PlayStation revealed a new Astro Bot game at the end of its May State of Play showcase, and it looks just as delightful as its predecessor. Astro’s Playroom was a wonderful platformer pack-in for the PS5, but it also was full of references to PlayStation’s history. It features robot versions of characters from every console generation, and used old console hardware and peripherals as props. It’s evident by just how many references are in its first trailer that Astro Bot is continuing the tradition with a mix of nods to huge PlayStation hits and deep cuts from the brand’s rich past. Here are the characters, consoles, and peripherals we saw in these few minutes of footage.
The PlayStation Studios logo
Right off the bat, we get several references to PlayStation characters in the form of the PlayStation Studios logo screen. Astro leads a stampede of robots, some dressed as PlayStation characters. The menagerie includes God of War’s Kratos and Atreus, Aloy from Horizon, Spike and an ape from Ape Escape, Uncharted’s Nathan Drake, and Ratchet from Ratchet & Clank. Most of these characters will show up again later in the trailer, but it’s not the full extent of the PlayStation heroes that will make an appearance in Astro Bot.
The DualSense ship
One of the very first things we see, after being reintroduced to Astro Bot, is a DualSense controller, the PlayStation 5’s next-gen version of the famous Dualshock. However, this DualSense can fly, which mine can only do for a bit after I throw it and then it smashes into a wall.
Uncharted
Nathan Drake may be retired in his own games, but Naughty Dog’s treasure-hunting adventurer will make an appearance in Astro Bot. We see Nate doing cover-shooter shit as a group of slimy baddies draws near. Maybe it will be on Astro to save him?
Journey
We see a brief shot of The Traveler from thatgamecompany’s Journey. We don’t get a sense of what they’ll be up to, as they just look at their long scarf and laugh briefly. But they seem at home in Astro Bot’s desert area.
Ico
Ico’s titular hero makes an appearance eating some watermelon in the desert, though Astro seems to not be thrilled by that and hits him over the head. That’s not very nice. He even broke one of the horns off his helmet. Rude.
Parappa the Rapper
Parappa, PlayStation’s bar-slinging hip-hop hero, also shows up in the desert area. He does a little jig and that’s about it. God, I miss him. Bring him back, Sony.
The PlayStation 5 ship
Later in the trailer, we see a large PlayStation 5 console rise out of the sands. Some folks online are wondering if this is a new design and this is Sony teasing it, but I’m not sure about that. As we’ll see later in the trailer, Astro Bot is willing to make changes and tweaks to PlayStation hardware and accessories, so I’m not sold on this being a teaser for anything.
Shadow of the Colossus
Ico isn’t the only Team Ico game that will get an homage in Astro Bot, as Shadow of the Colossus hero Wander, his horse Agro, and Mono, the girl the two seek to revive by murdering giant colossi, are also shown in the trailer. Kinda morbid that they just seem to be recreating that scene in Astro Bot, but I’m always happy to see Shadow of the Colossus get some love.
God of War
One of the cutest scenes in the trailer is when God of War’s Kratos passes his Leviathan Axe to Astro. Astro cannot lift the thing, but I just appreciate that Kratos believed in him enough to think he could.
Horizon / Ape Escape / God of War / LocoRoco
The last scene in the trailer shows Astro alongside Kratos, Atreus, Spike, Aloy, a LocoRoco, and Nate as they all look at a control panel with the PlayStation controller button logos on it. They cheer him on as he presses the button and reveals the September 6 release date.
PlayStation Fleet – Left side
Let’s break down the big PlayStation fleet seen near the end of the trailer. After scrubbing through this bit a few times, we were able to spot a smorgasbord of consoles and accessories. Some of this stuff is fairly well known, but a few bits and bobs in this fleet are surprisingly deep cuts, like the Pocket Station, PS2 network adapter, and a PS Move controller I had never seen before.
To help break it all down easier, we split the fleet. First, let’s take the left side.
- PSVR Aim Controller
- PlayStation 1 mouse accessory
- PlayStation 3 Slim console
- PS Vita handheld console
- Universal Media Disc (UMD)
- PlayStation 4
- Dualshock 3 gamepad
- PlayStation 2 Network Adapter
- PlayStation 2 Slim
- PSOne
PlayStation Fleet – Right side/Middle
Okay, with the left side of the fleet cataloged, let’s take a look at the right side as well as the middle of this massive collection of PlayStation accessories and consoles.
- In the middle, an OG PlayStation 1 console
- PS2-era Eye Toy Camera
- PS Move Nav controller
- Dualshock 4 gamepad
- PS Move Wand
- PlayStation 2 Multitap
- PlayStation 1 Multitap
- PS1 PocketStation
- PS3 Move Sharpshooter controller
- PSVR headset
- OG/fat PlayStation 3
- A different PS3 Move gun accessory (that I’ve never seen before)
- And finally, a colorful Buzz Controller
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