Astro’s Playroom. Players have until September 6 to pre-order the game and unlock costumes and paints for the DualSpeeder before everyone else. It’s worth noting however that this isn’t the same model from the demo. After jumping up the trigger platforms and tripping a Checkpoint, check the right-hand side for tow Bots hiding from a third with mushrooms on its head.
Once collected, these artifacts are sent back to the main hub of Astro’s Playroom, where you can run and bounce on giant-sized (yet photorealistic) versions of them. It doesn’t stop at the collectibles; some bots pay tribute to past icons. You’ll see a bot holding a camera throughout the levels as they record their companions as fellow PlayStation characters. For example, you’ll see bots dressed up as Kratos and Atreus from God of War trying to row a boat. You’ll even see a bot dressed up as Snake from Metal Gear Solid, and when you kick the box, it makes the classic alert sound each time you kick. Sony boldly chose Astro Bot to lead the PlayStation 5 with the tech demo Astro’s Playroom.
Astro’s Playroom Puzzle Pieces: Where To Find All The Jigsaw Pieces
On October 10th 2013, a revised model was released with a thinner, lighter design that swapped the OLED screen with an LCD. The follow-up to the original Multitap, this peripheral also allowed players to use more than two controllers with their games. Unlike PS1 games, PS2 games never exceeded more than four players. The PS2 Slim models didn’t support the first PS2 Multitap, and had their own model. Trophies are another kind of collectible that are available in every PlayStation 5 game (as well as the PS4, PS3 and PSVita).
Each hub world‚ like GPU Jungle‚ contains multiple pieces across its four areas. Collecting all pieces unlocks special rewards and contributes to trophy progress. Thorough exploration and careful navigation are key to finding every piece‚ ensuring you don’t miss any hidden gems.
Playstation Home
The strapline used in Astro’s Playroom is a cheeky reference to media confusion regarding what the Processor Unit actually did, initially thought to give the PS4 extra processing power for VR titles. The PS Move Controller was Sony’s answer to the Nintendo Wiimotes. Instead of using an infrared light bar, movement was tracked using the soft light ball on top via the PS Eye Camera, and rotation by the internal SIXAXIS. This made it slightly more advanced than a Wiimote, until the Wii MotionPlus released. The PS Move controller later made a comeback as the hand tracking method for the PlayStation VR. The colloquially titled “Super Slim” marked the PlayStation 3 as the second PlayStation to receive more than one exterior design revision, after the PSP (which had five).
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Following Astro’s Playroom (2020), it is the fifth overall installment in the Astro Bot series and marks Team Asobi’s first game developed since its separation from Japan Studio. Astro’s Playroom was the final game released by Japan Studio before their dissolution in April 2021. Team Asobi was formally spun-off into an independent studio within Sony’s PlayStation Studios in June 2021. A full-length sequel, Astro Bot, was announced on May 30, 2024, and was released for the PlayStation 5 on September 6, 2024. As someone that has owned and loved every single PlayStation console from the PS1 to the PS Vita and PS4, it was an absolute treat to play Astro’s Playroom.
Astro’s Playroom is an extremely well-designed platformer and getting access to it for free feels like a steal. Even as-is I’d wager Sony could easily charge $20 and most people would happily pay that without feeling ripped off at all. Usually rumble tends to fade away and eventually becomes something I stop noticing. In some cases I’ll turn it off entirely so it doesn’t distract me. But in win79.com of the DualSense, for the first time ever really, I feel like it actually enhances and changes the game for the better.
Astro’s Playroom is as old as the PlayStation 5, and this is most likely the first game new owners booted up. Despite being a brief experience, this is the kind of game that can be played with family members and is worth playing in 2025. Sony Interactive Entertainment finally nailed the platforming genre, and it only took a cute little robot to give them the courage to innovate. Yet another unlockable display for the Labo area is a Bot throwing a blue boomerang around. The shape is a reference to the infamous “Boomerang” prototype controller, an unofficial name for the controller that was shown alongside the PlayStation 3 when it debuted.
Jump and hold over top of it to ignite it, and when it explodes it reveals this puzzle piece underneath. Puzzle Piece 3/4– At the next checkpoint there are some spots you can bounce on to climb up the platforms. Instead of going up, bounce to the opposite side to find this puzzle piece underneath the platform. Puzzle Piece 2/4 – Just after the next checkpoint, there are a bunch of explosive enemies on the ground you can light using your ship thrusters. When they explode they destroy the ground, revealing an area with this puzzle piece. Puzzle Piece 1/4 – Directly to the left of the first checkpoint there is a hole you can drop down with a bunch of coins and this puzzle piece in the middle.