When pre-orders went live for Team Asobi’s Astro Bot, it was revealed that players would receive the Yharnam Hunter outfit early with the Deluxe Edition. Of course, you can unlock this by playing the game, but many were curious about its conclusion. The inclusion of Lady Maria from The Old Hunters DLC via a free update to Astro’s Playroom was also convenient.
Given how rumors (and hopes) still circulate about Bloodborne’s revival/remaster/remake, is the outfit hinting towards something? Unfortunately, no. Studio head and creative director Nicolas Doucet clarified to Eurogamer, “There’s no secret meaning. It’s just a celebration of the whole PlayStation history.”
One of the purposes of Astro Bot is to serve as a homage to PlayStation’s illustrious history (whereas Playroom focused on the functionality of the PS5 and DualSense). “Instead of the hardware, we put our attention towards the characters,” Doucet said. “And that’s why we push these cameos. Before they were quite primitive, but now they feel much richer looking. It’s over 150, so it’s going to go really deep, and everybody should have their favorite ones.”
There are over 300 Bots to rescue in the upcoming PS5 exclusive, and it seems those based on iconic PlayStation characters may have bigger role than before. Stay tuned for more details, and in the meantime, learn more about the different types of difficulty stages.
Astro Bot launches on September 6th, retailing for $60. Though it features over 80 stages, it will receive additional content post-launch.