Bionic Bay review – Limbo on Fast Forward

Platformers as a genre may have peaked generations ago, but every now and then, they still manage to surprise even us, old-school gamers, with fresh concepts and ideas. If you break down their core gameplay, there weren’t many groundbreaking mechanics, but the design, atmosphere, and overall vibe were off the charts - plus, a few creepy surprises didn’t hurt. So, is Bionic Bay any different?

Bionic Bay Review - A Beautiful Sprint Through Darkness

It’s clear that Limbo and Inside inspired the developers at Psychoflow Studios for their new moody platformer, Bionic Bay. And now that we’ve seen a few of these, maybe it’s time to give this subgenre a name—something like "creepy high-contrast platformers with no clear narrative?"

Bionic Bay sets an ultra-minimalist tone from the get-go, dropping you straight into the action without a single line of dialogue or a tutorial. You’ll catch a brief glimpse of a disaster unfolding - possibly involving scientists studying some strange object—and then you're instantly thrown into a strange alien world where the eerie platforming begins.

There’s no text, no exposition, just pure gameplay, which brings back that primal retro feeling of being taught how to play a game solely through its design. Still, a light form of tutorial does emerge later on: a ghostly version of your character demonstrates new moves, button prompts are clearly marked, and some text-based lore drops in out of nowhere later in the game—reminding us that, yes, this is still a 2025 indie title.

The main character, presumably a scientist (that isn’t Gordon Freeman), initially moves so sluggishly that you might think you’ll be stuck dragging yourself like a zombie for the entire game. But that’s just the game messing with you. Almost immediately, you gain a superpower that drastically boosts your agility, and from there, the action only ramps up.

Imagine Limbo, but the kid is a Shaolin warrior—leaping high, rolling through the air, nearly flying with each launched jump. With ledge grabs, trap evasion, and level design that will spark nostalgia for players with decades of experience, Bionic Bay evokes classics like Flashback and Oddworld.

But the added speed and agility add a fresh, almost speedrunner-friendly dimension from the beginning. As you progress through the clearly segmented linear levels, you’ll unlock more powers, like teleportation and time-freezing. These powers are fun, sure, but they’re far from original. It feels like a “greatest hits” collection of indie platformer mechanics—none of them particularly new, but enjoyable nonetheless when combined with the game’s moody tone and faster pace. It’s fun but not revolutionary.

Bionic Bay is Pretty, Creepy, Quick, and Kinda Confusing

The strongest aspect of Bionic Bay is undoubtedly its visual presentation. In an era where AI-generated art is becoming the norm, it’s refreshing to see hand-drawn backgrounds that clearly took time and effort. That said, despite the impressive environments, the game doesn’t seem entirely sure of what it wants to be visually.

The mechanical, abandoned backgrounds are excellent, but the protagonist is a tiny pixel-art figure with extremely simple animations, almost reminiscent of old-school Adobe Flash games. His ragdoll-like movement feels cheap and clashes harshly with the beautifully crafted backgrounds.

There's no doubt this game was designed with the Steam Deck in mind—or perhaps even the Switch, should it ever get a port - but the character is so small and often poorly lit that playing on a larger monitor or TV is a better option. A colleague who played the PC demo mentioned occasional performance hiccups, but I didn’t encounter any technical issues during my PlayStation 5 playthrough.

You’ll die - a lot - but the infinite lives, near-instant loading times, and well-placed checkpoints help reduce the frustration. That said, frustration is still part of the package, especially in the second half of the game. Thankfully, the game handles explosive chaos well, animating every mine-triggered blast smoothly without dropping frames, which is crucial for a title built around fast-paced trial-and-error gameplay.

Final Verdict: Above-average indie platformer

At the end of the day, gameplay and fun are what matter most, and Bionic Bay delivers on that front with a demanding single-player campaign and a highly challenging online speedrun mode where you can race against other players’ ghosts—and even customize your pixel-art scientist. Where it stumbles, though, is in the area that trips up many indie games: balance and pacing. Some ideas feel underdeveloped, while certain levels overstay their welcome and would’ve benefited from tighter editing.

The game’s vibe, while occasionally brilliant when the visuals and music align perfectly, can also feel completely directionless, like the awkward decision to throw in basic textual lore every five or six levels.

Sometimes, less really is more. Had the developers embraced that philosophy, Bionic Bay could’ve been something truly special. As it stands, it’s a slightly above-average indie platformer that might be more fun to watch someone else play than to play yourself.

For more game reviews, check out the AI Limit Review and the BLEACH Rebirth of Souls Review on Pro Game Guides.