Bionic Bay Review

Platformers have been around since most of us can remember picking up video games. If I personally had to pick one genre to play for the rest of my life, they’re likely what I would choose. Though my actual all-time favorite games fall under the Soulslike umbrella, I’m easily the most proficient with some good, old-fashioned running and jumping.

My earliest, most formative gaming memories come from the classic side-scrollers, of course. Games like Mario, Kirby, and Sonic are what I cut my teeth on, and it’s been amazing growing up with the genre and seeing new all-time great additions coming out along the way from the indie scene, specifically, like Celeste, Inside, and Shovel Knight.

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These games are pure platforming greatness that will kick your ass.

To be sure, we have games in this genre coming out all the time, but with such a rich history in the 2-D platformer lineage, it really takes something special to come out in the modern era to catch me off guard. It still happens, but it’s rare.

The previously mentioned recent games I’ve truly loved all thrive at giving us a mix of the nostalgic style of gameplay we’ve come up with, combined with fresh, new ideas that propel the genre further in ways I had never experienced before.

When the opportunity came up to review Bionic Bay, a cool-looking, sci-fi, physics-based platformer, I really didn’t know what to expect. The two teams that partnered to make the game, Mureena and Psychoflow, feature three humans combined, and (no disrespect intended at all) are pretty green in terms of actual games they’ve previously released.

What I didn’t realize going in is that somehow, incredibly, what this group managed to create in Bionic Bay is the absolute freshest, smartest, freaking coolest side-scrolling platformer I have played in a long, long time. If you watch a trailer, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that this title looks like another Limbo-type, and I’d get it. The vibe comparison is there at first, I can’t lie.

But spend a little bit of time with Bionic Bay, and you’ll quickly see that it stands up as its own wholly unique, wildly creative entry into the history of incredible platformer experiences that really isn’t derivative of anything else at all. If you’re a fan of the genre like me, this one is going to be for you.

I can’t wait to tell you more, so let’s get into it.

Wholly Unique, Endlessly Creative Platforming

First and foremost, with a game of this nature, we need to discuss what the movement and mechanics are actually like. The most creative platformers can still crash and burn if the weight of your character doesn’t feel right, or your jump distance feels slightly off. Bionic Bay is a little floaty compared to other titles, but this is by design.

Picking up an elasticity power at the start of the game, our scientist can leap an impressive distance and also has a dash/roll to stretch jumps even further or move at a quicker pace. The other basic ideas here are climbing and wall-jumping to scale every giant obstacle the game drops in front of you.

The swap ability immediately breaks the game wide open…

It’s a simple set of easy-to-pick-up platforming tools that will feel natural in no time, but the gameplay does not simply stop there. The most predominantly featured power you’ll gain is a swap mechanic, allowing you to select an object in the world and switch places with it via teleportation.

The swap ability immediately breaks the game wide open, as you’ll switch places with item after item to create new structures to climb, open paths, block a hazard, reach new platforms, or… accidentally crush yourself with a misplaced object.

This all sounds like it could become a little overwhelming and slow down the platforming action you’re after, but it simply doesn’t. The mechanic works intuitively and makes sense instantaneously, with the complexity of its uses ramped up appropriately throughout the game.

You’ll also gain abilities to slow down time, punch objects to send them screaming through the air, and swap gravity in increments of 90-degrees at the flick of a joystick. These new mechanics are doled out with expert pacing. Just as you think you’ve seen all you can do with a power, you’ll learn something new, and your world (literally) will flip upside down.

I lost count of the number of times I audibly yelled, “Oh, no WAY!” to myself in my bedroom.

These powers do come and go throughout the game, and you don’t always get to use everything at once. But again, this works amazingly well, and allows each specific level to have a different gameplay twist for you to master as you go. When more of your abilities do become available at the same time in the latter chapters of the game, you’ve mastered everything, and putting it all together feels incredible.

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While there’s no combat in the game at all, the platforming is much more than just Point A to Point B traversal. You’ll dodge bouncing mini-suns, narrowly avoid perfectly timed hazards, jump through portals, freeze objects midair to create a pathway, solve dozens of environmental puzzles, blow up explosives, launch yourself like a pinball off of laser beams, and much, much more. I lost count of the number of times I audibly yelled, “Oh, no WAY!” to myself in my bedroom with each new awesome moment.

A Mesmerizing World And Vibe

It will take you precisely two seconds to notice that Bionic Bay is absolutely gorgeous. Start to finish, the game is filled with striking colors and mysterious sci-fi designs that prompted me to just stop and stare at what was happening on my screen throughout the entire five or six-hour journey.

Look closer, and you’ll realize that this game is actually pixel art, and, holy cow, it is some of the best I’ve ever seen in my entire life. This style is noticed most easily by the scientist protagonist you’re controlling, but it’s truly shocking to see the level of detail achieved with this art style in the rest of the game’s design.

If you’ve previously played Badland, you’ll notice an obvious comparison art-wise to this game most prominently. This is for good reason, as the main developer of Bionic Bay was the designer for it as well. While Badland looked wonderful too, Bionic Bay is such an insane and impressive step up in every possible metric. It’s amazing stuff.

Every single level you’ll encounter is stunning…

The story here is pretty abstract—a group of scientists accidentally blow up a giant, alien-like egg, and you’re seemingly the only survivor in the aftermath.

From here, most of the information is conveyed with environmental clues along the way, though there are a handful of diary entries from fellow scientists you’ll discover that give incredibly interesting answers to some of your questions, while masterfully giving you more bread crumbs of knowledge to constantly motivate you to keep moving forward to learn more.

Every single level you’ll encounter is stunning, ranging from oppressive factories, to beautiful outdoor sections, to fever-dream-like collections of floating brains. From a color perspective, the game is split up by a color theme—first red, then green, then blue. I was always on the edge of my seat to see what beautiful, haunting area I’d end up in next to match this style.

Truly, Bionic Bay is a masterclass in mood-setting and vibe-creating. I kept wondering if the initial love affair I was having with the art-style and tone would wear off by the end of my playthrough, but it thankfully never did. This is a true testament to just how well-placed every single pixel is in this title.

The work has clearly been put in to optimize this thing to perfection…

The soundscape flawlessly complements the visuals on-screen, mostly filled with eerie ambient noise that is highlighted sporadically by a perfectly timed sci-fi-sounding groove, or a poignant piano melody. This is one of those games I recommend playing with a good set of headphones to really immerse yourself fully in the top-notch presentation.

From a technical perspective, Bionic Bay ran perfectly for me with no crashes, frame drops, or wonky animations. For a game so focused on physics-based puzzle solving and movement, this is particularly impressive. The work has clearly been put in to optimize this thing to perfection, which goes such a long way in a game built on precision and fluid movement.

Particularly Difficult, Exceptionally Fair

Here’s where I may lose some of you, but have the rest of you frothing at the mouth to jump into Bionic Bay. The game is pretty difficult. Generally speaking, this was perfect for me. I love a good challenge, and this game has it in spades. The level of precision and timing you need to survive many a section is pretty intense, but always feels amazing to overcome.

If a higher-difficulty platformer scares you, don’t lose hope yet. Checkpointing here is extremely forgiving, typically respawning you on the same screen you perished so you can jump right back in and try again. There are unlimited lives, and you’ll never lose much progress at all.

There aren’t many games out there that make me feel as smart as Bionic Bay.

You will die in this game a lot, but you will always know why it happened and will learn how to approach your next effort more intelligently. Even when you know how to progress, it can still sometimes take several attempts to execute the exact needed movements, but it also feels so good when you nail a particularly tricky section and get to move on to your next challenge.

A lot of Bionic Bay is about precise timing and platforming, but it’s also heavily focused around a nice healthy dose of critical thinking as well. At a certain point, each new challenge you’ll face also starts to feel like a mini-puzzle. If that doesn’t sound like it’s for you, don’t dip out quite yet.

Every single instance where the game stops your momentum and requires you to use your brain, again, feels intuitive and expertly planned out. There aren’t many games out there that make me feel as smart as Bionic Bay. Each movement puzzle is just enough of a curveball to test your mind for a moment, then hit you with an immediate dopamine rush for figuring it out. It’s always rewarding.

I had so many genuine “Aha!” moments as I played Bionic Bay, stuck momentarily before wondering if the physics and my abilities would work together in a certain way for me to progress, then finding out I was right. Experimenting and finding the correct solution feels so freaking good here, and the amount of options that Bionic Bay gives you makes it feel like you’re coming up with your own unique way to succeed in the world.

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There came a brief moment several levels into the game where I thought I had kind of wrapped my head around everything Bionic Bay was going to throw my way, but I was so glad to be proven wrong. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, a new puzzle idea or type of movement is introduced to challenge you once again in incredibly smart and satisfying ways.

One last additional cool thing to highlight in this area is the game’s wonderfully helpful way of teaching you all the mechanics and ideas you’ll need to master in order to make it to the end of the story. There are seamlessly integrated tutorials in-game whenever you come to a section that requires a new ability or way to think about a challenge.

A holographic projection of yourself will demonstrate the required action, and button prompts will also show up that highlight the exact time and location on-screen you need to input the prompts yourself in order to succeed. It really is user experience perfection, and shows once again how much effort was put into making this game as accessible and smart as possible while also being a true challenge of your skill.

…a flagship example of teaching and guiding a player every step of the way…

Heck, even the options menu is awesome. If you change your control scheme, you immediately get to try out your new settings in-menu just to make sure everything is handling as you prefer. This is not a necessary inclusion, but it’s such a nice, user-friendly idea.

Bionic Bay is not for the faint of heart, but it still wants you to succeed. It’s never mean for the sake of being mean (though some deaths are hilariously rude), and is a flagship example of teaching and guiding a player every step of the way until the mechanics of the game are muscle memory, and you’re ready to conquer whatever comes next.

Built For Speed

If you’re a perfectionist or someone that’s interested in speed-running, Bionic Bay is absolutely going to be up your alley specifically. Each level is simply begging for the ideal route optimization to be figured out and executed. I can’t wait to see what players more talented than I will do with this game when they get their hands on it.

To be sure, fumbling your way through every level is a viable option, and you’ll have fun going at whatever pace you choose, but the point stands that the movement in this title is so fluid and precise that it’s going to be a genuine treat for those of you that dream about setting new personal best splits in every game you play.

I’m no speed-runner myself, but I still found tons of enjoyment in zipping through sections as quickly as I could, nailing jumps, and narrowly avoiding hazards by the thinnest of margins. The devs have noted that they built this game with speed-running in mind, and it absolutely shows while still managing to be tuned and balanced perfectly for more casual players as well.

The game also features an online component that doesn’t need to be there since it’s already so good alone, but it’s an amazing bonus mode for players nonetheless. I didn’t get to mess around with it too much since I played before launch, but what’s here seems like a blast.

Here, you’re able to customize your own scientist and then compete against other players to see who can complete sections of levels the quickest. There are leaderboards to aim to topple with player ghosts to pace yourself with, or you can test your skills against other players in real-time, frantic-looking races.

I’m not sure how much time I’ll personally spend online, but for those that want to make things a little more competitive, it’s a cool mode that I can see people sinking a lot of time into as new challenges and races populate on a regular basis.

Bionic Bay is a truly special platformer that is wildly creative and endlessly smart. Each new section of gameplay is a mini-puzzle that utilizes the game’s movement and powers extraordinarily intuitively, leading to continuous rewarding solutions that encourage players to think outside the box and bend the world’s mechanics to their will. It’s a challenging side-scroller that will result in many do-overs, but checkpointing is perfectly placed to make each new attempt exciting and instantaneous instead of frustrating. Playing Bionic Bay is full of constant “Aha!” moments to the extent I haven’t experienced since my first time playing Portal in 2007. The pixel art is breathtaking, and the world is full of ominous sci-fi mystery. Any fan of platformers that craves a game to push them to their limits will have plenty to love with Bionic Bay, and then can test their skills with a fun online component as well. It’s a must-play that left me wanting more, and is deserving of a spot on the list of best modern platformers.