Astro Bot is filled to the brim with different fun challenges, and while the levels are engaging by themselves, any game designer worth their salt knows that a good platformer needs power-ups to keep the gameplay fresh.

These power-ups significantly change the way you solve puzzles and navigate the level, and each level gives you plenty of room to experiment with them and figure out what makes them tick.

Not only that, each power-up utilizes the full capabilities of the DualSense controller, immersing you in a tactile experience of using these powers.

I’ll be ranking these power-ups based on how fun they are to play, and how the level design pushes the boundaries of how you use them.

Honestly, none of these power-ups are bad, because it’s clear Team Asobi put so much love and care into making every one of them satisfying to use. Nonetheless, I’ll be ranking them anyway.

This list does not include items like the light bulb, magnet, flower, and dynamite, as they are only pick-ups. VIP cameo powers (like the Leviathan Axe or Nathan Drake’s pistol) aren’t included because you’re essentially playing a mini version of their respective games.

14 Teddy Cymbals

Round Of Applause For Astro!

You’d be surprised to know that the musically themed power-up doesn’t have a rhythm-based mechanic. Instead, the teddy cymbals only emit a soundwave that stuns enemies or opens up platforms for you.

It’s not a power-up that helps you bulldoze every enemy you see, nor does it help you travel outside the game’s intended bounds. While it isn’t impressive, this humble teddy bear is still an adorable power-up.

You only get to use the teddy cymbals once in the game, in the carnival-inspired level Final Encore, in the secret Lost Galaxy.

13 Monkey Climber

Need A Helping Hand?

With the success of Astro’s Playroom, it wasn’t all that surprising to see Team Asobi recycle some of their ideas for Astro Bot. The monkey power-up is a direct descendant (and perhaps even upgrade) of the monkey suit.

First encountered in the Go-Go Archipelago! level, the Monkey Hands power-up is a versatile backpack that lets you lob projectiles and climb steep cliffs.

But the climbing mechanic does feel a little too much like the original monkey suit in Astro’s Playroom, as it relies on the DualSense’s motion control capabilities. It also looks sillier than the monkey suit, as Astro just chills there while the monkey on his back does all the work.

12 Octo-Balloon

Inflation’s Crazy These Days

With the Octo Balloon power-up, you suck up the air around you and turn into a hot air balloon, floating high up in the sky with a cozy leisure that is tonally perfect for Astro Bot.

As the first power-up, you get in Astro Bot, the Octo Balloon power-up debuts in the Sky Gardens Level, which, in my opinion, is on par with Super Mario 64’s Bo-Bomb Battlefield in terms of the quality opening levels.

The Octo Balloon is fun, simple, and opens up new avenues for you to explore, rewarding outside-of-the-box thinking when you make it to a faraway platform.

But it’s not the most powerful or exciting power-up. That pleasure is reserved for the later power-ups, when the game picks up its pace.

11 Swimming Penguin

Wait, Are Underwater Levels Fun Now?

Remember those windup swimming toys kids that would make obnoxiously loud clacking sounds? That nostalgia swelled up inside me when I first saw the penguin power-up in the level Bubbling Under. And yes–it is an underwater level.

It’s not too flashy, yet swimming, while the penguin’s flappy plastic feet make the triggers click underneath your fingers is so satisfying.

Not only that, majestically jumping out of the water like a dolphin triggers a whimsical synthesized harp jingle. Everything about this power-up just works.

It just fits the tone and aesthetic of this level so well, and I would even argue that Astro Bot is a game that executes an underwater level perfectly.

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9 Steel Ball

Keep Rollin’, Rollin’, Rollin’

With a power-up such as this, you essentially become a heavy, indestructible ball. As long as you’re curled up like a roly-poly, nothing can hurt you, not even harsh words.

There is a surprising number of unique interactions when you’re balled up. You can drop into a volcano and turn into a cannonball, crush enemies with your sheer metallic weight, or even break enemies for even daring to crush or suck you up.

Even though there’s not much else to do besides turning into a ball, it’s incredibly gratifying to know that enemies can’t even make a dent in you.

8 Chicken Booster

And We Have Lift-off!

Blast off into the air with the Chicken Booster power-up! With its powerful boost, it becomes a triple jump that destroys any obstacle in its path. You first encounter this power-up in the level Trapped in Time.

Much like the Octo Balloon power-up, the Chicken Jump gives you much more verticality, though the latter is more reliant on brute force.

The rocket boost feels intense when you take off, and using it against certain foes feels like delivering a devastating uppercut.

7 Froggy Gloves

Extendo Punch!

With the Froggy Gloves power-up, nothing is ever out of reach of your fists, and they sure do pack a wallop. This ability debuts in the Az-Tech Trail level.

You can send a barrage of punches in front of you and create a whirlwind of punches with your charged attack.

You also attach your frog tongues to sticky surfaces, swinging around poles like Indiana Jones and pulling apart walls like Jenga towers.

Froggy Gloves are powerful for any combat encounter, especially when you can just spam the trigger buttons before any enemy can get to you.

6 Micro Mouse Shrinker

Little and Large

Appearing in the level Downsize Surprise, the Micro Mouse Shrinker ability is probably the most creative ability in Astro Bot. Team Asobi knocked it out of the park with this one. It’s a shame that it’s only used once in the game.

With this ability, you can shrink and grow whenever you want, opening up new ways to explore the environment, and creating new challenges that would have been previously negligible with a regular size.

5 Elephant Hose-Nose

Astro Bot: Creative Mode

Suck up gooey liquids and create your platforms to access hidden areas with the Elephant Hose-Nose ability, which is first encountered in the Trunk of Funk level. This power-up might seem simple, but it can create different platforms depending on the liquid sucked up.

You can create floating concrete or leafy blocks, honey-jumping pads, and icy ramps. This ability shines when you can choose between these different liquids, encouraging creative thinking.

The best part about the Hose-Nose ability is that, with good movement tech and a fully loaded canister, you can bypass many seemingly tough platforming challenges, and go places that normally would be unreachable.

4 Sponge-Bot

Cannonball!

If only Astro Bot had more levels that featured these amazingly fun abilities, but alas, the Sponge power-up is among the few limited to one level.

In Bathhouse Battle, Astro turns into an adorable sponge that can soak up water and become a giant. Busting through walls with his powerful stride, he squeezes all that water out to turn back to his regular size.

It’s so funny how giant sponge Astro can bulldoze through everything without a care in the world, but aside from blasting through any obstacle thanks to your sheer girth, you also have to aim where you squeeze the water strategically.

3 Barkster the Bulldog Booster

Who’s A Good Doggy Jetpack?

I believe a platforming game’s bread and butter is a solid dash mechanic, and Astro Bot’s puppy jetpack fits the bill perfectly, which is first encountered in the level Construction Derby.

Even though it’s a simple power-up, it’s incredibly useful in smashing through obstacles and enemies, dodging attacks, and reaching faraway platforms.

The dash is snappy and easy to use, best shown through boss fights, including Chewy and the Djinni. It’s also a power-up where its use could potentially be extended outside the levels that were designed with Barkster in mind, as a dash is indispensable in any game.

2 Minigun

It’s Anything But Mini

If you’ve played Astro’s Playroom, then you’ll remember the minigun. Unfortunately, this power-up only appears in the Credits Clash level, and nowhere else.

Its only strength is that it never runs out of ammo, and you can shoot it forever. Other than that, it has no other use. I can see why Team Asobi opted not to include the minigun in the game and instead paid homage to it in the credits.

Still, it deserves a spot on this list for its legacy in Astro’s Playroom, and it probably would have made a fun little power-up with a shooter-based level.

1 Slo-Mo Vision

Is This A JoJo’s Reference?

You’ve probably seen that there is almost a consensus that Slo-Mo Vision is THE best power-up in the game, and not without good reason.

The overwhelming power of moving within stopped time is so intoxicating that you can’t help but laugh at your frozen enemies before you smash them to bits, especially when you first use it in Slo-Mo Casino.

The levels designed with this ability in mind encourage you to time your slo-mo just right, whether to improvise platforms from enemy attacks or to jump on platforms that normally would never be climbable.