---see where this game landed on my Metroidvania tier list beneath this review!--- Biomorph is like if Haak or Hollow Knight had a baby with Kirby. It's a quality release. The game is kinda easy , from the boss fights to the platforming. On top of your regular powers, you can morph into creatures that have powers of their own. You can equip 3 Biomorphs at a save point. It is mildly annoying when you are scouring the map for 100% and encounter a barrier that requires a specific Biomorph power, because now you're forced to run back to the save point to equip the correct Biomorph, then run all the way back and use it (And then possibly all the way back to the save point again so you can teleport to your next area to work on). 100% achievements is very easy to get in this game. The map updates to mark completed rooms, making it easy to keep track of where to look for new things. Completed rooms are surrounded in a Yellow border and that's a little harder to spot than say, if incomplete rooms had an exclamation point instead in games like Ender Lilies. Alternatively I wish the yellow colour that is used to surround the rooms could have had some more detail to stand out more. I was actually missing 1 collectable at the end of the game and I checked my map 10 times and could not discern the room that was incomplete. I eventually uploaded my map and another player was able to spot my incomplete room. Music and sound were fine. The only tune that really did anything for me was the sad and somewhat moody town theme (Which sounds a tiny bit like "No Man's Land" from Aeterna Noctis"). This comes down to me preferring melodic music that plays in the foreground, as opposed to gentler music that plays it safer hiding in the background. I much prefer soundtracks like Castlevania, Astalon or Monster Boy than the style that games like Biomorph and Ori use. To me its all just safe, subtle background music that doesn't really get me going. I won't speak in any detail about the story. There was too much dialogue for my liking that I just ended up skipping through it all (Game lets you skip it). I much prefer succinct and to the point with some quirkyness, which you find in games like Astalon. Here I will go on a tangent not specifically aimed at Biomorph because it managed to trigger a pet peeve of mine, just skip ahead past the italics part to get back to the review! {For me a story can elevate a game I like if it isn't making me swap from playing an action platformer to reading a novel and so in most cases: Games that don't have any dialogue are doing the story better for me. Explore map, kill main bad guy = win. I get it, and too much dialogue about it just feels like I'm reading someones attempt to convolute the storytelling process, like they feel they have to write a book or something, and I'm just not interested, it's not why I play action platformers. I'm not saying there can't be more dimensions to a story or that you can't have dialogues, but I don't want the action slowed down for too long because I bumped into an NPC somewhere in the middle of it and they have 20 text boxes to throw at me, it's an unpleasant interruption to the gameplay and in 95% of cases I just don't care what they have to say. I would even say that a compelling soundtrack and diverse areas do more for an action games story for me than dialogue ever can. It's the audio-visuals and area design triggering your imagination, with music that pulls at your emotions. Just like books can be: videogames are 'interpreted and imagined' worlds and stories that are much bigger in your mind if you are sold on it. Not everything needs to be explained or drawn to look realistic. I would pit Donkey Kong Countrys story over 99% of platformers that have characters speaking dialogue all the time despite barely having a story. I was more emotionally invested in Donkey Kong defeating King K. Rool and freeing his island and rescuing his monkey pals. I play other genres that involve a lot of dialogue, such as point and click adventure games, FMV games, RPG's, but that's not something that works for me in an action platformer. Another metroidvania that had me invested in the story somewhat was Depths of Sanity. Most of its dialogue took place between chapters (A role sometimes occupied by cutscenes in other games), while keeping it more minimalist and succinct during the gameplay sections.} ..So despite Biomorph not having a banger soundtrack, being very challenging or roping me in with its story, it is the best side-scrolling metroidvania that I've encountered this year so far. I rate my overall enjoyment a B+ , ahead of Rebel Transmute, Prince of Persia, Ultros and The Mobius Machine. It's just very well made and I enjoyed exploring its map. ===================== My Metroidvania Tier List (PC) (excluding Metroid & Castlevania titles) ===================== -Not an objective list, purely how much I enjoyed the games- S+ Aeterna Noctis | S Tier (Truly Special) Astalon: Tears of the Earth | Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom | Hollow Knight | S- Blasphemous 2 | Cathedral | A+ Afterimage | The Last Faith | A Tier (Amazing) Elderand | Ori and the Will of the Wisps | Doomblade^ | A- Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights | Depths of Sanity | Environmental Station Alpha | B+ Blast Brigade | Haak | Biomorph | B Tier (Really Enjoyed) Alwa’s Legacy | Steamworld Dig 2 | Islets | Blasphemous | After Death | Pronty^ | Mortal Manor* | Escape From Tethys | Outbuddies DX* | Monster Sanctuary | Elliot Quest | Rebel Transmute | B- Haiku, the Robot | The Mobius Machine | Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown | Ultros | C+ (Fun) Lone Fungus | Ghost Song | Death’s Gambit: Afterlife | Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night | Kunai | Kingdom Shell | Axiom Verge | Rabi-Ribi | TEVI | Treasure Adventure Game | C Tier (More or Less Enjoyed) Flipwitch | Infernax | Plague of Yamorn* | Column on the Sea | Jrago* | MF-01 Aerostrike^ | Laika: Aged through Blood | Xanthiom Zero | Carrion^ | Chasm | Wuppo | The Mummy Demastered | Momodora 4 | Momodora 5 | Catmaze | Castle In The Clouds | Omega Strike | HunterX | HunterX: code name T | Aggelos | Midnight Castle Succubus | Sheepo | C- (Meh) Ato | EldritchVania | Cookie Cutter | Elephantasy | Rusted Moss^ | Grime | Moonscars | The Messenger | Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth | Iconoclasts | MindSeize | Ebenezer and the Invisible World | Luna’s Light* | D Tier (Didn’t enjoy enough to play through) Castle In The Darkness | Alwa’s Awakening | RIN: The Last Child* | Pharaoh Rebirth | Yoku’s Island Express | Guacamelee! 2 | Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse | Beholgar* | Phoenotopia: Awakening | Insect Adventure* | Clunky Hero* | Headlander | Strider | Minoria* | Souldiers | Bone Appetit | The Witch & the 66 Mushrooms | Transiruby | Destroy Space Aliens | La-Mulana | Guacamelee! | 8Doors | Gato Roboto | Super Panda Adventures | E-Tier (Didn't like) Ex Vitro | Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap | The Weird Dream | Ginsha | Dandara | Vernal Edge | Blaster Master Zero | Medusa* | Lost Ruins | Sundered | Salt & Sanctuary | Valdis Story | Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet | Touhou Luna Nights | Chronicles of Teddy | B.I.O.T.A. | Shadow Complex | Timespinner | Rex Rocket | Aquaria | Nyaruru Fishy Fight | Apotheon | Future Fragments | Gungirl 2 | Bad Pad* | Chakana* | Lootbox Lyfe | Slavania* | Angel’s Gear* | Fearmonium | Magicians & Looters* | Tres-Bashers* | Dust: An Elysian Tale | =================== ^ = Mouse & Keyboard are STRONGLY advised. * = Very raw indie or contains some jank or lack of polish. ---------------------------------
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