Astro Bot (series)

Astro Bot^[a] is a series^[1] of augmented reality and platform games developed by Team Asobi, originally a group within Japan Studio, and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The series is a spin-off of The Playroom series, and began with the 2013 launch title for the PlayStation 4, and its later entries have won numerous awards.

Astro Bot
Genre(s)	Platform Augmented reality
Developer(s)	Japan Studio Team Asobi
Publisher(s)	Sony Interactive Entertainment
Creator(s)	Nicolas Doucet
Composer(s)	Kenneth C. M. Young
Platform(s)	PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
First release	The Playroom November 15, 2013
Latest release	Astro Bot September 6, 2024

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

Release timeline

2013	The Playroom
2014–2015
2016	The Playroom VR
2017
2018	Astro Bot Rescue Mission
2019
2020	Astro's Playroom
2021–2023
2024	Astro Bot

Overview of Astro Bot video games

Year	Title	Developer	Platforms
2013	The Playroom	Japan Studio	PlayStation 4
2016	The Playroom VR
2018	Astro Bot Rescue Mission
2020	Astro's Playroom		PlayStation 5
2024	Astro Bot	Team Asobi

The Playroom

Main article: The Playroom (2013 video game)

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.^[2] 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.^[3]

The Playroom VR

See also: The Playroom VR

The Playroom VR, is a virtual reality game released on October 13, 2016.^[4] 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

Main article: 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

Main article: 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.^[5][6][7][8]

Astro's Playroom was announced on June 11, 2020, at the PlayStation 5 reveal event,^[9] 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

Main article: Astro Bot

Astro Bot, was announced on May 30, 2024, and was released for the PlayStation 5 on September 6, 2024.^[10] 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.^[11]

Reception

Aggregate review scores

Game	Metacritic
The Playroom	—
The Playroom VR	77/100[12]
Astro Bot Rescue Mission	90/100[13]
Astro's Playroom	83/100[14]
Astro Bot	94/100[15]

While the original game does not have an aggregate score according to Metacritic,^[16] The Playroom VR and Astro's Playroom received "generally favorable reviews" based on six and seventy-two critic reviews, respectively.^[12] 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.^[13][15] The former won and was nominated for numerous awards and is the highest rated VR game on Metacritic,^{[citation needed]} and many publications have referred to the latter as a masterpiece released in the ninth generation of video game consoles.^[17][18][19]

Sales

Notes

1. Japanese: アストロボット, Hepburn: Asutorobotto