May 2024’s PlayStation State of Play unveiled Astro Bot, a new platformer starring PlayStation mascot Astro Bot. The game will see the intrepid bot travelling through a variety of worlds, and coming across bot versions of plenty of beloved characters from PlayStation titles of years gone by. Here’s every cameo we could make out in the trailer, ranked by how adorable they are.
Honorable Mentions: Aloy, Spike, and Atreus
Where we know them from: Horizon, Ape Escape, and God of War
These three are undoubtedly adorable, but we’re grouping them together since they only appear in group shots.
Aloy is arguably one of the most iconic gaming heroines of all time. This futuristic warrior woman fights off giant robots armed with futuristic takes on primeval weapons, while her tragic backstory leaves her vulnerable. Aloy is the sort of hero you really want to hug, even if she might push you away.
Spike (behind Aloy) is the star of one of PlayStation’s most adorable franchises, Ape Escape. The franchise sees Spike and his friends having adventures through space and time trying to capture mischievous apes who gained access to time travel.
Atreus (next to Kratos) is the most adorable of the three. Kratos’s son who slowly grows more and more confident and battle-hardened, Atreus’s adorableness is a big part of why we grow so attached to him, and just look at his squinty eyes! He’s excited to go on an adventure with his dad and friends!
We can’t quite tell who the bots behind Atreus are, but we’re sure they’re just as cute. The tiny yellow bot in particular looks like the plucky sidekick in a Pixar movie.
7 – Kratos
Where we first saw them – God of War (2005)
Where we last saw them – God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla (2023)
Okay, nobody’s denying that Kratos is a handsome man. I know a lot of people who dream of a man like Kratos, but nobody has ever called him adorable. In fact, there’s a good chance that if you did call him adorable you’d be greeted with an axe to the face.
Astro Bot’s take on the character is cuter than we’ve seen Kratos before, but he’s still too stereotypically masculine to really be adorable. Kratos is all about bulging muscles and tearing apart mythological creatures with his bare arms. If anything, he might make you feel adorable, but even that’s a stretch.
6 – PaRappa the Rapper
Where we first saw them – PaRappa the Rapper (1996)
Where we last saw them: PaRappa the Rapper Remastered (2017)
PaRappa the Rapper is cute, but takes a step down in adorableness compared to the others on this list. After all, in his original game PaRappa is a precocious puppy in people clothes who learns life skills through rap in the hopes of getting with the girl of his dreams! The fact that the girl in question is a vaguely nightmarish sentient flower is besides the point.
PaRappa still has the feel of the character, but unfortunately he just isn’t quite as cute as a rapping puppy should be.
5 – The Hero
Where we first saw them – Journey (2012)
Where we last saw them – Journey: iOS Edition (2019)
The nameless heroine in Journey is decked out in their characteristic red robe, with their scarf floating around them. For bonus adorableness, they even look like they’re knitting it themself! Imagine taking some time out in the desert to do some knitting? They don’t even have fingers!
The design stands out, and the desert is impressively rendered (You can clearly see individual grains of sand), but the Hero isn’t quite as cute as what’s coming up next.
4 – Nathan Drake
Where we first saw them – Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (2007)
Where we last saw them – Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection (2022)
Nathan Drake already had a sort of easy-going attitude that made him adorable. True, he’s got a body count in the thousands, but he’s just so damn charming about it, and there’s something endearing about his inability to not panic at times. He might be a seasoned treasure hunter, but he also manages to find himself out of his depth over and over again, whether he’s searching for El Dorado or just playing some Crash Bandicoot.
By the looks of things, this version has found himself out of his depth again! The fact that his gun looks like a water pistol just adds to the adorableness.
3 – Wander, Mono, and Agro
Where we first saw them – Shadow of the Colossus (2005)
Where we last saw them – Shadow of the Colossus Remake (2018)
This trio first appeared in Shadow of the Colossus, but don’t let the sword put you off: Wander just makes it look so damn cute! He’s like the precocious hero in a fantasy film with a sword that’s way too big for him but he’s going to try his best and eventually save the world through the power of friendship!
Mono is unconscious, as she is throughout most of Shadow of the Colossus, while Wander’s faithful steed Agro looks as majestic as always!
2 – Ico
Where we first saw them – Ico (2001)
Where we last saw them – The Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection (2011)
Ico is a simple story about a boy with horns who’s imprisoned in a castle as a sacrifice who teams up with a princess to escape her mother, who wants to steal her body. He even fights off her shadow monsters with a stick! How adorable is that?
The trailer shows a shot of Ico with his beloved watermelon, a reference to Ico’s hidden ending, and doesn’t he look like he’s just having the best time? Eat all the melon you want, Ico Bot! You’ve earned it.
1 – Ratchet
Where we first saw them – Ratchet & Clank (2002)
Where we last saw them – Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (2021)
Who else could make the number one spot but everyone’s favorite Lombax? Ratchet may have saved the universe over and over again with his arsenal of oversized weapons and 2000s-style attitude, but he’s so fuzzy wuzzy! Don’t you want to scratch him behind the ears? He’s like a bipedal fennec fox in people clothes!
In the trailer, Ratchet Bot is tied to a tree, so it looks like he doesn’t have the combat skills his character is known for. However, if it turns out he can join you in your journey, expect some characteristically over-the-top action.
Did you miss the State of Play? We’ve got you covered – here’s everything that we saw during the event.
