Highlights

  • Get ready for thrilling boss fights in Astro Bot, showcasing gorgeous landscapes and a variety of gameplay mechanics.
  • Astro Bot's release date of September 6 is a shot in the arm for Sony, bringing back the excitement of 3D platforming games.
  • Fans can expect over 80 levels, with a mixture of platforming, flying, combat, and bombastic boss fights in this highly anticipated game.

After months of speculation and rumors, Team Asobi's latest Astro Bot project has been unveiled via an action-packed trailer that shows off the game's seemingly impressive size and scope. The titular character has already starred in Astro Bot Rescue Mission, a PSVR title that many fans consider to be among the best available on the platform, and Astro's Playroom, a short but fun platforming game that comes preinstalled with every PS5. The latter is meant to serve as a tech demo to show the console's power and demonstrate the new DualSense controller features, and it garnered praise from both fans and critics thanks to its smooth gameplay and vibrant visuals.

Astro Bot seems to double down on everything that the first two games did well, and this is no more evident than in the scope of the boss fights that were shown off. The character of Astro Bot has become something of a mascot for Sony, and one could argue it could eventually be seen as Sony's answer to Nintendo's loveable plumber, Mario, who has dominated the platforming landscape for decades. Fans have long speculated that the success of Astro's Playroom would lead to a full-blown platforming game, and it turns out they were right, with Team Asobi having been hard at work on the project for some time. It's been almost four years since Astro's Playroom, and given Astro Bot is set for release on September 6, it is clearly at the end of its development cycle.

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Astro Bot Will Seemingly Contain Many Thrilling Boss Fights

Astro Bot's trailer gave a glimpse of what fans can expect, showcasing some gorgeous landscapes, from sandy deserts to vast underwater caverns. As well as the locations, it also showed off plenty of gameplay mechanics, from flying through the air aboard a PS5 controller to using gadgets like boxing gloves, and the game looks to be packed full of variety. The loveable robot is also shown using a grappling hook and blowing up to a disproportionately large size, which opens up several new gameplay possibilities.

Astro Bot is said to feature over 80 levels, and fans can expect a mixture of platforming, flying/ gliding sections, light combat, and, of course, huge, bombastic boss fights. The PSVR title, released in 2018, was a thrilling mixture of platforming and VR technology, and it featured some memorable boss fights, some of which look to be returning in this new adventure. Fans of the previous games will recognize some of these bosses, such as a giant gorilla and a huge octopus, but several new ones are also likely to feature.

Astro Bot's Release Date Is a Shot in the Arm for Sony

The size and scale of these bosses look to be huge and bode well for the whole project's ambition. Thrilling boss fights have almost become an expectation for modern action games these days, thanks in part to games like FromSoftware's popular Dark Souls series, so it's no surprise to see Astro Bot emphasize them so much. 3D platforming games have fallen by the wayside a little in recent years, with Crash Bandicoot's brief revival having subsided, and it's a genre that has room for a new adventure with lofty ambitions.

In a year when PlayStation's first-party titles haven't built up as much momentum as in the ones prior, Astro Bot could be the shot in the arm that Sony needs. The fact that fans only have to wait a little over three months to get their hands on it is the icing on the cake. If the game can recapture the magic of its two predecessors, while fleshing out some of the gameplay mechanics that were only briefly touched on in Astro's Playroom, then Sony could well have another huge hit on its hands.