Biomass is a beautifully animated Souls-ian Sci-Fi metroidvania adventure where you set out on a pilgrimage to a lighthouse at the center of a sinking metropolis.
In Biomass you take on the role of a mysterious stranger who is on a pilgrimage to the heart of a lighthouse in the center of a sprawling dystopian city that’s sinking into the water. The lore of the world and your character’s role in it is deliberately opaque, much like in the Dark Souls games, but you can piece together the story by chatting to NPCs and delving into the game’s secret areas.
The Biomass demo build features around 2 hours worth of gameplay, with a large area of the city to explore and some challenging boss fights to deal with. You’ll gather a variety of ranged and melee based weaponry on your adventure, but the first one you get is a nifty beam saber (essentially a Lightsaber in all but name), which comes in handy in fights against the various guards and bosses that populate the city. Save points are few and far between, but the game world is interconnected and you can open up short-cuts to make the journey back to where you died a little quicker.
Combat in Biomass feels a little Souls-ian too, with you needing to learn attack patterns and use your dodge-roll to get out of trouble. Each encounter is a challenge and even the most basic enemy can do some serious damage if you’re careless. Boss fights are especially challenging and each boss has a hidden phase that can be triggered if certain requirements are met, earning you a special reward if you manage to beat them.
Even in these early stages of development Biomass is shaping up to be a fantastic game. The pixel art animation is superb, the combat is challenging, the characters you meet are very intriguing and the scraps of lore you learn of the mysterious sinking city is fascinating. Highly recommended.
Check Out a Gameplay Video Here
Download The Biomass Alpha Demo Here (Windows)