BIOMORPH

Biomorph is a pretty good metroidvania that, while not without flaws, is definitely worth your time if you like the genre. It doesn't really do anything super noteworthy though so if you're not a genre fan you won't miss out by skipping. [h3]The good[/h3] + Exploration is top notch. The midgame objectives can be done in almost any order. There are plenty of collectibles scattered around, some you can get right away and some you can't. There are plenty of hidden areas you can spot if you're paying attention. Rooms you've found everything in get outlined on the map so you know where not to waste your time looking for things that aren't there, though this specific feature makes the dubious decision of including items given by NPCs during sidequests in the list of things that block the outline. + The environments are pretty, if a little video-gamey at times with all the levitating fans and spike blocks in some of the platforming sequences. The area themes are all distinct and make sense for the world. The world is large but it doesn't feel like any space is wasted or unnecessary. + Enemies are generally well designed, and the few that aren't great are mostly due to the options you have when you encounter them not being up to par rather than anything fundamentally wrong with the enemies themselves. [h3]The meh[/h3] ~ The game is a bit on the easier side, but not by enough that I'd call it a good choice as an introduction to the genre. ~ The story is kind of bland. The characters aren't very memorable aside from the disgruntled dishwasher robot. The most interesting things were the two big twists I predicted back in the tutorial, and even then mostly because one of those predictions seemed to be proven wrong halfway through but was actually correct all along. I didn't really find any of the endings very satisfying - [spoiler]a theoretically interesting moral dilemma let down by the final boss's opening monologue being cartoonishly evil, both of the normal options feeling largely the same, and the game also tacking on a have-your-cake-and-eat-it true ending which introduced a plot hole (final boss was about to die in the pink ending, but was fine in the true ending after getting beaten up even harder)[/spoiler]. ~ The music is fine. None of it really stands out and I doubt I'll remember any of it in even a couple weeks, but it did the job it needed to and sounded nice in the moment. There weren't any noticeably bad tracks if nothing else. ~ Enemies deal contact damage and some have faster windups than they should. The sawblade type enemies in particular are really annoying for the point in the game they show up at and the weapon options you have available at the time. ~ The bosses aren't super memorable. I'm writing this right after beating the final boss multiple times for the endings, and I only really remember three of the other bosses and it's mostly for things not directly related to their fights (the boss sawblade that was substantially easier to deal with than the mook version, "Bob the giant fly", and the amusingly disrespectful giant moth). ~ Your default heal cast time and heal meter generation are so bad that the mementos boosting them feel all but required, then the unconditional increased damage memento is also kind of a no brainer, and at that point you've already used more than half of the endgame maximum memento cap. A bunch of options that I thought looked interesting went entirely unused because of this. ~ The upgrade to add a fast travel menu option only serves to frustrate the player with how it was arbitrarily kept away for no reason at all. You start the game with a menu option to return to the last save point you used, and get the ability to convert any save point into a fast travel point during the tutorial. The fast travel menu option therefore only skips a few loading screens and animations, yet it's withheld until nearly the end of the game. This seems to be the result of post release QoL though, I've seen some older reviews that seem to imply the game launched with limited uses on your fast travel conversions and without the option to return to the last save point, and in that context the fast travel anywhere option would be a genuine reward. [h3]The bad[/h3] - For being the title feature, biomorphing is kind of underbaked. The enemies are always either less agile or have worse attacks than your base form, so you only ever use them to solve puzzles or deal with specific mechanics. There's never really any point in the game where you rapidly swap between forms, probably because you can only equip 3 at a time. The game does let you switch which morphs you have equipped at any time, but this is the only type of "equipment" that you can change like this, with the other types only being changeable at save points. As a result I spent my whole playthrough backtracking whenever I came across a morph-related puzzle without enemies in the same room, and only found out I could have skipped all that backtracking after I'd already 100% completed the game. Maybe I'm just stupid but I think this could have been clarified a bit better, especially since this seems to be another case of post-release QoL as old reviews mention you did have to swap morphs at save points. - If you're chasing 100% completion, which is one of the draws of this genre, you're going to be forced into money farming. Not only does this game have the soulslike drop money on death gimmick, the devs didn't put enough guaranteed money in the world to buy and upgrade everything even if you always pick up your bloodstains. This is after an economy rebalancing patch, so apparently it used to be even worse. - I didn't really like any of the choices for your main (i.e. infinite ammo) weapon. You basically have to pick between ultra short range (in a game with contact damage) or long windup. The best option is the phoenix, which is just a pure upgrade over the starting weapon but never really loses its downsides. - Subweapons are also not super great. The early game gun and spear saw by far the most use in my playthrough. Of the others my clearest memory is that I tried to use the cool death ray only to find out it can only hit each enemy once per cast, so it does comparable damage to something like the spear while being much clunkier and having much less ammo. I get the devs couldn't just let us no diff the final boss, but c'mon.

I absolutely recommend Biomorph. Fresh off the tail of a 66 hour Silksong playthrough, I was looking for another metroidvania to fill the gap in my soul, and I found it in Biomorph. This game is BEAUTIFUL. The 2D hand drawn style makes for an amazing setting and distances the visuals from other games in its genre. It gives the game an identity that makes it really stand out. As for gameplay, the game is more puzzle based than action, really. The bosses are nothing too difficult, and I was able to first or second try almost all of them with the exception of one (it was not, in fact, the final boss). No spoilers on the final boss, but I love its design too. The pink is very pretty, and the order and thought behind how the body looks makes it quite appealing. I wish we got some cool promotional art with such a thing, though it makes sense to hide it until the end. As for combat, there's a lot of different options for how you might want to kill your opponents. You're given a variety of options to choose from, being melee, distance, and minions. I personally enjoy a balance between melee and distance, so I settled for such a combo and was able to easily carry myself through the whole game with it. That's how I feel, but of course, every player will have a unique style, and I imagine there are many others who chose to go about their playthroughs differently. Onto the gimmick of this game! Biomorphing is likely what this game sold you on, so here's my review for it: there are so many ways to play with your morph forms that if you REALLY wanted to, you could probably finish the game while maining just one. It would make it significantly HARDER, but if you truly wanted to spend your entire time running around as a a toroth, you can! Each area is set up to require you to morph into a monster nearby, as each area has unique puzzles according to its local fauna and flora. You'll spend a lot of time swapping between forms, but you'll likely find a favorite alien eventually, and stick to it like glue. I personally loved the ombre blanche's for platforming, then developed an affinity for the sharpshooter alien to help me with distance shots. You can save alien forms and use them for boss fights too, which means so long as you know a boss's patterns you can fight them as whatever you'd like. The game does automorph you out of whatever form you pick when you leave an area, but you can morph infinitely back, so it's more a minor inconvenience than anything else. Basically, to summarize all of this, the morphing ability is versatile and fun, and the game is built around you utilizing it effectively, giving you lots of unique aliens to try out and get good with. Now, story. In my opinion the story was the weakest part of this game, but not because it was bad or predictable, I simply didn't like the endings. There are two, neither of which are difficult to get. The story kept me engaged right up to the ending, and I of course went for both of them. Just because I didn't like the ending doesn't mean you won't, so definitely go for it if you're interested. The story sees you chasing after your friend, who is trapped in the Core. You'll have to explore the whole world to get to them, though, so make sure that you pay attention to what's around you! There's a lot of NPCs to meet and be charmed by, and there's an entire town that you can build up and own a home in. Also, the collection quest here is cute kitties who purr when you find them, AND you can pet them. It makes them a bit more fun to collect in my opinion. Oh, and the game has a lot of quality of life features. I love that! You can teleport freely between save stations IF you so choose; if that's too easy for you, upgrading them is entirely optional. The game map will mark every quest location for you, so you don't need to blindly search every room looking for clues (and just because the markers are present, DOESN'T mean you'll find them immediately. I got very lost trying to finish Silas's quest). The game will also tell you when you've found everything a room has to offer, so completionists don't need to struggle looking at steam forums and wikis to ensure they've got everything. I was able to put Biomorph down for weeks and then pick it back up without issue. It respects your time, and as a working adult who really doesn't need my video games to be adding stress to my life, I can appreciate that. Overall, Biomorph is a great metroidvania for beginners and veterans alike. The difficulty isn't too bad, the gameplay is fun enough to keep you engaged regardless of your skill level, and there's lots to find in every room and even more to appreciate. I would absolutely recommend that anyone interested in this game buy it. The price is well worth the cost, and frankly I felt more fulfilled buying this game than I have any switch DLC in recent memory.

Excellent Metroidvania, fun powerups and Biomorphs, weapons (chips) accesories (mementos), excellent story without becoming a chore to go through it, I love that the map itself tells you that you are missing something from that room, without flatout telling you where it is, a lot of stuff to experiment with, also the fact that progression is completely linked to the Biomorphs you have collected, AND to obtain useful powerups and add ons. This game just became one of my favorites, i will buy the switch and ps version too, just to support the developers, can't wait for the sequel (that after credits scene on the true ending)

Неплохая метроидвания со своей интересной фишкой, которая, к сожалению, реализована не до конца и местами коряво. Как говорится, была бы средняя оценка, поставил бы её, но пусть будет лойс чисто за идею с трансформацией в других существ. + Главная фича игры — возможность превращаться в побеждённых врагов: либо прямо на останках, либо (после уничтожения определённого количества особей) по желанию. При этом вы фактически становитесь этим существом с его особенностями (например, возможностью плавать) и способностями (например, каким-нибудь крюком). Это очень интересное решение, которого раньше я нигде не видел, и местами оно работает отлично. + Визуал приятный; единственная претензия — иногда передний и задний план сливаются, и не всегда понятно, куда можно запрыгнуть, а что — просто декорация. + Очень хорошая локализация на русский, только во второй половине игры стали попадаться опечатки. = Фишка с трансформацией в монстров практически не используется вне мест их обитания. Интересная механика явно не дожата. = Боёвка неплоха, но не более. = Сюжет в целом весьма скучный, а некоторые побочные задания — это просто беготня от одного персонажа к другому по кругу. = В игре отсутствует чувство открытия, она практически не способна удивить. Например, пару раз я забирался в места, куда по логике не должен был, но в награду за старания в лучшем случае получал валюту или ресурсы для прокачки, а в худшем — пустой тупик, который открывается с другой стороны. = Встречаются ленивые решения гейм-дизайнера вроде невидимых стен. - ОЧЕНЬ. МНОГО. БЭКТРЕКИНГА. Чекпоинтов в некоторых местах откровенно не хватает. Если будете пылесосить карту для 100%, задолбаетесь бегать. - Способности совершенно не сбалансированы. Их, вроде, и много, но на деле я 95% игры прошёл с одним и тем же набором, который показался мне самым эффективным и универсальным. - Весьма странное решение — ограничить боезапас для дальнобойных атак. Есть реальный шанс в середине боя с боссом остаться без патронов. Гораздо лучше было бы увязать снаряды на какую-нибудь условную ману, которая пополнялась бы от ударов (как сделано с лечением). - Обычно, если для доступа в какую-то область нужен определённый враг (то есть его способность или уникальные свойства), он тусуется где-то неподалёку. Но есть несколько мест, где на всей локации нет подходящей особи (например, нужно проплыть через водопад, а зверюги, которая это умеет, на локации нет). В таком случае, если в вашем текущем наборе из трёх существ нет подходящего, придётся переноситься к чекпоинту, менять набор и пешком возвращаться. И вот таких мест несколько. Причём, разрабы прекрасно понимали, что игрок придёт туда в конце игры (поскольку нужная способность открывается поздно), но поставить поближе чекпоинт они, конечно же, не могли. - Музыка ну очень уж унылая и невыразительная. Немного про достижения. На 100% игра проходится за ~20 часов. Пропускаемых достижений нет, сложность игры не выбирается. Сложность ачив — низкая.

Yeah I think I've had enough. I think i'm halfway but I got burned out. Game is bland, switching forms is cool concept but in practice you only use the alternative creatures for solving puzzles and such. Grime and Ender Lilies did it SO much better. The story is not grabbing, the protagonist and his sidekicks spit out milenial boring dialogue, no other interesting characters. It's also VERY easy, only diff options is to make it EVEN easier. Bosses are easy, they have like 3 easily avoidable moves and die fast. That may be just me, but I want a bit of a challenge. Art looks pretty I guess. 4/10 overall SKIP

6/10分~ 化形战士~ 看到评分降低了预期，但是体验比预期的还要低，感觉很…差劲的游戏，6分及格分，是个类银，能玩，没有优点。 可能是最近玩了挺多优秀的类银类塞，导致这个显得太…廉价了…变形怪物的样子、拥有怪物的能力，战斗解谜，明明是超级好的题材，完全戳我xp（所以才会评分低而且贵还买他）也没指望他能像星之卡比一样吧… 但是各方面都显廉价劣质。 美术个人觉得没什么亮点，普通。 音乐？我一直开着bgm现在一点都记不得… 地图，这一点还不错 小地图上的观感不错~ boss，简单 技能重复，没有特色。 怪物，纯数值高…打一下半血，变形之后的怪物，基本上是用来能力锁，就是跑图，而且怪物技能就一到两个，极其难用，极其卡手，体型大一点的还卡头，技能间隔长不说手感还贼差，攻速慢，战斗的话只能用本体… 把一个非常绝妙的创意变成一个单纯无聊的能力锁，很可惜捏… 升级也是 毫无 卵用 的加攻击力 加技能使用次数（不是哥们，你没东西设计可以取消这个系统的…） 不过倒也不是不能玩吧，食之无味，但是不难吃，只是没有任何…继续推下去的…动力… 普普通通中规中矩的类银，如果你没玩过任何类银的话，这个还是蛮推荐入坑的（毕竟吃过好的可能就玩不下去这个了…） 也可能是经费不足吧… 这个创意，认真做，给每一个怪都给个正常（且独特的）攻击方式（比如：普攻➕技能➕特殊能力），再改改那毫无特色的boss…和莫名其妙的升级系统，凭借化形的游戏特色 也在再类银里占据一席之地捏~

It's an OK metroidvania with nice graphics but extremely unpolished. The design of various monsters, overall graphics and animations is the strongest suit of this game. The artists did a really good job. Level design is a bit lacking as it is sometimes not very obvious what belongs to the background and what you can walk/climb on. Combat is OK-ish but boss fights are just atrocious. Touching monster's hitbox hurts you even if you slightly gently nudge it with your pinky. It is often not clear where the hitbox even is when bosses come with various tendrils, cables and other appendages which are sometimes harmless and sometimes not. Because of this, simple movement becomes the strongest attack of the boss. That's just stupid. The full playthrough was very obviously never tested by the developers because I found SO MANY bugs during my playthrough that I stopped counting somewhere around 20. Being stuck in walls, falling through floors, seeing enemies walking on air or being half stuck in the ground... I wonder what the game had to be like when initially released 2 years ago. What a bugfest. Luckily I found nothing to prevent finishing the game, although most times I had to teleport to the last save point. What I really REALLY disliked about this game is the constant backtracking. In normal metroidvania you gather abilities which is true even here, but some abilities come from monsters you absorb. And you can only "equip" 3 monsters at a time. So every time you need a monster skill, you have to teleport to save point, equip that monster and walk all the way back, progress a bit and need to re-equip another monster. Uuuuuuggggghhhhhh. Hate this constant monster switching so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ much. Why can't I select from all the monsters I absorbed? Why do I have to constantly teleport back and do this backtracking dance 17 times in 3 minutes? What does that add to the game other than frustration? Another stupid design decision. Overall, the game is fine but would be much better without the annoying monster absorption gimmick. Buy it on sale.