Astro Bothas been one of 2024’s biggest delights for PlayStation fans. The Team Asobi-developed 3D platformer is currently the highest-rated game released this year, and is even set to be a front-runner for the coveted Game of the Year award at the 2024 iteration of The Game Awards.Astro Botdidn’t falter commercially either, with 1.5 million copies sold as of November 2024. For Team Asobi’s first crack at a full-scale mainstream console title,Astro Botis a triumphant effort.
Aside from being an exceptionally creative platformer, one ofAstro Bot’s trump cards is the way it celebrates three decades of PlayStation’s history. Specifically,Astro Bothas a vast repertoire of VIP Botsinspired by pivotal video game characters affiliated with PlayStation over the years. From household names like Kratos and Solid Snake to impressively obscure characters like Mister Mosquito and Cube Head,Astro Botleaves no stone unturned when it comes to cramming as many PlayStation-related cameos as possible. However, devout PlayStation fans have noticed thatAstro Botmisses out on some rather significant cameos.
Two Massive PlayStation-Related Franchises are Entirely Absent From Astro Bot
Perhaps the most baffling omission inAstro Botis Square Enix’sFinal Fantasy 7. The Japanese gaming giant has been closely tied to PlayStation since its SquareSoft days, withFinal Fantasy 7’s PS1 debut being a seminal moment for both companies.Final Fantasy 7was the PS1’s second best-selling game, shifting over 10 million copies. This makes the absence of iconicFinal Fantasy 7characters like Cloud Strife, Sephiroth, Tifa, Aerith, etc. fromAstro Botquite bizarre.Astro Botdirector Nicolas Doucet did comment on the missingFinal Fantasy 7cameos, and it seems Square Enix itself decided against them.
Astro Botrecently received speedrun levels which introduced new VIP Bots, so the franchises discussed here could show up in the future if Team Asobi was tosupportAstro Botwith more post-launch content.
Yet another major franchise Astro Bot skips out on isGrand Theft Auto. WhileGTAhas always been a multiplatform series, 2001’sGTA 3was a bit of an exception. Rockstar Games initially approached Microsoft todiscuss an Xbox exclusivity deal forGTA 3, but the platform holder surprisingly rejected the prospect.GTA 3then launched exclusively on the PS2 and ended up being a breakout hit on the Sony console. Not only didGTA 3sell over 11.6 million copies, but it also holds a Guinness World Record for the most critically-acclaimed PS2 game. GivenGTA 3’s gargantuan success, anAstro Botcameo themed around protagonist Claude, complete with a black leather jacket and green cargo pants, would have made perfect sense.
All Major PlayStation Cameos That Have Yet to Show Up in Astro Bot
Multiplatform IPs aside,Astro Botcuriously overlooks some of PlayStation’s own franchises. Insomniac’s gritty first-person shooter series,Resistance, is one of the most notable examples. TheResistancetrilogy lived and died on the PS3, and remains locked to the platform even today. Considering theResistancegames were generally well-received and arehighly requested by PlayStation fans to be remade, one can only hopeAstro Botwill pay homage to protagonists Nathan Hale and Joseph Evan Capelli in the future. Insomniac’sSpider-Mangames deserve a special mention too, given their status as all-time superhero video games.
Bend Studio’s stealth-actionSyphon Filterseries is entirely missing fromAstro Botas well, and so is vehicular combat seriesTwisted Metal. Oddly, someAstro Botconcept art revealed an unusedTwisted Metalcameothemed around the iconic Sweet Tooth, but it was nowhere to be seen in the base game or any of the post-launch speedrun levels. Last but not least isThe Order: 1886, a 2015 action-adventure game developed by now-defunct studio Ready at Dawn. AlthoughThe Order: 1886launched to lukewarm critical reception, many PlayStation fans admired its steampunk London setting and impressive graphics. Amid a gloomy future forThe Order: 1886, a Sir Galahad cameo inAstro Botcould cheer fans up.
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