Astro Bot (series)

is a series of augmented reality and platform games developed by Team Asobi, originally a group within Japan Studio, and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The series began with the launch title '' The Playroom'' for PlayStation 4 in 2013.

Setting

Each game in the ''Astro Bot series'' takes place within PlayStation peripherals and consoles. Games in the series released on the PlayStation 4 took place within the player's DualShock 4 controller. Games released on the PlayStation 5 take place inside the player's PlayStation 5 console.

Gameplay

Games

''The Playroom''

''The Playroom'' is a collection of augmented reality mini-games meant to demonstrate the use of the PlayStation Camera and the DualShock 4 controller, and comes preloaded with all PlayStation 4 consoles. The PlayStation Camera accessory is required to play the game. If a camera is not present, only a trailer for ''The Playroom'' will be displayed and the game cannot be accessed. Firesprite, a studio founded by former employees of Studio Liverpool, worked on the visuals. Downloadable content is free, with Double Fine assisting in development.

''The Playroom VR''

''The Playroom VR'', is a virtual reality game released on October 13, 2016. It contains a series of asymmetrical multiplayer minigames to demonstrate the features of PlayStation VR (running on the PlayStation 4). It comes free with the VR headset and contains six minigames: Cat and Mouse, Monster Escape, Wanted, Toy Wars, Ghost House, and Robots Rescue.

''Astro Bot Rescue Mission''

''Rescue Mission'' stars a cast of robot characters first introduced in ''The Playroom'', where they appeared as robots that lived inside of the DualShock 4 controller. In the game, the player teams up with Captain Astro and goes on a quest to rescue his lost crew scattered across different worlds.

''Astro's Playroom''

Similarly to ''The Playroom'' for PlayStation 4, ''Astro's Playroom'' comes pre-installed on every PlayStation 5, serving as a sequel to ''Rescue Mission'' and additionally as a free tech demo for the DualSense controller.

''Astro's Playroom'' was announced on June 11, 2020, at the PlayStation 5 reveal event, was released on November 12, 2020, and was the final game released by Japan Studio before their dissolution in April 2021, when Team Asobi was formally spun off into an independent studio within Sony's PlayStation Studios.

''Astro Bot''

'' Astro Bot'', was announced on May 30, 2024, and was released for the PlayStation 5 on September 6, 2024. It was the first game featuring Astro not to be developed by Japan Studio due to its dissolution. The game was released in celebration of PlayStation's 30th anniversary. ''Astro Bot'' won multiple awards, including Game of the Year.

Reception

While the original game does not have an aggregate score according to Metacritic, ''The Playroom VR'' and ''Astro's Playroom'' received "generally favorable reviews" based on six and seventy-two critic reviews, respectively. Simon Fitzgerald of ''Push Square'' called ''The Playroom VR'' a "good collection of couch co-op mini-games that demonstrate the capabilities of the VR headset superbly. Although a few of the games you'll play once and never touch again, Robots Rescue is a standout experience that you'll wish was a fully-fledged game in itself."

According to Metacritic, ''Rescue Mission'' and ''Astro Bot'' are both critically acclaimed based on over fifty reviews for each game. The former won and was nominated for numerous awards and is the highest rated VR game on Metacritic, and many publications have referred to the latter as a masterpiece released in the ninth generation of video game consoles.

Sales

Notes

References

{{Team Asobi

Sony Interactive Entertainment franchises
Video game franchises
Video game franchises introduced in 2013