On the surface, Astro's Playroom may seem like an extended tech demo or clever marketing ploy. However, it's also a fun platformer filled with references to PlayStation's rich history and games catalog. Its primary function may be to show off the impressive new features that come with the PlayStation 5 and its new DualSense controller, but finding a slew of PlayStation easter eggs is a lot of fun. One of these easter eggs includes a reference to The Last of Us, the 2013 smash hit that originally released on the PS3.

In Astro's Playroom, players control a tiny bot who explores various new features of the PS5 - brought to colorful life in the form of locations like GPU Jungle and SSD Speedway. By collecting PlayStation artifacts and jigsaw puzzle pieces, players progress through the platforming stages and fill up a room called PlayStation Labo. While players can't collect the gaming easter eggs, there are a still a ton of them to find - ranging from LittleBigPlanet's Sackboy to reenacted scenes from Resident Evil and Ghost of Tsushima. There's also a clever recreation from The Last of Us.

Related: Astro's Playroom Review: More Than A Tech Demo

Widely considered one of the greatest games ever made, and topping several "Best of" lists for the past decade of gaming, The Last of Us is an apocalyptic and harrowing tale about a man named Joel and a teenage girl named Ellie. With its dark subject matter and scenes of violence, The Last of Us may seem like a strange game to reference in the bright and fun Astro's Playroom - but the easter egg exists, and it's actually pretty great.

Where The Last of Us' Joel & Ellie Are In Astro's Playroom

the last of us easter egg joel and ellie astro's playroom

Joel and Ellie can be found in Astro's Playroom in the GPU Jungle. Two bots dressed like the characters are hiding from another bot with mushrooms on its head - a reference to Clickers in The Last of Us. This scene plays out in the first level of the GPU Jungle, the Renderforest.

The Renderforest and GPU Jungle pays several homages to Naughty Dog games, since Crash Bandicoot and Uncharted easter eggs are here as well. The Last of Us scene shows the Joel and Ellie bots hiding from the Clicker bot with panicked expressions before the scene plays out again. The Joel bot is also holding a brick in the scene, which was commonly used in the game as a weapon or noise distraction. The scene is just a small part of Astro's Playroom, but it's still a lot of fun to see.

Astro's Playroom has a ton of easter eggs for players to find. It's a great way to celebrate the release of the PS5 and enjoy PlayStation's past history. The Last of Us easter egg is one of dozens of video game references found inside the game - and it's definitely one of the best.

Next: Why PS5 Players Should Start With Astro's Playroom