The cheerful, family-friendly experience of Astro Bot won many awards, including the coveted Game of the Year award in 2024, but its ending brought a bit of a debate among the developers before its launch. Throughout the game, players are treated to cheerful music with vibrant colors and happy bots being rescued. Although the platforming adventure comes with challenges and dangers for the protagonist, Astro, nothing feels too dire in a world where trees are singing and scoops of ice cream line the path.

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the ending of Astro Bot.PlayStation's success with Astro Bot not only brought in awards, but welcomed a new demographic as 37% of Astro Bot players had never purchased a Sony game prior to this one. It is a game that appeals to everyone, adults and children alike. However, its family-friendly nature made its emotional ending a source of heavy debate for Team ASOBI while it was in development. According to a Japanese Famitsu interview, "There was a huge debate between those who thought, 'You can't take off the head,' and those who thought, 'It's only because we've gone this far that it's moving.'"

The Ending Of Astro Bot Was "Hotly Debated" By The Dev Team

Should A Family Friendly Game Have An Emotional End?

Near the end of Astro Bot, there is an emotional scene where Astro meets a cruel fate as he sacrifices himself for the rest of his friends. The host of bots that were rescued throughout the game come together to repair Astro and bring him back to life. As the team disagreed with how to handle such a situation, it was decided that it should have a "balance between comicality and cruelty" so the overall tone of the fast, fun, and adorable game could be preserved.

"When Astro's head was removed, it looked pretty cruel." - Nicola, Team ASOBI via interview with Famitsu.

In the interview, the debate among developers was discussed, including that Nakai-san who drew the concept art turned out to be the biggest opponent to the destruction of Astro. Compromises were made to where Astro's head, which originally was supposed to come off in the destruction, remained safely attached and only his arms and legs were removed, plus the addition of a new heart which revitalized the little friend. With these changes, the repair of Astro remained humorous even with the emotional scene.

Choosing Characters To Feature In Astro Bot Was No Easy Feat

Deciding Games Received Special Attention

As part of the 30th anniversary celebration of the PlayStation, Astro Bot included a large variety of cameo appearances through special bots referencing games from the system's history. During the Famitsu interview, developers noted that the design for these bots was a playful take on what it would look like if Astro was cosplaying as these characters.

"There are a wide variety of characters from 30 years, so it is difficult to say in general, but we came up with ideas based on questions such as 'What situations are memorable for s?'" - Nakai, Team ASOBI via interview with Famitsu.

Choosing the game characters to be honored in Astro Bot was not a decision made lightly. Developers looked for which staff had the greatest love for each game to get a better idea of how to best represent them. The titles selected to have their own Hero Stage levels came from which games from the entire history of PlayStation would be most recognizable for the greatest number of players. The careful approach that devs took with each of these decisions ultimately shaped Astro Bot into the experience we all enjoy today.

Source: Famitsu