Bionic Bay Review
Bionic Bay is a very addictive puzzle platformer. The ingenuity is the equal blend of physics, puzzles and precision. The experience is engrossing due to a strong atmosphere, meticulous pixel art and bite sized levels with alternating abilities right up until the very last level.
Although the best atmospheric platformers rely on environmental storytelling with implicit and abstract meanings, unfortunately, Bionic Bay relies too strongly on this notion with extremely minimal morsels of plot. When you combine this with repetitive environments, occasional frustrations that could have been avoided, and a campaign that lingered barely too long, Bionic Bay comes up a little short from being an unforgettable genre experience.
Nonetheless, Bionic Bay is still extremely satisfying and unique despite competing in one of the oldest sections of gaming and is essential for genre fanatics.
WHAT IS BIONIC BAY?
Bionic Bay is a 2D atmospheric, precision puzzle platformer set in an intriguing ancient bio-mechanical world. Where Bionic Bay distances itself from genre tradition is by requiring precise skills in addition to requiring intellect to solve the puzzles.
You play as a scientist who was in the lab during an experiment that went catastrophically wrong. You now find yourself in a strange place that somehow feels ancient and futuristic at the same time. All you can be sure of is that this is another world, which isn’t a coincidence as the creator of Bionic Bay was largely inspired by platfortmers of the 80’s with Super Mario and Mega Man, which transitioned into more abstract platformers of the 90’s including Another World and Oddworld.
Bionic Bay is not only a love letter to those titles, but also an attempt to move the 2D platformer into the modern age with it’s introduction of a physics based system to pair with traditional genre elements. Over the course of the game you will discover otherworldly powers that you have inherited due to the laboratory mishap. By the end of Bionic Bay you will need to be as intellectually sharp as you are physically.
Movement might be built around running, jumping and dashing, but the brilliance of Bionic Bay is the skills that you possess over the course of the game and your ability to combine them that make the game feel bespoke
PUZZLE, PHYSICS AND PRECISION
Bionic Bay wouldn’t feel out of place among some of the early 90’s 2D platformers like Another World or Oddworld. The universe is deeply rooted in science fiction from its visuals to the score and the premise, but Bionic Bay doesn’t rely on nostalgia. Instead, the precision gameplay experience brings something new to the 2D platformer.
Where Bionic Bay truly feels elevated is the skills that you will possess during the course of the campaign and your ability to harness them properly. The pacing in which the skills are given to you over the course of the game is as precise as the controls are. You begin with a long jump to get acclimatized to the world before you are introduced to the main mechanic of the game, which is the swap ability.
With the simple press of a button, at your fingertips is the ability to swap yourself with an inanimate object which can help you get to some place out of reach or across a laser that is blocking your path. Part of the charm of Bionic Bay is experiencing the new powers for the first time, but you will also find yourself controlling gravity, time as well as using environmental items that feel reminiscent of Portal.
There are 23 levels that are short, addicting and feature a tunnel of light at the end of each one that is dopamine inducing. Each level is typically focused around one principle, which become more complex as the campaign progresses. The world of Bionic is rendered in highly detailed pixel art complete with intricate lighting, which subtly plays a vital role in your success. The ambient sci-fi inspired soundtrack elevates the atmosphere and the industrial and mechanical sound effects evoke a cold and dangerous world
You will often find yourself audibly shocked when you discover how brutally harsh this world can be and you will repeatedly discover this fact. Luckily, Bionic Bay not only features a sublime checkpoint system, but restarts are almost instant, which alleviate the stress and frustration as you want to constantly attempt to correct your failures.
It doesn’t affect the score, but it’s worth mentioning that Bionic Bay, a game that competes with titans of the platforming genre was only created by 3 people. One artist, which explains why the world has such cohesive vision and two programmers.
Not my cup of tea, but in addition to the single player campaign, Bionic Bay also features online play, which allows players to compete for the fastest speed run on each level and will need to harness of all the tools they have been given.
LESS IS MORE
My biggest disappointment with Bionic Bay is that the demo set the table for an engrossing plot that I don’t feel the full game delivered on. The world created is extremely intriguing, but plot details are too sparse and even the environmental storytelling leaves you wanting to understand more about this universe.
Some of the best atmospheric platformers like LIMBO, INSIDE and Planet of Lana burn bright with short completion times between 4-6 hours. At this length, there isn’t enough time to feel repetition, the experience is over before you know it and you are left wanting more. Bionic Bay, on the other hand took about 10-12 hours to complete the 23 levels and could have felt more impactful if it was slightly more refined. The repetition is echoed within the environments as well. The world is very mysterious and intriguing, but over 23 levels, massive pipes and lasers aren’t quite as poignant as they initially were.
The precision and physics system are the strength of Bionic Bay, but sometimes like a dual edged sword, it can cut both ways. Despite knowing what to do logically, you might have difficulty executing due to the unpredictable nature of physics. Perfect execution might be completely foiled by a laser or rock behaving differently from one attempt to the next, which oddly enough adds equal amounts of variety and frustration.
Other times frustration might arise due to the darkness of the world and how far back the camera is. Seeing the scale of the world is essential, but it can cause you to not see the small ledge that you need to grab.
VERDICT
Where Bionic Bay really sets itself apart from its peers is how the puzzles within require equal amounts intellectual prowess and dexterity. The experience harmoniously blends puzzles, physics, precision and mystery. Bionic Bay is dripping with atmosphere due to its gritty, yet beautiful pixel art and an ominous score.
With a stronger emphasis on storytelling, implicit or explicit, and a slightly more refined campaign, Bionic Bay could have had the lasting impact of some of the genre’s best.