Summary
Astro Bothas quickly become one of the greatest exclusives to release on the PlayStation 5. That can be accredited to its quality, which includes some unique and creative uses of the DualSense controller.
While there are plenty of games you can play on the console, there aren’t that many which are designed with the console’s unique capabilities in mind, and that means that there aren’t too many games that take advantage of all the different features of the DualSense controller. This is definitely not the case for Astro, so what are some of the most creative uses of the console’s controller?
8Tilt Controls For Your Flights
Not Always A Safe Landing
Each of the levels in Astro Bot are unique for their own reasons, but something that ties them together is a brief flight sequence on Astro’s DualSense-themed ship. These moments can be quick in some levels, but there are some flights that are a little longer.
On these longer flights, you get full control over the speed and movement of the flight using seamless motion controls. This is often used to pick up collectibles that you could easily miss if you aren’t paying attention at the start of the level,and in some levels,you can even crash if you hit enough obstacles.
7Monkey Climbing
Tilt To The Top
Whilemost of the power upsyou can use in Astro Bot use standard controls to activate them, one of the main exclusions to this rule is the monkey climbing backpack that is used a couple of times throughout Astro’s journey.
You’ll have to use motion controls to reach for each of the banana-shaped grips, making Astro’s vertical progression feel even more tactile. This is fun on some levels, but occasionally the climbing can start to feel a little unintuitive.
6Accurate Aiming On Turrets
Perfect Precision
One of the more unique uses of the DualSense controller in Astro Bot is when encountering the various turrets you’ll find scattered throughout different levels. These projectile launchers are shaped like your DualSense controller, and depending on the level, they’ll shoot out something different to help you progress.
Whether it’s a giant torch to take down gargantuan ghosts, a shuriken launcher to create platforms to progress throughout the level, or even a giant vacuum to help clean up a trash-littered area, the rewards are diverse.
5Controller Lighting Up For Different Scenes
Setting The Mood
A light-up controller is not something new to controller design, and if anything, it was a little more prevalent with the design of the previous PlayStation’s controller, but there are still subtle light bars around the touchpad on the DualSense.
In most games on the console, this will usually stay one static colour, maybe changing occasionally, but in Astro Bot, if you take the time to glance down, you’ll notice that the light-up touchpad will often match the atmosphere on screen.
4Play With Your Collected Bots
Throwing Them Around
While it is less of a feature and more of a fun Easter egg, one of the earliest examples of just how intuitive the use of the DualSense controller is in Astro Bot is how you interact with missing bots once you have collected them.
Upon collecting a bot, they’ll jump into an open area that appears on the on-screen version of your DualSense’s touchpad and lounge in there waving at the camera. This DualSense will react to how you move your controller, so you can wave them around and even play catch, by throwing them in the air.
3Blow To Clear The Path
Mario Kart DS-Core
More of a throwback feature that isn’t seen in many modern games, the microphone built in the DualSense occasionally comes in useful with Astro Bot. While it is not as common as the turrets or flights, there are a few sections in levels that will display pinwheels around certain objects.
This is a prompt to blow into the DualSense to interact with the object, whether that’s cleaning something up, extinguishing candles, or inflating bubbles, this fun feature is a great way to change how you interact with the world of Astro Bot.
2Tilt Around In LocoRoco
The Closest Thing We Have To A New LocoRoco Game
A stand-out feature in Astro Bot is how afterdefeating the boss of each worldyou are treated to a cameo-themed level based on a legendary PlayStation IP. These all give you a one-off power up, and the most unique is the LocoRoco level that essentially just turns into a level from the underrated series.
Instead of moving Astro as you usually would, in this level you can only move through the obstacle course using tilt controls. You get a surprising amount of precision with these motion controls, making it one of the most enjoyable levels in the game.
1Dynamic Component Cleaning
Neat And Tidy
While only brief moments throughout the main story, a fun feature included in Astro Bot is the unique cleaning process for each of the components of the giant PlayStation 5 spaceship you collect at the end of each world.
For all six of these moments, you’ll be encouraged to try everything you can with your DualSense controller to clean out these incredibly dirty pieces of tech. These short moments are another memorable showcase of just what this controller is capable of doing.
