Also On: PS5
Publisher: Kepler Interactive
Developer: Mureena
Medium: Digital
Players: 1
Online: Yes
ESRB: E10+
Admittedly, Bionic Bay was not on my radar before this review, so I took this on strictly due to the unique visuals displayed in the screenshots and trailer I saw before accepting the code. But boy, am I glad that I did because it ended up being one of my favorite platforming experiences in recent years. It’s a super entertaining, and at times very challenging, puzzle-platforming adventure set against the backdrop of a mechanical wasteland with lots of unique, physics-based sequences that’ll be unlike anything else you’ll play this year. Each level is so inventive and unique, and while it’s not the longest game in the world, you’ll feel like you’ve got your money’s worth once you hit the end.
There’s not a lot of story or lore in Bionic Bay, you’ll catch glimpses of what’s going on from the bodies of unfortunate scientists that have come before you. Essentially, someone got a hold of an alien artifact, messed with something they shouldn’t have, and now you’ve been transported to an alien environment full of danger, various hazards, and the occasional power-up to help you survive the experience. When the game begins, your character, depicted as a diminutive man who’s dwarfed by the world around him, gets hit by a beam that increases his elasticity. This means that you’re far more durable than you’d otherwise be, allowing you to fall great distances, get tossed around into walls and other structures without dying, and, more importantly, leap great distances.
As the game progresses, you’ll gain one other core ability, which is a hammer that you can use on highlighted objects. Once hit, you can then tap a button to instantly switch places with the object. This ability is used in a variety of ways, oftentimes allowing you to create makeshift structures to cross large chasms or to block projectiles quickly. There are a lot of other inventive uses for this mechanic throughout Bionic Bay, and I’d be doing you a disservice to spoil them here. In addition, there are a couple of other surprise abilities that occasionally pop up, including one towards the very end of the game that’s absolutely wild and worth seeing in action.
I can’t overstate how great the controls in Bionic Bay feel. Jumping is just ultra precise, which is great considering some of the very tight, very tiny platforms you’ll need to navigate throughout. In addition to just being able to jump, you can roll forward and then jump to increase your jump distance, and you can also dive midjump, giving you even more control when in mid-air. It feels fantastic to play, and the ragdoll-style physics means you’ll occasionally interact with the environment in unexpected ways that generally will work out to your benefit. Also, while you will die a lot in Bionic Bay, it has a generous checkpoint system with instant restarts, which helps to alleviate the frustration certain segments of the game could cause.
In addition to the single-player campaign, there’s a fun online mode in Bionic Bay that features timed stages with leaderboards and ghost players to challenge against. These stages are truncated, customized versions of the main campaign, oftentimes with specific themes or elements. There’s already some amazing times being posted online by players, and it can be pretty entertaining just to watch ghost players do their thing and make use of the unique physics engine at play. I could see a lot of longevity with just the online side of Bionic Bay, adding one more reason to pick this one up.
Right now, Bionic Bay is easily one of the best games I’ve played this year. It’s a fantastic platforming experience with a super unique visual style that’s constantly throwing new puzzles and ideas at you throughout the campaign. While certainly not as whimsical or packed with secrets in comparison to something like Astro Bot, Bionic Bay nails its approach with incredibly tight controls and a cool sense of style. I’d recommend checking it out, it may well be the best platformer released this year.
Note: Kepler Interactive provided us with a Bionic Bay Steam code for review purposes.
