BIOMORPH was provided by Lucid Dreams Studio for review. Thank you!
One of the first few platformers that really got me into the genre, other than Mario, was Kirby—specifically Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland. Being able to jump around and fight enemies was awesome, but what really got me into it was the ability to copy. It was so cool running around and just sucking people up, giving us a chance to use unique skills like hammers, swords, martial arts, laser beams, and more. So, when I saw BIOMORPH, and it was described to me as Hollow Knight meets Kirby, I was immediately intrigued. And I am so glad since I found my time with it enjoyable, even if a little frustrating at times.
There is a lot that BIOMORPH does incredibly well to make it a great addition to the Metroidvania genre. First, we have the atmosphere. The team did a great job making a broody yet appealing world that I was curious about exploring. While it wasn't as stylized as other games in the genre, it is filled with intriguing set pieces, enemy designs, and a variety of locations, making it a worthwhile world to venture through. The soundtrack is great for keeping things pumping without overdoing it on sound, and it was nice to sometimes just sit back and enjoy the beats.
BIOMORPH's story is also quite fascinating. You play as Harlo, who has woken up with the loss of their memories. You will learn bits and pieces as you progress through the main quest, learn about Eny and Zeki, your two floating robot partners (who act as your hands), and discover why you were on a mission to destroy the place you woke up in and try to save your friend Kleio. As you progress, you will discover powers you have, and this is where the game gets very good.
We have the main quest, which has you going through the world to activate outposts to get back into the vessel you woke up in, but there are some side quests as well to keep you engaged for longer. One of them will see you continually going back to the first town you go to and build it out for other passive perks. It's a nice change of pace, and it's always nice to have more content.
The gameplay is outstanding. Yes, it has very similar features to other Metroidvanias like unlocking new abilities and backtracking, but the way it handles the former is fantastic. Taking the inspiration from Kirby, you will be able to "Biomorph" and take the form of enemies that you kill. In that form, you can utilize their unique abilities, which can include projectile balls and emitting clouds of smoke, with some of them even giving you access to new areas that could be blocked off by obstacles you couldn't get around before. I also love that if you absorb enough of an enemy, you can equip their ability for use without killing the creature first, and upgrade it.
In addition, you will be able to use a variety of melee and ranged weapons, three of which are equipable at any given time. You can also equip yourself with Mementos, which will give you new passive abilities. Adding all of this together with the fast-paced combat, which teeters on the souls-like genre a bit, and dodging ability, keep it engaging and strategic to an extent.
While I do enjoy the combat, I did find some situations with enemies and boss battles to be aggravating. There were a couple of times that I felt my death was unwarranted, or I died from a boss that took a third of my health with each hit. I also wasn't a fan of the fast traveling system, which you need to manually enable at each save point by upgrading them. I also wish I was able to change chips and Biomorph abilities while being away from these save points, but I don't mind this as much in the end.
At least BIOMORPH is quite playable on the Steam Deck!
BIOMORPH is a peculiar game when it comes to Steam Deck performance. While it runs very well in most of the areas at 60 FPS, there are a couple, like bigger towns, that will start to dip slightly as you run through them. It isn't a lot, but it can be noticeable. So, to mitigate this, I recommend reducing the framerate and refresh rate to 50. This keeps it feeling smooth while also getting rid of any slowdowns.
I decided this would be the only build for the game since it does reduce battery drain quite a bit and doesn't really have any other settings that could be changed. It still runs and plays well, and I wouldn't say it's noticeable after a couple of minutes of playing at 50 FPS, so I am pleased with it.
There aren't a lot of settings that we can change in terms of accessibility in BIOMORPH. You can change language, toggle minimap and vibration, change audio sliders, and change keybindings.
The game supports 16:10 resolutions, so there are no black bars, and it does have cloud saves and gamepad support! However, there are no HDR settings.
BIOMORPH is a fantastic Metroidvania with souls-like combat that incorporates some interesting mechanics to make its combat stand out. It has a great setting and story, but the Kirby-like gameplay, where you can assimilate and take the form and abilities of other creatures while using them to destroy enemies or get past obstacles you couldn't before, is fantastic. It an feel a bit hard at times, especially in combat, but it's a great time overall. And even though it has weird slowdowns from time to time in bigger maps, it plays extremely well, and I can't recommend it on Steam Deck enough!
Our review is based on the PC version of this game.
If you enjoyed this review, be sure to check out the rest of the content on SteamDeckHQ! We have a wide variety of game reviews and news that are sure to help your gaming experience. Whether you're looking for news, tips and tutorials, game settings and reviews, or just want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, we've got your back.
BIOMORPH is a great Metroidvania with some wonderful Kirby-like combat mechanics that keep it feeling fresh on PC and Steam Deck.
