Five Astro Bot Cameo Levels I Hope To See

The cameo levels deserve an encore.

Astro Bot is a fantastic game. It has so much going for it, whether that be the accessible platforming, depth of PlayStation history or just its sheer joyful charm. The game was a blast to play. One of the many highlights of the game came in the form of cameo levels, tailor-made levels themed around a beloved PlayStation franchise. The games that were picked delivered levels that were a great amount of fun to play and offered a refreshing mix-up to the gameplay, whether that was wielding Kratos' Leviathan axe or rolling about as LocoRoco. Each level stood out on its own, but there are so many more games that deserved cameo levels of their own, and that given the chance (Hopefully via future DLC) could be a great addition to the Cameo level roster.

inFAMOUS

Kicking off the hopeful cameo level list is the electrical-charged superhero franchise inFAMOUS. The series has been around since 2009 and featured the titular hero/villain Cole McGrath, before moving on to a new lead hero on PlayStation 4 following the events of inFAMOUS 2. All of the titles provided great superpowered playgrounds to mess around in as well as offering players the choice to be the city's saviour or terrorizer.

Given the chance of a cameo level, Astro Bot could present a fun, spark-fuelled platforming romp across a micro Empire City. This could let players take control of an electrical-powered Astro Bot hunting down power sources to drain more energy and rescue other in-game bots before ascending upwards to take on an Alduin-inspired trash boss or a Kessler future Bot and save the city.

Marvel's Spider-Man

Perhaps one of the most notable absences in Astro Bot was Marvel's Spider-Man series. While the hero has spun many webs throughout his time on PlayStation, Insomniac's latest efforts are the standouts (well that, and the movie tie-in of Spider-Man 2). Swinging and grappling feel like a great addition to any platformer, and having the chance to give Astro Bot a web-based grapple mechanic inside a Spider-Man level would be a tonne of fun.

The level could be set up similarly to Ape Escape's cameo level with a small area of play, filled with trials and obstacles to interact with. The cameo level could be a mini-metropolis area with odd tasks and crimes to complete, much like the loose apes you have to deal with, ultimately leading to a challenging boss battle once they've been completed.

The grapple mechanic would also just be a fun way to manoeuvre a small level, and the variety of crimes, imbued with that Astro Bot charm would be a great mini adventure to see. Saying that maybe the heroes have been reserved on purpose, ready for the future. Either that or them belonging to Marvel they just don't get the chance.

Wipeout

The Wipeout series is one of the longer-standing titles in PlayStation history, debuting on the PlayStation 1 right the way back in 1995. Since then the series has received multiple sequels, however, the anti-gravity racer has been silent in recent times with Wipeout Omega Collection being the most recent package, and that was back in 2017.

What would make Wipeout one of their better cameo-level options is how it would bring something fun, yet different to the table, the very same way LocoRoco did. The game already has some (minimal) driving features, like guiding the controller at some of the level's openings. The cameo level would be great to push that concept even further and deliver a creative racing event set against steering zero-gravity vehicles. It could see Astro Bot collecting the bots across track detours, mid-race pile-ups or even loop-de-loops on the track.

It would be a great way to honour the series, and letting Astro Bot hurtle through tracks at high speeds on a makeshift anti-gravity ship controller would be a lot of fun to see. It may not be the most creative cameo-level idea out there, but it would certainly be a great addition to the game, one that would be a thrilling time and add even more variety to the main game.

Ghost of Tsushima

Oddly enough Ghost of Tsushima is the second Sucker Punch title on this list and that's for good reason. The Feudal Japanese title is an exceptional game, one that also possesses a good amount of potential to be a great new cameo level in Astro Bot.

For the cameo level to work the game would be majorly condensed, focusing on a stronghold that Astro Bot needs to infiltrate. This way the level could lean into the stealth side of the game and have Astro Bot stalking other bots and scaring them with jokey animations to 'kill' them. The setting could also feature nods to the relaxing side tasks to unlock some of the other bots in the level, such as; following a fox, resting in a hot spring or looking out at a Haiku spot. There are plenty of options, and it certainly could be one fun cameo level that offers an enjoyable stealth-themed break whilst still maintaining that great Astro Bot charm.

Ratchet & Clank

Ratchet & Clank has long been one of PlayStation's trademark mascots ever since the duo debuted on the PlayStation 2, over twenty years ago. Since then the mainline games have continued to consistently deliver great third-person shooter platformer titles, with the latest outing Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart being an astounding success. So, to see these heroes and their vast history reduced to a simple bot collection early on stung a little.

With so much to honour it would have been tough to pick just one area, but perhaps the best route would be a dual-focused level. Allowing for a shorter introduction level seeing players embody a Clank-sized Astro Bot to face some of the more puzzle-orientated aspects of the game, before swapping out to the fuzzy Lombax fighting his way through a series staple location like Metropolis, with only a Wrench and a morph-o-ray at his side.

The level could have featured an array of collectable bots such as; Captain Qwark, Skidd McMarx, Al, and Dr. Nefarious to name just a few, there could also be some gold bolts hidden across the level much like crows in the God of War-themed level to encourage exploring. There's a LOT of potential for a great cameo level.

So, there you have it, my five hopeful pitches for future cameo levels in potential future Astro Bot DLC. More bots have appeared in some DLC, but there's currently no news of any more cameo levels at this time. Though all that being said, I'd be happy holding out if it meant we get another Astro Bot title in the near future.