Astro Bot just got a brand new update, adding five new challenge levels complete with their own new special bots to unlock. And two of the new bots are from a series that had previously gone unrepresented in the game, despite being beloved by PlayStation fans.
If you don’t want it spoiled, we’ll just say that you can unlock one of these bots by rescuing it from the challenge level High Inflation, while the second bot comes only after you beat all five brand new challenge levels in the Vicious Void Galaxy and rescue the other bots inside.
Warning! We’re going to spoil exactly who all the bots in the DLC are below the video, so if you don’t want to know, get outta here!
The two bots in question are Cloud and Sephiroth, both from Final Fantasy 7. Cloud is the reward from High Inflation, and Sephiroth shows up if you beat all five new challenge levels.
Final Fantasy representation, and specifically from 7, has been long-requested by Astro Bot fans. The game launched with a whopping 173 bot cameos from PlayStation history, so the lack of Final Fantasy 7 — a game traditionally associated with PlayStation both in its original and remake forms — was surprising. When asked at the time, Astro Bot developers attributed this to the choice of publisher partners, meaning it sounds like Square Enix wasn’t previously willing to play ball. But it seems the company has changed its tune more recently.
Cloud and Sephiroth aren’t the only bots you’ll find in the new DLC, and not even the only Square Enix representation. In fact, it sounds like Square was happy to hand over several cameos, with 2B from Nier: Automata and Serge from Chrono Cross also showing up to be rescued. Atsu from Ghost of Yōtei also shows up, though we already knew she’d be in this update.
Astro Bot has received a number of special challenge stage updates since launch, and it’s no surprise Team Asobi was able to give it that extra love given how well-received the game has been. It sold 1.5 million units in just its first two months, and earned a 9/10 from us. “A fantastically inventive platformer in its own right, Astro Bot is particularly special for anyone with a place in their heart for PlayStation,” our reviewer wrote.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to [email protected].
