Armored Hardcore is the eleventhAstro BotDLC stage and the last of five to appear in the Vicious Void galaxy. Like the four that preceded it, Armored Hardcore is a speedrun stage in spirit, although players will only need to reach the finishing platform to unlock the solitaryAstro BotVIP Bot that’s on offer.
To complete the stage, players will need to make use of Astro’s cannonball power-up, which was first introduced duringthe Hieroglitch Pyramid stage. It’s not the most complicated level in the game by any means, although there are one or two parts that players could have a spot of trouble with.
How to Complete Armored Hardcore
The key to getting a good time in Armored Hardcore is to avoid usingAstro’s cannonball power-upon the bounce pads where possible, as, much like hovering, doing so adds unnecessary airtime to the clock. As such, players should use regular jumps to navigate the first couple of platforms before using the ball on the third one to reach the next area.
Here, they’ll want to deploy the ball again as soon as they land and use it to navigate the spikes on the ground. It’s a bit like thatold NES gameMarble Madness, only players can jump by pressing the X button. They’ll want to use this to pass over all of the spikes, then jump and hover around or over the three enemies on the collapsing sand blocks that follow.
In the next section, players should jump on the first bounce pad without using the ball power-up, as if they’ve timed things right, this should allow them to reach the second one just as it emerges from the flames on the right. They can then bounce off of this to reach the platform above, where they’ll want to quickly jump and hover past the two approaching enemies.
Maintaining their speed, players should jump across to the far platform and get behind the bolt to their left so that the nearby enemy’s projectiles can’t hit them. Then, once the flame wall passes from left to right, they’ll want to perform a spinning punch by holding Square, which will unscrew the bolt and make a blue volcano appear.
Jumping into this volcano while in cannonball form will take them to a new area with two more enemies and two more sets of flame jets. Thankfully, these are all in sync, so players need only stand by the bolt and wait until all four hazards have passed. Once they’re in the clear, they can perform another spinning punch to unscrew the bolt and hop into the volcano to reach the finishing platform.
Armored Hardcore Cameo Bot
Upon completing Armored Hardcore, Astro Bot players will be rewarded withthe Renaissance Man VIP Bot, which is based onEzio from theAssassin’s Creedseries. If they visit the Gatcha Lab after unlocking him, they’ll be able to get their hands on the Haystack item, which the Ezio Cameo Bot will then jump into if players punch him or the tower on which he stands. As withother Vicious Void DLC stages, there is only one Armored Hardocre VIP Bot.
