Visually appealing, with an intriguing premise centered around a sci-fi plot, Biomorph emerges as a standout in the Metroidvania Platforming genre.
Following the story of Harlo, it quickly becomes apparent that this peculiar character suffers from a memory lapse regarding the events leading up to waking from cryo sleep in a mysterious spaceship. Upon reuniting with his friend, Kleio, the adventure begins to free him and uncover the mystery surrounding the area where they landed and why they ended up there.
Although the story is linear, it allows for a journey filled with unexpected allies, flashbacks of small memory fragments, all encapsulated in charming little cutscenes.
Harlo’s combat system is quite captivating. It is highly responsive to controls, features satisfying combos, and offers a plethora of interesting attack combinations, allowing each player to tailor their gameplay style to a specific build. This is all thanks to the Chip feature, which can be discovered throughout the adventure or purchased from a specialized shop, each with its own unique ability, including ranged attacks and more. These Chips have a cooldown period, preventing infinite use. Additionally, there are Mementos, which are passive abilities offering benefits like healing, critical damage, and increased damage, among others.
The most interesting concept of Biomorph is directly tied to its name. Inspired by Kirby-like mechanics, where it is possible to acquire the abilities of others through enemy absorption, in Biomorph, the main character can also absorb the DNA of monsters and control their abilities, whether they are offensive or mobility-related like higher jumps to reach elevated areas. Another intriguing aspect of this mechanic is the ability to become stronger in a specific monster’s body the more times you capture its DNA, allowing for the freedom to transform into that form with the press of a button.
As with all Metroidvanias, there are many areas to explore, and many of them cannot be accessed until certain abilities, in this case, monster Morphs, are acquired. Another interesting aspect is the premise of repairing the city to unlock new areas, giving a sense of community to a zone plagued by sad news and serving as a refuge for a pair of interesting characters.
Unfortunately, the boss encounters are not memorable enough to mark a significant point in this adventure. Once you recognize each one’s attack pattern, it becomes tremendously easy to adjust your combat style.
Biomorph exudes a special charm. From its animations, cutscenes, characters, to its engaging combat, it becomes an experience that will delight fans of this genre.
