After getting up close and personal in the pre-loaded PS5 title, Astro’s Playroom, we knew that Astro was primed for a super-sized adventure. This little bot has won the hearts of players worldwide, and he’s about to embark on another journey come September with a brand-new title called Astro Bot.

We recently got to spend about an hour or so playing through three levels and two of the harder challenge levels from the upcoming Astro Bot platformer from Team Asobi, and the easiest compliment we can give to this 3D adventure is that we want more. More of the meticulously designed worlds, more of the amazing characters, levels, and references, and more opportunities to immerse ourselves in the history of the PlayStation ecosystem via a vehicle that showcases everything awesome about the console’s latest innovations.

In essence, the platforming in Astro Bot is simple and intuitive; players need only concern themselves with punching enemies and making jumps if they hope to survive the challenges that stand in the titular character’s way. But it is the smart design of levels and the implementation of temporary gadgets and abilities that make the entire experience such a hoot.

From being able to inflate itself to reach greater heights to getting a canine buddy to act as a jetpack, Astro Bot is never without a solution that builds upon running and jumping. It also helps that there are always a bunch of secrets to find off the beaten path, asking players to experiment with their new powers and rewarding them for doing so.

It never gets old rescuing the many lost bots that are stranded across the levels, and even more so when you use different abilities to solve puzzles that lead to that very outcome. Adding in iconic PlayStation characters is just the cherry on top, with such nods to the history of this side of the console wars serving as a timely reminder of the spectacular past while giving you a glimpse of the future with the addictive gameplay.

And it is all stuffed into a package exploding at the seams with personality and visual charm. If each level in the full release has as much going on as those we enjoyed during the demo, players are in for a treat as they make their way towards the goal of rescuing 300 bots and gathering coins as well as puzzle pieces along the way. There is always something to see and do, which is quite hard to achieve.

Similar to the VR predecessor and the PlayStation 5 technical showcase, the controller plays a huge role in the immersion, with the DualSense transforming into the Dual Speeder, an in-game transport that brings Astro Bot on all its adventures. Even better is the use of haptics and adaptive triggers, which deliver a unique feel as players trek across different terrain, or feel the tension during a hectic boss fight. Couple that with the sounds and audio design coming through both the television and the controller’s speaker, and you can’t help but feel you are right there with our hero.

To be able to take something as tried and tested as 3D platforming and breathe new life into it is no mean feat, and that’s exactly what Astro Bot is looking to be able to achieve in just a few months’ time. Team Asobi definitely knows what it is doing, and when they have already made waves with a tech demo, we are even more confident that an actual full game release starring Astro Bot would be something that everyone can enjoy.

Astro Bot will launch on September 6 on the PS5.