So you’ve probably heard people talking about the 305-bot count in the new Astro Bot game and wondered, "Wait, how am I stuck at 301?" The answer is actually tucked away in the free pack-in game you likely played once and then forgot about: Astro’s Playroom.
Back in mid-2024, Team Asobi dropped a series of updates that felt like a digital scavenger hunt. They hid four "Special Bots" across the different biomes. These aren't just your standard cameos; they are intricate riddles that actually transfer over to the sequel once you save them. Honestly, some of these puzzles are kind of a pain if you don't know the exact "moon logic" required to trigger them.
The Bloodborne Bot (Lady Maria)
The first one everyone went nuts for was the Bloodborne tribute, specifically Lady Maria. You’ll find her in the GPU Jungle, specifically the Renderforest area.
To start, you need to head to the beginning of the level and look for a Bloodborne Hunter bot swinging a saw cleaver near a large plant. Stand in the bushes right behind him. If you're in the right spot, a secret platform with a glass capsule pops up.
But it’s locked.
The trick is a clock. You have to climb the giant trees until you reach the very last platform before the slide. Behind one of those trees is a small clock carved into the bark. Stand right in front of it and hit the Options button. The game will show a date: 24.11.2015. That’s the release date of the Old Hunters DLC. Change the date to match that, and Maria is free.
The Returnal Bot (Selene)
Next up is Selene from Returnal, hidden in SSD Speedway. Warp to Deep Dataspace. You know that part where you get the gatling gun? Don’t grab the gun yet. Look off the edge of the platform to the left; there’s a weird swirling vortex in space.
Jump toward it. Seriously.
An invisible platform will catch you and reveal Selene’s capsule. Now, the riddle is a bit darker. You have to go grab the gatling gun, clear the first wave of enemies, and find the little astronaut toy sitting on a narrow walkway. To free her, you basically have to stand on that toy and let a green slime enemy kill you. Dying is a core mechanic in Returnal, so it’s a nice (if frustrating) touch.
Why These Bots Are a Big Deal
It’s easy to think these are just extra trophies, but they’re actually a bridge between two games. If you rescue them in Playroom, they show up in the Mission Control Room (the Labo basement). More importantly, when you fire up the full Astro Bot game, these four bots are waiting for you at the Crash Site from the very beginning. It’s the only way to hit that 100% completion mark of 305 bots.
The Gran Turismo Bot
This one is arguably the most annoying. You have to head to Cooling Springs (Bot Beach). To even get the bot to appear, you have to step on four specific starfish in a very particular order. If you mess up, you have to restart the level.
- Under the pier right where you land.
- Near the pier where the God of War bots are hanging out.
- Under a palm tree on the far right side of the beach.
- Near the giant blue pipe on the left.
Once the capsule appears, you’ll find a blue steering wheel hidden under a shell. Stand on it and open the map. You have to move your cursor in a specific "racetrack" pattern across the level icons. If you hear a car revving, you're doing it right. If you hear a crash, start over.
The Ape Escape Bot (Piposaru)
The final bot added was the classic monkey from Ape Escape. Go to Memory Meadow, specifically Gusty Gateway.
Near the first checkpoint, you’ll see a little net in a capsule. You have to carry that net all the way back to a specific spot in the clouds where a blue light is flickering. Throw the net at the light to reveal the bot.
Then comes the "Simon Says" part. You have to find a bundle of bananas by punching a tree near the PS1 cloud section, bring them back, and then copy the bot's dance moves using the D-pad.
- Up: The Floss
- Left: The Carlton
- Right: The Travolta
- Down: Irish Line Dance
Actionable Next Steps
If you're looking to wrap these up, here is exactly what you should do:
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- Check your trophies: See if you've already unlocked "Hunted Down," "Deja Phew!", "Grand Tourist," and "No Escape!"
- Update the game: These bots don't exist in the base version of the game from 2020. You need the 2024 content update.
- Sync your save: Make sure your Astro’s Playroom save data is on the same console when you start Astro Bot so the transfer happens automatically.
Saving these four is essentially the "true" ending to the PlayStation 5's pack-in experience. It turns a tech demo into a prologue for one of the best platformers in years.