“If there was one piece of feedback that came through loud and clear, it was that you wanted more,” writes Astro Bot director Nicolas Doucet in an October 16 PlayStation blog. He is correct, and to satiate fans, the PlayStation 5 exclusive’s free DLC will start dropping on a weekly basis starting this month.
Teased at the PlayStation State of Play last month, Astro Bot will get five new speedrunning challenge levels starting October 17. After that, each new one will drop the following week. Here’s the full schedule:
- Oct 24: Let it Slide
- Oct 31: Spring-loaded Run
- Nov 7: Helium Heights
- Nov 14: Rising Heat
They’ll go live every morning on Thursday at 9:00 a.m. ET. Each level contains two new bots to rescue, including ones inspired by Stellar Blade and Helldivers 2. But the real treat is an online leaderboard of recorded times so players can test their skills against friends and internet randos alike.
Everyone who’s played Astro Bot has had that feeling of mastery that comes from learning a convoluted obstacle course and then completing it with ease. Now we all get to find out how much we actually suck at the game compared to everyone else. Does that sound like fun? I promise it’s my new appointment viewing for the week, at least until White Lotus season 3 starts.
It’ll be interesting to see which other bots are hiding in some of the later free DLC levels. While there are hints in Astro Bots end credits that nods to Assassin’s Creed and other major franchises are on the way, notable absences from the base game include any Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts bots. It sounded like Team Asobi just couldn’t get it figured out with Square Enix.