Bionic Bay

Creative puzzles and physics-based gameplay in a stunning environment: For those looking for a creative platformer, Bionic Bay from Mureena, Psychoflow Studio and Kepler Interactive is an option worth considering.

Bionic Bay casts players in the role of a scientist stranded in a mysterious and ancient biomechanical world, full of strange technology and deadly traps, in stunning and highly atmospheric pixel art.

It's a pixel platformer that's all about running, jumping and dashing, with physics-based gameplay and hand-crafted levels that use mechanics such as The Swap (swapping positions of objects via teleportation), Time Freeze and World Rotate to manipulate the environment and overcome hazards at every turn - from shifting gravity to swapping positions with objects and enemies to move, defend or attack. By rotating the entire level by 90 degrees, the game also plays with perspective, with objects in the level toppling over - or players can use Time Freeze to avoid or redirect shots from turrets to destroy specific objects that would otherwise block the player's path or provide cover. There are also creative ways to interact with the objects in the levels and solve the puzzles. And yes, the player will die quite often, but this is not really punishing at all.

In addition to the single-player story mode, the game offers a test of skill in timed races against other players' ghosts to claim the top spot on the leaderboards - a typical speedrunning competition. This online mode is regularly updated with new events, but to master all the mechanics and fluid movement, it is best to play through the campaign first, as the online mode quickly becomes more difficult.

Bionic Bay was developed by two independent game companies: Mureena and Psychoflow Studio. Mureena is Finnish solo developer Juhana Myllys, who is responsible for art and design. His previous projects as an artist and designer include Badland and Badland 2. Psychoflow Studio is a Taiwanese indie game studio founded by two industry newcomers who handle the technical side of Bionic Bay. The publisher is Kepler Interactive, a developer and publisher that operates on a co-ownership model. And directly after Bionic Bay, the company will release Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, one of the year's RPG highlights, on 24 April 2025, before the 5v5 football game Rematch (made by Sloclap (Sifu)) launches in June.

Bionic Bay has been released on 17 April 2025 on PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam for €19.99.