The Astro Bot credits curiously include mentions of multiple games that don't make a cameo appearance in PlayStation's new platformer.
Astro Bot takes the platforming mascot across an entire galaxy to save 150 VIP bots cosplaying as important characters from PlayStation's 30-year history - here's how to find all Astro Bot collectibles if you're struggling with the rescue mission - which includes recognizable faces from Sony's owned-studios and third-party partners.
The Astro Bot credits conclude with a "special thanks to our long-time friends," which is more a listing of various trademarks from companies such as Activision, Konami, Capcom, and Sega that all have characters included in the game.
What's interesting is that these credits also namedrop Stellar Blade and developer Shift Up, Rise of the Ronin and Koei Tecmo Games, Worms and developer Team17, newly-revived platformer Croc and Argonauts Games, and multiple series from publisher Ubisoft, including Assassin's Creed, Rayman, and Beyond Good & Evil. None of the above games have any presence in Astro Bot so far - though, you can find their mentions in the video below if you skip to 24 minutes in.
Team Asobi has already confirmed that new challenges stages and levels will come to Astro Bot via free DLC later this year. Maybe we'll see a caked-up Eve bot or a stealthy Ezio one in those bonus levels? Or maybe the credits point to content that had to be cut in time for release. Or, hey, maybe there's still some lingering secrets left in the game that no one has found so far.
Astro Bot’s director wanted to fill a gap left when PlayStation Studios “went from making cartoon games” to “mature, hyper-realistic games.”
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