Bionic Bay Review – Delve Into A Biomechanical Universe (PC)

In the press kit for this review, the developer described Bionic Bay as a love letter to 90’s platformers like Another World and Oddworld, and I would say it certainly fits that definition. That being said, love letters of this quality can pretty much make up their own genre at this point. Though they play completely differently, it’s hard not to think of games like Limbo and Inside when playing Bionic Bay. This is by no means a dig at Bionic Bay, it’s a compliment. It wears its influences in such a way that it comes across as authentic and not some hacky gimmick to play at our nostalgia. The movement alone in Bionic Bay brings it near to the top of this ‘love letter’ genre.

Bionic Bay is the first game developed by Psychoflow and Mureena, but it doesn’t feel like it. Their other work involved making tool assets for the Unity engine. So right out of the gate, they show their chops as engine designers. Bionic Bay was also published by Keplar Interactive, the same guys who published Sifu, one of the best games ever made. Adding another title to Keplar’s growing library of fantastic games. I had the pleasure of reviewing a PC copy of Bionic Bay, but it is also available for PS5.

Bionic Bay is available on Steam or PS5 for $19.99 and $24.99 for the Deluxe Edition.

Story – Science Is Fun

Besides a quick opening cutscene and a handful of logs sprinkled about the game, the majority of the story is told through environmental storytelling. In terms of plot, there’s not much to speak of. You’re a scientist working on a mysterious experiment involving a large egg. Then you’re suddenly transported to some biomechanical dimension. Definitely feeling the Another World vibe.

You soon find an upgrade that lets you dash and jump really high, then it’s straight into fun platforming. Throughout the game, you discover what remains of your colleagues. They’ve usually left some upgrade for you that significantly changes the gameplay. That’s all there is in terms of writing, but the main progression happens as you explore deeper into this new universe.

Nothing but great platforming

A Biomechanical Realm

The imagery of this hostile dimension is brought beautifully to life by Mureena’s gorgeous pixel art. The inspiration from early Oddworld games is palpable. Every environment is dark and dripping with grit. Wholly alien; there’s beauty in the dirt, and they found it. But the true obscenity is how the physics progresses. Though you do have an avatar, the true main character of Bionic Bay seems to be the physics itself as it grows more mishapen throughout the game.

First, objects start teleporting around, then by the end, gravity itself is switching directions with no adherence to conservation of momentum. The way Bionic Bay abuses physics tells us just how alien this realm is. That our very fundamental understanding of the universe is being skewed. And it’s emphasised by the imagery.

You traverse large megastructures of both biomatter and machine, interspersed with moments of spatial serenity. Debris is strewn about every stage as if these megastructures are being torn apart by the tortured physics. The best part of environmental storytelling is that there’s no ‘telling’ at all. The real story is told through the gameplay.

The environment tells the tale

Gameplay – Limbo Meets Mario

In true Miyamoto fashion, Psychoflow looked at Limbo and asked themselves how they could make it more fun. In terms of the core loop, they nailed it. The basic movement is that you have a dash/roll and you can jump.

You can combine them into something similar to the roll jump from Jak and Daxter. But the way your character moves, the weight of him and the control you have over his jump arcs are so satisfying to platform with. It works well with any of the intricate level designs, but also makes all of the downtime bits more fun.

The speedrun potential is immense. At first, I didn’t like the way the main character’s body moved but most of the game is zoomed so far out that you can barely see him. I love this because it gives you ample time to respond to incoming platforming. But that’s just the movement, Bionic Bay’s shining grace is, of course, its physics mechanics.

It gets pretty challenging at times

The Physics

You can tell Psychoflow is versed in Unity physics tools because they have a plethora on display. They have portals, gravity shifting, time slowing, you name it. Early on, you’re given a pretty unique ability I’ve only really seen used in anime like Naruto and Jujutsu Kaisen. You can swap your position for specific objects you can designate. This adds so much puzzle potential, and they bring it to realisation. You feel like a genius when you get a perfectly timed and positioned swap.

One other mechanic I haven’t seen in a game before is their particular flavor of gravity manipulation. In most games with gravity controls, you have to hit a switch or go to a certain section to change the gravity. In Bionic Bay, the direction of gravity is mapped to the four cardinal directions of the right analogue stick. So you have complete freedom over which way the gravity pulls.

This makes for great cerebral stretching platforming. Coupled with top-notch level design, the physics mechanics are intoxicating and invigorating.

The core loop makes it so there’s no dull moments

Graphics & Sound – Dark and Ambient

There isn’t much to say about the soundtrack to Bionic Bay. It’s that same sort of ambient vibe we’ve grown to expect from this kind of game. While no tracks particularly stand out, the soundtrack does a good job of blending everything together into seamlessness and helps build the aesthetic. An aesthetic that is great for the most part.

Stellar Visuals

Good and Bad Aesthetic

Visually, it’s fantastic. The way the pixel art depicts this alien realm is captivating and does a perfect job of making it feel rich and unsettling. Mechanically, though, some important details are obfuscated by how dark everything is.

The sections I got stuck on, I did so not because they were tricky, but because I couldn’t see the switch that I needed to press or the lever I needed to pull. So I would try to come up with some convoluted platforming that obviously wasn’t the correct solution. It would just be annoying to randomly fall on the switch that opens up the next area and be like … great. I love myself a dark setting, but not when it gets in the way of the gaming.

The world almost feels alive

Overstayed Welcome

It should also be mentioned that it drags on a little too long, which is also a detriment to the aesthetic. The level design is great all the way through, so there’s no issue there, but after a while, everything starts to feel samey.

The environments do change with every level, and some stick out as fantastic, but they don’t change enough to make it feel fresh. This might just be a nitpick on my part, but I feel like it would’ve benefited a lot from being only a few hours shorter.

Bionic Bay was reviewed on PC with a key provided by Tinsley.