This version has the Circle, X and Options buttons, while the left-hand controller from before has the Square, Triangle and Create buttons. It’s also the first PlayStation controller to have textured analog sticks and monochrome face button symbols (preceded by the PSP and Vita handhelds). Finally, the controller also has a built-in microphone so that it can be used for game and party chats. Codenamed Project Neo, the PlayStation 4 was the first mid-generation hardware revision that added significant amounts of power compared to earlier models. It used custom hardware that supported streamlined rendering techniques for better performance, or increased resolutions via checkerboard rendering. Curiously, playback of Ultra-HD Blu-Rays would not appear until the PlayStation 5.

Here you’ll see a Bot with a triangular object on its head pulling a hapless victim. This is Pyramid Head from 2001’s Silent Hill 2 on PS2, developed by Team Silen in Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo. Pyramid Head is a manifestation of the protagonist James Sunderland’s guilt and want for punishment. After first using the Hang Glider, check the side of the column on the left side of the landing zone to see a Bot walking on a wall. This references Kat of Gravity Rush, released on PSVita in 2012 and developed by SIE Japan Studio. As should be evident, Kat has the ability to change the direction of gravity.

Cooling Springs is the third zone in Astro’s Playroom, whose Artefacts come from the PlayStation 3 era from 2006 to 2013. It’s coloured blue after the Cross button, more commonly referred to as the X button. luck8 is the Frog Suit, again controlled with the Adaptive Triggers and the SIXAXIS. Memory Meadow is chronologically the first zone in the game, with Artefacts covering the original PlayStation era from 1995 to 2000. The suit in this zone is the Baseball Suit, which you can move around by swiping on the Touch Pad. Astro’s Playroom was announced on June 11, 2020, at the PlayStation 5 reveal event.[5] The game was released on November 12, 2020 to generally favorable reviews from critics.

Astro’s Playroom: All Bosses

Puzzle Piece 1/4 – In the first pinball area, roll into the spot on the back left to get boosted to a rail with this puzzle piece at the end. Puzzle Piece 2/4 – Back on the main path, you then ride a circuit board through an area with electric rail obstacles. Midway through you can find this puzzle piece, basically right in your way. Puzzle Piece 3/4 – After the checkpoint where you slide down a slope, this puzzle piece is to the right across the grey quicksand.

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.

What’s so remarkable about Astro’s Playroom is that while it’s ostensibly about showing off the features of the PlayStation 5, it’s also a fabulous platformer. Levels constantly throw me new toys to play with that totally change the way the level plays. Later levels include a spaceship (with rockets powered by the adaptive triggers) and a rolling ball (controlled by swiping the touchpad on the DualSense), intermingled with platforming sequences.

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.

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.

At the very start of Raytrace Ruins, there are some Bots on the right playing Ninja Bots. This was a free add-on to 2013 PS4 pack-in title The Playroom by SCE Japan Studio, which is the originator of the Bots and actually precedes the creation of Astro. On the right side of the giant pool at the end of Hotel Hopalot, you can find some Bots dancing next to two cardboard cutouts. These reference 1996’s PaRappa the Rapper and 1999’s Um Jammer Lammy for the PS1, both developed by NanaOn-Sha.

This references Dance Dance Revolution, a popular arcade game developed by Konami that was ported to the PS1 in 1999 exclusively in Japan. The game came bundled with a dance mat, but could also be played using a controller. One of the rewards in the Gacha game is a Bot playing with two Move Controllers and a PS VR headset. The movement of the Move Controllers are incredibly similar to 2019’s Beat Saber on PS4 by Beat Games. Beat Saber is one of the premiere games of PS VR, alongside Astro Bot Rescue Mission. In the Labo area is a Bot using a PS1 controller to drive a red car around him.

Astro and his crew lead you on a magical introduction through PS5 in this fun platformer that comes pre-loaded on PS5. Each area showcases innovative gameplay that taps into the new features of the PS5’s DualSense wireless controller. Start by completing the story‚ then backtrack to collect all puzzle pieces and artifacts. Use DualSense features for precise controls and check collectible lists to ensure nothing’s missed. Hidden Achievements in Astro Playroom are secret trophies that require specific actions or discoveries.

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.

Trophy Easter Eggs

They were also much less expensive to manufacture, making it less of a risk to make a small run of games, bolstering the number of more experimental and niche releases on the system. Coins are very common in Astro’s Playroom, and are used as currency. Specifically, they’re used in the PlayStation Labo area to be spent in the Gatcha minigame.

In the game, the player teams up with Captain Astro and goes on a quest to rescue his lost crew scattered across different worlds. The closest parallel to Astro’s Playroom that I can think of is Wii Sports. Both are games that were explicitly designed to showcase a new controller. But both also transcend that goal, shifting from tech demo to straight-up fun game. It takes only a few moments for Astro’s Playroom to show why you’ll want to play with a DualSense, and over the course of its run time it keeps giving you new reasons. In ASTRO’S PLAYROOM, players guide Astro through a series of lands, all of which tout the selling points of the PlayStation 5, including its SSD hard drive and new processor.