Meet Astro Bot’s new monkey friend and go behind-the-scenes with Team Asobi

Hi everyone. How have you all been these last few weeks? Enjoying some holidays and some hot summer gaming, I hope!

It is my pleasure today, on behalf of the little robots of Team Asobi, to give you one more update on Astro Bot before we launch on September 6. Please check out our new trailer that unveils a few more cool features we had kept under wraps. 

New launch trailer gameplay

Let’s start up with new worlds and new gameplay, introducing Handy-D, a cheeky monkey on Astro’s back that lets Astro climb, swing, and slam using its giant hands. This is a returning mechanic we’re taking to a fuller level by mixing it with the core platforming. 

You will also find Muteki (which means invincible in Japanese), a fitting name for Astro’s iron armor that lets him roll around spiky areas, fit inside tight spaces or get blasted like a cannonball! Finally, you’ll also catch a glimpse of Astro turning into a tiny weeny mouse which makes the world, and every surrounding stomp feel huge through the DualSense wireless controller. One of our favorites right there!

Also visible in this new trailer is the way the bots you rescue will affect the adventure. There are 300 total bots to rescue in Astro Bot, of which 150 are PlayStation cameos. We put a ton of love into animating these characters, so they re-enact funny moments from their respective games. So, no matter who your favorite PlayStation characters are, you’re bound to have a laugh with them. Once rescued, these little guys can combine to perform group actions that let you explore more of the hub planet. In the video, you can see a few of the PlayStation characters working together to make a running wall for Astro to get to higher places. 

And finally… the part that a lot of you have been wondering and asking about ever since sharing our first trailer: The hero gameplay! So, yes, at a very few key moments in the adventure, Astro will get to borrow some special abilities from some PlayStation heroes. In this video, we can see how Kratos shares the amazing Leviathan Axe for Astro to use in a God of War-infused level. We won’t talk more about this because we believe it is one of the nicest features to discover by yourselves. We simply hope you find it to be both a faithful and fun tribute to the original material. We’d like to take this chance to thank all the game teams out there who gave us their trust and support to make this big PlayStation celebration possible.

There are still many other things we have not talked about! So we are very excited to see your reactions when Astro lands on September 6.

Before going, we have a few more announcements to make:

Please remember to collect your 4 special Bots in Astro’s Playroom, pre-loaded on your PS5. Once rescued, you will be able to take these bots to the new game and add them to your starting crew. And in the last few hours preceding the release of Astro Bot, we will hold a special celebration countdown inside Astro’s Playroom. Please come and check it out.

Talking of the final countdown, as we approach Astro Bot’s launch on September 6, you still have time to pre-order the game and receive early unlock of costumes and paints for your DualSpeeder as well as the Digital Soundtrack and Digital Artbook if you opt for the Digital Deluxe Edition.

Behind the scenes of Astro Bot

And finally, we also invite you to check out our behind-the-scene series. These are quite short and snappy videos and a fun moment for us to sit down and reflect after many months of continuous work. We hope you enjoy these videos too. They will roll out as follows:

Episode 1: Crafted Gameplay

Members of Team Asobi discuss what it takes to make a platformer feel good.

Episode 2: Techno Magic (TBA)

Discover how Team Asobi uses technology to create magical moments.

Episode 3: PlayStation Fiesta (TBA)

Learn how the PlayStation cameos came about, and the level of collaboration needed with other PlayStation Studios to bring this celebration to life.

Episode 4: Overflowing Charm (TBA)

We focus on the fun features of Astro Bot, from graphics to animation and all other charming touches.

Episode 5: Being an Asobi (TBA)

An insider’s look at what it means to be working at Team Asobi and features some of the young talents from the studio.

And that’s about it!

The only thing left for us is to thank you for all the months of care and support leading to this launch. It has been a fun ride to go from a pre-loaded demo to taking Astro to the big stage. But it would never have happened without the encouragement from you, the players. 

From all of us at Team Asobi, thank you from the bottom of our little robotic hearts.