Jump up the steps and head right to get to the top of the structure and to a line of asteroids (which will be guarded by Spitters and other various enemies). Continue along the kuda hoki thicker beam section (a line of Coins will appear when you do this), and around the corner you’ll find a tiny astronaut toy. From the beginning of the level, follow the wooden path forward through the grass and up to Checkpoint 2.
From the moment you boot up the demo, the game takes you through the DualSense. It takes you through the vibration, adaptive triggers, touchpad, motion sensor and microphone. As spotted by Twitter user realradec, Astro’s Playroom received an update for February 2025 that added the PS5 Pro as an artifact. In Astro’s Playroom, players can obtain “Artifacts” from a gacha machine that unlocks collectible PlayStation products. Although Team Asobi did not formally announce it, the update also added the PS5 Pulse Elite Headset and Pulse Explore Earbuds.
Um Jammer Lammy gets a second reference in the “It’s All in the Mind” Trophy, awarded for beating three enemies quickly with Punches. This is a reference to Chop Chop Master Onion, who gives Lammy this piece of advice early in the game. At the very end of the level, turn around to find a Bot wearing a blue cap trying to crack a safe, who retreats when you get close. This is a reference the Sly Cooper franchise that first appeared in 2002 on PS2, developed by Sucker Punch.
Playstation Store
Land on the next switch to the left to lower some more platforms above. Jump up the platforms to the top, but keep an eye out on the top-left to spot Puzzle Piece #2. The PlayStation 5 Pro is the more powerful version of the original PlayStation 5, similar to the PlayStation 4 Pro. Its signature feature is a dedicated chip for intelligent upscaling of a game’s rendered image, letting them hit resolution targets at a fraction of the processing power, allowing for higher framerates.
Puzzle Piece 3/4 – Just after the pinball area you will slide across some ice blocks. This puzzle piece is just after one of the ledges you drop down on the blocks. You can hold the touchpad button down to bring yourself to a stop on the ice. Puzzle Piece 2/4 – In this same pinball area, knock out the 6 bowling pin enemies around the center bumper to make this puzzle piece appear. Puzzle Piece 1/4 – In the first pinball area, roll into the spot on the back left to get boosted to a rail with this puzzle piece at the end.
This is a reference to the infamous The Last Guardian which eventually released in 2016 and was made by Team Ico. The Bot holding a feather refers to the game’s boxart, while the moment where he falls off and is saved by the bird references the E gameplay demo. Up the same cliff as the Ico easter egg, on the opposite side you can find a crowd observing a Bot teeing off with a golf club while wearing a PS VR headset. This references Everybody’s Golf VR by Clap Hanz, released in 2019. Up until the 2017 game, Everybody’s Golf was called Hot Shots Golf in North America. Players can use weapons, such as plunger arrows and a pellet gun which shoots coloured balls, to destroy objects and defeat enemies.
Pulse 3d Wireless Headset
It’s notable for becoming the most popular downloadable game on the PlayStation Network at the time. On the right-hand side of the CRT pile at the end of the level are some Bots huddled around gaming on a CRT. The game they’re playing references Ridge Racer, released in 1997 for the PS1 and made by Delphine Software International.
They’re mostly there for the fun of it all rather than to accumulate anything, but every single one of them made me smile, even the few that I had to take a moment to try and guess at. I won’t spoil any more here so as to not rob anyone of the joy of first discovering them. But, much like with the hardware artifacts, every era of PlayStation is represented in some truly hilarious ways. I went into this game expecting it to be nothing more than a quick tech demo, I was very wrong.
For instance‚ finding all artifacts in a world or solving a puzzle unlocks these trophies. These collectibles are hidden across levels‚ requiring exploration and attention to detail. There are 24 artifacts (6 in each world) and 40 puzzle pieces spread across four worlds. Collecting these not only earns trophies but also unlocks special content.
The question is should you play it and the answer is a resounding yes if you’ve ever found yourself nostalgic for PlayStation as a brand or if you enjoy 3D platformers. I mentioned this already in my Astro’s Playroom preview, but it really can’t be overstated how innovative the DualSense PS5 Controller is and just how effective Astro’s Playroom is at showing it off. From the opening moments when it teaches you about the adaptive triggers and haptic feedback it never stops impressing all the way until the very end. The final boss is a deep cut reference to a classic PS1 tech demo that you’ll immediately recognize if you’ve been gaming with PlayStation long enough and it was a real treat to experience. Puzzle Piece 1/4 – At the second checkpoint instead of going forward, go to the left and up to a platform where you can find a spot to blow into the mic. Puzzle Piece 3/4 – When you reach the next checkpoint, before going down the ramp, follow the path back to the right where you can hit a small jump which propels you into the air to grab this puzzle piece.
In some cases I’ll turn it off entirely so it doesn’t distract me. But in the case of the DualSense, for the first time ever really, I feel like it actually enhances and changes the game for the better. Puzzle Piece 4/4 – When going down the section where you are blown by two clouds, make sure to stick to the right after the second cloud to get bounced to this puzzle piece. Artifact 1/2 “PlayStation Memory Card” – Just ahead there will be a split in the road with a path on the left with a danger sign.