Bioframe Outpost

A very interesting spin on the Metroidvania genre, with a focus on pacifism and learning an alien ecosystem. Rather than fighting enemies, you instead need to distract, scare, or otherwise avoid them. As you encounter new lifeforms, you can exploit knowledge of their habits to progress. For example, you could use the favorite food of an aggressive creature, to lure it to another one, causing them to fight each other instead of you. The main story has you combating an strange new infection which is taking over the station, and threatening the other people still in cryostasis. As you explore, you find records and research logs outlining that what happened to the station may not be as it seems. I'm a big fan of media that explores speculative ecosystems. If I had to compare it to another game, it reminds me a lot of 'Waking Mars', though with a greater focus on platforming and combat. I definitely recommend it. I received a free copy as part of a beta test, but I would gladly buy it again.

After playing a couple of hours I've started liking the game more and more. It's an interesting take on the Metroidvania genre of games, having a slower pace in order to encourage exploration, experimentation and observation to solve puzzles and avoiding enemies rather than fight them outright. Using the same Metroidvania formula, go take this key, acquire a new upgrade, head to a new area, the game opens up a lot more once you get the Jetpack and additional upgrades that help you deal with enemies and puzzles in new ways. The game is story driven, with great artwork. Players that are interested in the game lore will find that most of the environment props can be photographed to reveal more lore elements and enemy information. Definitely recommending this game if you you're a fan of the genre but want a more immersive experience as an observer.

Bioframe Outpost is a captivating experience, both visually and from a storytelling perspective. You are quickly drawn into this quirky world, which is familiar but with some key differences. The biggest is maybe the shift away from direct combat with the various lifeforms you encounter, instead you are guided to find ways to distract, counter, and learn about them by collecting information, which is largely done via a camera which can collect and collate data. This is really a large part of the game and emergent style gameplay takes a front seat as you learn about the different ways the creatures and obstacles act and react with each other. Secrets and alternative routes are also a feature that is highly touted although I've yet to complete consecutive playthroughs to discover a lot of them. The narrative is really well written as is all of the descriptive text of the hazards and objects you encounter. It feels like a rich and well realised universe, and this is enhanced by the beautiful ambient soundtrack. If you're looking for a platformer style game with a lot of replay value that falls outside the normal jump and shoot formula, this is worth a look. Editing to add - I'm playing this on Steam Deck and it's running perfectly.

Metroidvania with focus on creature interactions instead of direct combat. Often you have to find ways to distract or stun enemies to get to where you want to be. (Though you can freeze grenades to go on a direct offensive) Game has A LOT of flavor text that outright tells you what enemies do, but I had a chill time ignoring those and experimenting with creatures by myself instead.

Very interesting and unique mechanics, challenging but not rushed - very fun figuring out puzzle solutions. Recommended if you like exploration or puzzle games. (Received for free during closed beta testing)

Beautiful visuals in an expansive sci-fi environment filled with many deadly creatures and machines! The art style fits very well and the almost Manga like style for the cutscenes is perfect for this. A challenging but never unfair feeling game. The Ambient music by Milieu works so well here also. Very much worth playing in this expansive world!

Really engaging game, and it was fun to play through. The art style is kind of unique in a good way too. :) Wish the keyboard key remapping was a bit better, but maybe that'll improve in future versions.

Very cool and unique game, has many awesome mechanics and multiple ways to proceed through the hazards/enemies that are presented. The environments have been really well-done and it's world building is great, my friend and I have had a blast playing through it so far and we'd both highly recommend it!

Just plays too slow for me, not unlike [b]La-Mulana[/b], [b]UnEpic[/b], [b]Souldiers[/b] or [b]Batbarian[/b] did.

Totally digging the visuals. The camera scanning creatures and plants is super cool and adds a fun twist. You gotta figure out how all these creatures interact, which makes the gameplay even more interesting. Things get super fun once you snag the jetpack. If you're into metroidvania games, give this one a go.