With Astro Bot set to star in his own full-fledged adventure game later this year, Sony is giving him his own limited-edition controller. Revealed on the PlayStation Blog, the new Astro Bot Limited Edition DualSense Wireless Controller features a sleek white design with accents inspired by the adorable robot.
The white controller's design features Astro's signature blue accents on the handles and buttons, carved-in, sci-fi lines, and the trademark playful pair of eyes on the touchpad. Unlike the game, the eyes don't actually move. The controller was designed by Team Asobi, the same studio developing the upcoming Astro Bot game.
The Astro Bot Limited Edition DualSense Wireless Controller will be available in limited quantities for $79.99 and will launch on September 6, the same day as the game. Pre-orders will begin on Friday, August 9 at 7am PT in the U.S. and 10am local time in the U.K., France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Portugal. You'll be able to pre-order the controller through direct.playstation.com as well as select retailers.
Revealed in June and launching on September 6, Astro Bot is a "standalone, full-sized adventure" starring the cutesy little robot who has become sort of the defacto mascot for PlayStation. While previous Astro Bot games have served largely as tech demos — used primarily to showcase the PlayStation's unique hardware — the new game is a full-fledged 3D platformer adventure. The game features over 50 planets, new powerups, tons of new enemies, secrets, and PlayStation-infused characters to collect.
Based on the reveal trailer, it should still feel like Astro's Playroom, a pack-in title included for free with every PlayStation 5 console, except larger in scale and scope. Like Astro's Playroom, the new Astro Bot game will still allow you to feel the surfaces that Astro runs and slides on, including grass, sand, metal, and even water. The number of textures you can feel through the controller has been increased from Astro's Playroom.
Team Asobi has also doubled down on the adaptive triggers combined with haptic feedback. They are now tied more closely to Astro's new powers.
"For example, when using Barkster, the bulldog Jetpack, you can feel the thruster ratting against your finger in synch with the animation, giving a very dynamic and immersive feeling," the developer explained. "Every new power up has been given that same special treatment so you will be able to experience various expressions through your fingers."
In addition to all the new gameplay features included in the DualShock controller, the game itself features all-new gadgets that Astro Bot can use. This includes the Dual Speeder, a ship built out of the DualSense itself, capable of flying with full motion control, adaptive triggers, and haptic feedback.
The new Astro Bot game is set to release on September 6, exclusively for PlayStation 5.