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PS5 Cheats

Astro Bot

Astro Bot – Game Overview

There is a particular kind of magic that only the very best platform games possess — the sort that makes you forget you’re holding a controller and convinces you that you’re genuinely along for the ride. Team Asobi’s Astro Bot, released exclusively on PS5 in September 2024, belongs firmly in that rarefied company. PlayStation’s diminutive mascot has quietly been building up to this moment through a VR outing and the console’s pack-in tech demo, Astro’s Playroom, but this is the game that truly announces him as an all-timer. If Nintendo has Mario, PlayStation now has Astro, and on the evidence here, they needn’t feel the slightest bit embarrassed about that comparison.

The premise is cheerfully daft and all the better for it. Astro and 300 of his fellow robots are cruising through the cosmos aboard a spaceship that bears a remarkable resemblance to a PS5 console (subtle, Team Asobi, very subtle), when a googly-eyed alien swoops in, strips the ship for parts, and scatters the crew across five galaxies. Off you trot, then, to rescue your pals and piece the mothership back together. The story is wafer-thin by design, but the moment-to-moment joy of actually playing the thing more than fills the gap. Each of the game’s 80-odd levels is a self-contained burst of invention, rarely lasting more than ten minutes but crammed with ideas that most developers would be delighted to build an entire game around.

What makes Astro Bot so consistently thrilling is how it refuses to coast. At the start of almost every level, Astro dons a new suit or backpack that grants a fresh ability, and the game’s designers wring every last drop of potential from each one before quietly retiring it. Spring-powered boxing gloves, a rocket-boosting robo-dog, a time-freezing gadget, an armoured ball suit — the ideas arrive at a pace that would feel exhausting if they weren’t executed so brilliantly. The DualSense controller is also put to exceptional use throughout, with haptic feedback, adaptive triggers and gyro controls woven into the gameplay in ways that feel genuinely purposeful rather than gimmicky. It is, without question, the finest showcase the PS5’s controller has ever received.

The game is also a lavish love letter to PlayStation’s history, and this is where it earns a special place in the hearts of long-time fans. Across the Crash Site hub world and the game’s many levels, you’ll encounter robots styled after iconic characters spanning thirty years of PlayStation heritage, from Crash Bandicoot and Ratchet to Solid Snake and Kratos. One gloriously daft level, Bot of War, has Astro tooling around as a chibi Kratos, Leviathan Axe and all, while another, Dude Raiding, casts him as Nathan Drake. These are not cynical cameos bolted on for applause; they are lovingly crafted, interactive and funny, and they speak to a development team that clearly has enormous affection for the library they’re celebrating. At its best, it feels like Nintendo’s “look at all our wonderful toys” approach, translated into PlayStation terms with considerable charm.

Visually and aurally, the game is a treat from start to finish. It runs at a smooth 60 frames per second without so much as a stutter, renders its colourful worlds with a vibrancy that puts many supposedly more “serious” titles to shame, and boasts a soundtrack so infectiously catchy that you will very likely find yourself humming it at inopportune moments for weeks afterwards. The runtime of around 10 to 15 hours might leave some players wanting more, but it is paced to near perfection, and there is ample reason to return for completionists chasing down every hidden bot, puzzle piece and secret level exit. Astro Bot is a masterpiece of the platforming genre and arguably the best game currently available on PS5. A range of hints, tips, Easter eggs and secrets to help you on your way can be found below.

Astro Bot: Hints, Tips & Easter Eggs

General Tips

  • Check your collectible totals before entering a level. Press the Square button when hovering over a world on the map to see exactly how many bots, puzzle pieces and secret exits it contains. This helps you spot gaps early and plan revisits accordingly.
  • You don’t need to finish a level to keep a collectible. If you revisit a level to grab a missed bot or puzzle piece, you can quit back to the galaxy map as soon as you’ve collected it. You won’t lose your find, and you won’t have to replay boss encounters.
  • Save your coins for the Gacha Lab, not the bird guide. After beating a level, you can pay 200 coins at the start to summon a bird that marks all missed collectibles. This is handy in a pinch, but if you’re aiming for Platinum you’ll need around 15,000 coins for the Gacha Lab. Prioritise the Gacha, and use the bird only when you’re genuinely stuck.
  • Explore the galaxy overworld maps thoroughly. Each galaxy’s map is not just a menu screen. Fly your DualSense spaceship around and you’ll find comets to ram, roaming ships with puzzle pieces in their tractor beams, and other hidden events. Each galaxy also has one puzzle piece floating freely on its overworld map that isn’t tied to any level.
  • Secret level exits unlock the Lost Galaxy. There are ten hidden exits scattered across the five main nebulas. Finding each one opens a special level in the Lost Galaxy, and completing all ten unlocks an eleventh bonus level. These exits can be tricky to spot, so explore off the beaten path.
  • Slow down and interact with everything. Many of the game’s funniest and most rewarding moments come from experimenting with the environment. Punch walls, pull on dangling cables, blow into the DualSense microphone when prompted, and generally be curious. The game rewards players who poke at the world.

Easter Eggs & Secrets

  • The PS5 parts sing at the Crash Site. As you rescue the various components of the mothership and bots build scaffolding around the PS5 wreckage, head to the shorter scaffold and climb to the top. The repaired parts of the console will open up and sing along with the Crash Site’s music, using vocal tracks pulled directly from Astro’s Playroom.
  • Whack the VIP bots for hidden interactions. Many of the rescued PlayStation character bots at the Crash Site have secret animations when you punch them. Hitting Ratchet sends Bolts flying everywhere. Hitting Rivet shoots her through a rift before dropping her back. Hitting Kazuma Kiryu from Yakuza causes all manner of random objects to spill out of him, including RC cars and improvised weapons — a lovely nod to his series’ signature brawling chaos.
  • Bot of War hides eight ravens. The God of War tribute level contains eight green ravens — Odin’s Eyes of the All-Father — to track down and destroy. One is visible as you fly into the level on the Dual Speeder, destroyed using gyro controls. The rest are hidden throughout the stage. Finding and destroying all eight earns you a PSN trophy. There is also a mural elsewhere in the level that tracks how many you’ve found.
  • Summon Jormungandr in Bot of War. In the Bot of War level, find the pool of icy water and break the block of ice to reveal cables. Pull them to uncover a horn, then blow into the DualSense microphone to summon Jormungandr the World Serpent. Climb onto its back to reach a hidden Thor bot.
  • Unlock Crash Bandicoot’s special interaction via the Gacha Lab. Crash is one of the first VIP bots you rescue, but his secret interaction only becomes available once you’ve obtained his companion item, Aku Aku, from the Gacha Lab. Once you have it, head back to Crash’s spot at the Crash Site to trigger the surprise.
  • Dude Raider’s hidden egg artefacts. The Nathan Drake tribute level, Dude Raiding, contains three hidden egg artefacts to find and collect by hitting them. Locating all three is required for a specific PSN trophy, so keep your eyes peeled as you play through the level.

Platinum Trophy Tips

  • For the Platinum, you will need all 300 bots, all 120 puzzle pieces, all 10 Lost Galaxy secret exits, and 150 items from the Gacha Lab (at 100 coins each, that’s a minimum of 15,000 coins). Playing through the full game while collecting everything as you go should yield close to the required coin total naturally.
  • Once you have all 120 puzzle pieces, the Golden Statue is unlocked at the Crash Site. With all 300 bots in hand, you can run up the wall of bots to access the Great Master Challenge — a final platforming gauntlet that rewards you with the Special Master Bot upon completion.
  • After completing the main game, the Stellar Speedway DLC galaxy becomes available. This contains speedrun levels with their own Special Bots to collect.

Video Walkthrough

For a comprehensive video guide covering the full game with all bots, puzzle pieces, secret exits and Platinum trophy requirements, check out the following 100% walkthrough on YouTube:

ASTRO BOT — Full Game 100% Walkthrough (PS5)

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