Astro Bot will have "over 150" cameos from across the PlayStation pantheon, restoring hope that Sony might finally acknowledge Bloodborne again.
The adorable platforming mascot returns in the simply titled Astro Bot, launching later this year, following up the secret best PS5 game Astro's Playroom, which comes pre-installed in every PS5 console (so you have no excuse to skip it!) In a brisk three-hour romp, Astro's Playroom courted so many adorers thanks to the innovative ways it used the console's DualSense controller and how it paid homage to five generations of gaming.
You see, Astro's Playroom featured well over 50 Easter Eggs and cameos from across gaming history, and this year's follow-up is tripling that number with a whopping 150 cute bots dressed up as our favourite PlayStation mascots. The information comes courtesy of the recently listed store page, which explains that we'll be rescuing "over 150 iconic VIP Bots inspired by legendary characters from 30 years of PlayStation history."
Astro's Playroom already featured nods to PlayStation-owned series (Uncharted's Nathan Drake, God of War's Kratos, a pile of triangles from the widely-influential Knack), as well as third-party games that have come to define the platform (Tomb Raider's Lara Croft, Castlevania's Alucard, Crash Bandicoot's Crash Bandicoot.)
Several of the VIP bots could be seen in the upcoming game's reveal trailer, which teased an even larger role for the guest heroes across 80 planets and six galaxies. But one notable omission in the trailer, or at least the one that got the most chatter, was the lack of the Bloodborne Hunter that was previously in Astro's Playroom. For years, Bloodborne fans and FromSoftware enjoyers have been clamouring for a remaster or PC port for the gothic action RPG to no avail.
Hearing that Astro Bot is tripling the cameo count makes it more than likely that Sony will finally reference the dormant FromSoftware hit for the first time in four years - AKA the last time Bloodborne Bot was seen.
All will be revealed when Astro Bot comes to PS5 on September 6.
Elsewhere, Astro Bot's lack of PSVR2 compatibility isn't going down well with VR fans.
