One of Astro Bot's Standout Features Could Be The Foundation For a Standout Level in the Sequel

It’s well known that Astro Bot is a love letter to all things PlayStation. From mascots like Spyro the Dragon and Crash Bandicoot, to modern heroes like Nathan Drake and Aloy, to niche characters like Arc the Lad Astro Bot references them all. But Astro Bot is far more than just a big piece of fan-service, delivering plenty of original gameplay features all its own.

While Astro Bot takes inspiration from both classic and modern 3D platformers, its gameplay is wholly unique, offering plenty of power-ups and mechanics that can’t be found in any of its contemporaries. Astro Bot‘s presentation is also a major strength, and there’s one element of that presentation that could easily lay the groundwork for a creative level in a hypothetical sequel.

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All 177 VIP Bots in Astro Bot (Every PlayStation Character Cameo)

Most of the Astro Bot cameo characters are pretty easy to identify, but there are a few VIP Bots who are obscure and thus can be difficult to place.

Astro Bot’s Great Music Should Pave the Way for a Music-Themed Level

Astro Bot Has a Reverence for Music

As any fans of Astro’s previous appearances will know, music has always been a highlight of the Astro Bot franchise, and that’s certainly true for its latest entry. Astro Bot‘s main theme gives fans everything they could want from a modern mascot platformer, delivering a joyous, catchy melody that captures the bright and leisurely essence of the game. This central theme is then tweaked throughout the game to better capture the atmosphere of a level’s theming, such as the cave-based levels having a more mysterious musical tone.

Another highlight of Astro Bot‘s soundtrack can be found in each galaxy’s final level. These five levels each revolve around a specific PlayStation franchise, such as God of War, Horizon, and Uncharted. Along with wielding iconic weapons and powers from these franchises and fighting through environments based on the respective series, players are treated to a remixed version of each IP’s musical theme.

On top of all these direct examples of Astro Bot‘s clear reverence for music, the acclaimed platformer also pays homage to PlayStation’s long history of music-related games. Beloved rhythm games like PaRappa the Rapper, Um Jammer Lammy, and Patapon are all referenced in Astro Bot via its VIP Bots.

Astro Bot 2 Should Feature a Music-Themed Level

In the aforementioned final levels of each galaxy in Astro Bot, players are given a new temporary mechanic inspired by the PlayStation franchise that the level revolves around. For instance, in the God of War level, players are given Kratos’ Leviathan Axe that can be used for both melee and ranged attacks. If an Astro Bot sequel ever happens, these levels need to make a return, and it’d be fun to see Team Asobi experiment with more distinct types of gameplay mechanics, such as those found in music-based games.

In a hypothetical Astro Bot 2, it’d be great to see a level based solely around a game like PaRappa the Rapper or Patapon. Rather than Kratos’ axe, Nathan Drake’s gun, or Aloy’s bow, these levels could grant the player temporary rhythm-based powers that they’d use to make their way through the themed environment. With Astro Bot already having such a clear reverence for music and classic rhythm games, this gameplay integration would feel like a natural evolution for the series.

JOIN ASTRO IN A BRAND-NEW, SUPERSIZED SPACE ADVENTURE

The PS5® mothership has been wrecked, leaving ASTRO and the bot crew scattered all over the galaxies. Time to ride your trusty Dual Speeder across more than 50 planets full of fun, danger and surprises. On your journey, make the most of ASTRO’s new powers and reunite with many iconic heroes from the PlayStation universe!

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