Astro Bot's Cut Content: Bird Flight Level and Headless Astro Revealed

Astro Bot fans are no strangers to the game's delightful sponge power-up, but did you know that developer Team Asobi also experimented with even more outlandish abilities? From a coffee grinder to a roulette wheel, these quirky ideas were part of the creative journey behind the beloved PlayStation mascot platformer. This fascinating insight came to light during IGN's coverage of GDC 2025, where Team Asobi's studio director, Nicolas Doucet, delivered a talk titled "The Making of 'ASTRO BOT'". Doucet's presentation delved deep into the development process, showcasing early prototypes and cut content that never made it into the final game.

Doucet kicked off his talk by recounting the initial pitch for Astro Bot, penned in May 2021, shortly after Team Asobi began its prototyping phase. The pitch underwent a staggering 23 revisions before being presented to top management. It was cleverly crafted as an adorable comic strip, highlighting the game's main pillars and activities, which ultimately proved to be a winning strategy.

When it came to generating ideas, Doucet explained that Team Asobi employed a robust brainstorming process. Small groups of 5-6 people, composed of members from various disciplines, collaborated to generate ideas. These were captured on sticky notes, leading to a visually stunning brainstorming board that Doucet shared with the audience.

Not every concept progressed to prototyping, with only about 10% of ideas making the cut. However, Doucet emphasized the importance of prototyping, encouraging all team members, even those outside game design, to experiment with their ideas. An intriguing example was the audio designers creating a theater within Astro Bot to test haptic controller vibrations in sync with various sound effects, such as different ways a door could open and close.

Prototyping was so integral to the team's process that a few programmers were dedicated solely to exploring non-platforming concepts. This approach led to the creation of Astro Bot's iconic sponge mechanic, which utilized the adaptive trigger for a fun and engaging gameplay experience.

Doucet shared an image featuring a range of prototypes, some of which were incorporated into the game, like the balloon and sponge, while others, such as a tennis game, a wind-up toy, a roulette wheel, and a coffee grinder, did not make the final cut.

He also discussed how levels were chosen and designed around specific mechanics, aiming to ensure each level offered unique gameplay and avoided redundancy. For instance, a level themed around bird flights was cut because it reused the monkey power-up in a manner too similar to existing levels like Go-Go Archipelago and a level in Astro's Playroom.

**Spoiler Alert: If you haven't finished Astro Bot yet, proceed with caution.**

In the game's final scene, players reassemble a broken Astro Bot with the help of other bots. Initially, the plan was to present players with a completely dismembered Astro, but this concept was altered due to player feedback, resulting in the more intact version seen in the final game.

Doucet's talk was packed with intriguing insights into Astro Bot's development, a game that IGN awarded a 9/10, praising it as "A fantastically inventive platformer in its own right, Astro Bot is particularly special for anyone with a place in their heart for PlayStation."