‘Bionic Bay’ Is a Dark Puzzle Platformer With More Depth Than a First Look Would Reveal (Review)

From the moment I saw the trailer for Bionic Bay, this game had my attention. As someone who loves What Lies in the Multiverse, puzzle platformers hold a special place in my heart. And after playing this game, it’s easy to see why. Bionic Bay is an atmospheric, occasionally creepy physics-based experience that is beautiful in its darkness and a great test of platforming skill.

‘bionic bay’s’ descent into darkness

Starting off, this game heavily utilizes shadows. But it’s not meant to hide anything, Bionic Bay runs incredibly well. The pixel art style lends itself well to what Psychoflow Studio and Mureena Oy are trying to do with the story. And this game does something with the story that I love. It gives you a little bit at the beginning and then lets you discover it as you go. You play as a scientist who is transported to a biomechanical world, and your goal is to escape and get back home.

Along the way, you will traverse a world that is trying its absolute best to end you in the most brutal ways possible. From laser beams, to freeze rays, rockets, and more. Your character is in danger at every possible turn. And the beauty of the game will absolutely distract you from how deadly this world is. Your character isn’t totally powerless, though. He’s given a boost in athletic ability at the beginning of the game, and it’s necessary. You can jump higher, and you can roll faster than you can run to increase the distance of your jumps.

In addition to those enhanced abilities, you are also able to swap places with items. This can be used to give yourself a platform in the middle of a long jump, or even provide defense from laser beams and rockets. Other abilities include gravity flipping and time dilation. The challenge in this is that you won’t have access to all of the powers at once, so you really have to rely on a level of skill to get past these levels.

BRUTAL DEATHS ARE THE NAME OF THE GAME

I can’t count how many times I’ve died in Bionic Bay. But it’s not down to the game being cheap. The game wants you to learn on the fly. You’ll get a slight tutorial as you progress on how to move, and when you get a new ability, how to use it. Beyond that, this game has no interest in holding your hand in overcoming its obstacles. The most it will do is use camera work and lighting to give you an idea of where to go. Sometimes, it can get a little confusing. But for the most part, it’s a pretty clear setup.

I enjoyed testing the game’s physics by rolling and jumping off of different areas. And, yes, a fall from a great height will kill you. You’ll land with a sickening but oddly satisfying splat. Rockets will blow you to hell and send your body everywhere. And swapping places with a large object and ending up underneath it will result in a crushing death. My favorite sections of the game are essentially chase segments that require a great deal of speed. Swapping with objects to save your ass at the last second before a rocket crashes into you feels amazing every single time.

Along the way, it becomes clear that those who came before you weren’t as lucky. You will come across the dead bodies of scientists who were left behind. With only their last log to tell you what happened, these moments are the bits of story you get throughout the game. While some may not enjoy the minimalist storytelling style, as I said before, I think it fits Bionic Bay perfectly. You’re in a strange world with no one to communicate with. There shouldn’t be much in the way of exposition.

‘bionic bay’ lets me get competitive, too?

Bionic Bay also has an online mode where you can race against other people’s times in each of the levels. That’s right, this game is made for the speedrunners. And I can absolutely see this getting some serious life in that community because the possibilities for shaving half a second off someone’s time are all there. The developers knew what they had and took full advantage.

I know for a fact that I’ll be picking more than a few levels to master just to see if I can get my name on the leaderboards. So, thanks for that. It’s not like I don’t have other games to obsess over. Overall, Bionic Bay is a great time and a pretty solid 10-to-12-hour platforming adventure.

Verdict: Strongly Recommended

A code was provided by the publisher for review. Bionic Bay releases on April 17th on PC and PS5.