I like platformers a lot, and some time ago, I played the Bionic Bay demo and have thought about the game ever since. There is something about a game that hits the hard sci-fi and introduces a bunch of platforming and puzzle solving that really gets me going.

OBVIOUSLY THIS WEEK IS BIONIC BAY

Bionic Bay is a puzzle platformer from Psychoflow Studio, Mureena Oy and Kepler Interactive. The game was released in mid-April for the PS5 and PC. The game retails for $20.

Bionic Bay starts off with loads of scientists analyzing a mysterious egg and getting teleported to an alien place. We don’t know what to do or have any objective, but getting out seems to be the priority. This world that the player navigates is truly a mysterious place; the only true indication of where we are is in the backdrops. The backdrops make sure to tell the player at every turn that this place was used for manufacturing something large and deadly, leaning heavily on the sci-fi side of things. The player has been transported to an alien industrial complex that encompasses other environments. Players will move through sections dedicated to making weapons, an incinerator where molten debris is flying all over, and a dark, grime-filled sewer area where machinery is discarded.

Bionic Bay throws all of its chips into exploration, platforming, and puzzles, which it excels at greatly. Bionic Bay tells the player very few things, but never does it tell them how to play the game. Bionic Bay prides itself on allowing the player to explore and travel their own path. Sections usually have the player traveling to the right or to the left, but getting to the end of each section requires a lot of platforming. The platforming is grueling, forcing the player to judge incredible distances and the tiniest platforms that stand between the player and certain death. Death never really feels bad because the save points are quite forgiving, allowing the player to die and be only a few steps behind.

With that freedom comes a lot of experimenting with the puzzles in Bionic Bay. Puzzles are witty, and they make you feel good when completing them. The planet section where the player has to maneuver an object around lasers while platforming in the correct sequence is a top-tier feeling. The freedom when encountering the ice laser section that incorporates a magnet and the ice to properly platform upwards while slowing time is an absolute *chef’s kiss* section.

What makes all of this possible is the physics and the elasticity that the protagonist has which allows him to survive longer falls and bounce around the map like an absolute ragdoll.

Finally, Bionic Bay gives the player a few abilities to play around with, like the ability to change places with objects, slow time, and a super punch, all tie the gameplay together.

The art design gets me all giddy. I really enjoy it. Fans of Limbo and Inside will be at home here with the side-scrolling and the insane sense of scale. Bionic Bay is a dark and the use of light and shadow creates such beautiful moments. The sheer sense of scale just adds to the already beautiful nature of the game. An enormous hand or even large rotting unfinished robots hang in the background, perfectly captured as you platform past them, amplifies the sci-fi aesthetic.

It is still surprising how gorgeous the 8-bit style is in Bionic Bay from Juhana Myllys (Mureena).

Bionic Bay perfectly captures the dark sci-fi feel, and the audio design does not disappoint for even a moment. This world is lifeless, and the only sounds are the screech of metal and buzz of sawblades manufacturing the machines displayed in the backdrops. Jumping and landing on hollow pipes, TWANG that reverberates, and hearing the factory at work brings the world together so well.

Bionic Bay is, I think, one of my favorite platformers ever. The seven hours I took to roll credits were by far the most fun I have had in a long time. I was trying to show everyone just how fun it could be. I held my breath when making an almost impossible jump, and sighed with relief when I made it, or laughed at how incredibly short I was. Bionic Bay is never frustrating; it is always fun.

Bionic Bay is nothing short of a phenomenal game already on my list of top 10 this year. It is an absolute must-play.

9/10