Biped PC Review
Biped is a cooperative-focused platforming puzzle game and a joyful little experiment in teamwork where two players, local or online, are tasked with working together to overcome sets of wonderfully unique and evolving challenges. Initially the only real hurdle is getting to grips with how the developers obfuscate the players’ control of the characters by having each leg of their cutesy robot move with a respective analog stick. This makes even walking a little awkward, flitting between flicking the left and right controls in order to comically wobble in the general direction of the next objective. From there it gently ramps up to paths that only a certain bot can walk on, with each player having either the square blue or round pink one assigned. Still though, it continues to slowly ease the team in with platforms that change colour on each step, forcing the party to time their movements between themselves. “Pink, Blue, Pink, Blue”, they might whisper out loud to themselves to help keep rhythm, idly thinking that it’s not too difficult and they’re actually doing quite well but now the platforms are moving and there’s an obstacle in the way, “can you walk any faster? I need to move, quick! aaaaaaahhh… I fell”.
Just like that it all changes and, as each stage introduces more mechanics then starts to interlace them, Biped actually becomes quite the trial. I think it’s already pretty obvious that I enjoyed my time with it and a lot of that is down to the sheer cleverness of many of the puzzles and how they continually pushed the boundaries of what I thought could be done with such a simple premise. Sometimes the players are tied together, allowing them to swing from each other like pivots, and other times they have to cross crazy-shaped see-saws. There are platforms that require a certain amount of ‘feet’ on them to work and giant cylinders that must be carefully balanced on to rotate at a steady and manageable pace. All of that sits on such a basic tweaking of movement and works perfectly in conjunction with a multiplayer experience, as the subtleties of the navigation become more clear in concept but incredibly more complex in practice, where they require the reliance and trust of another person.
It’s not a perfect experience, however. I think the problem most people will have is the brevity of the game and whilst, yes, I would have liked more, I didn’t see it as too much of a problem myself. The A and B side pro challenge stages alone do a lot for that, as they break out each location’s specific mechanics and build on them even further, especially in terms of difficulty, to really test the players. Then, on top of that, each stage (including the pro challenges), also contain a number of stamps to be earned for going above and beyond. There’s a time-trial, a death ‘par’ to come in under, a multitude of stars to collect; that are often themselves placed precariously within the levels’ challenges to up the ante, and a ‘harmony’ score; that grades how well the team worked together. Of course the temptation of tackling these badges of honour may vary but we ended up going back for every last one of them, just because we enjoyed it and wanted a little more. I’ll take that to a game outstaying its welcome any day.
Still, the poorly tacked on story and recurring pieces of weak design often interrupt gameplay and constantly irritate. Whether it’s meaningless and unskippable dialog that repeats over and over when restarting in pursuit of a time-trial, or an oddly placed bit of scenery that a platform flings a player into instead of the next area, killing them and ruining a decent run. Sometimes it just feels clunky. Many things could just do with a little polishing up, such as moving away from a lever that the character’s foot keeps getting attached to, or when a platform detects it has been touched when the guide on the ground assured that that wouldn’t be the case. Small quality of life issues that become mountains in the heat of a difficult challenge, when there’s no time to spare or step that can be taken back.
Even with these nicks it’s nethertheless a lovely cooperative experience that seems to be perfect for right now, as we’re all trapped in our little pockets of the world. Biped might be just the thing for a couple who are finding the distance trying, or for connecting with a friend you’re missing. Don’t let the pleasant art direction or merry soundtrack fool you, though, it’s childishly charming yet devilishly demanding – those challenge stages don’t take it easy! Make sure not to give up if it turns out to be a little harder than expected. There’s a nifty solo mode to practice in and I’ve found it’s a game that generally rewards mastery in small chunks as one overcomes each of its elegant mechanics. I wonder if that playful creativity is a part of NEXT Studios’ ideation culture or if it was just a fluke, I guess I’ll have to go find out and I can only hope to find more in a similar vein.
