Title: Biosis Developer: Concolor Games Platforms: IOS Universal Price: $1.99 ---
I've said it before and it's worth repeating: good games get buried all the time on the App Store. It's so easy to overlook a great experience. Seeing the few reviews and lack of attention for Biosis is pretty disappointing, because it's a fantastic game, in both its visuals and mechanical elements. The screenshots might make it easy to compare to something like Contre Jour or Cut The Rope, but I think that's unfair, since Biosis outclasses those games in terms of gameplay, visuals, and variety.
Biosis is a story of love in an otherworldy landscape. You control a small being, gathering enough plasma to resurrect his mate. And the landscape does truly feel otherworldy. The art style is key here. Biosis has an almost Giger or Cronenberg-esque vibe, a world that's just wet and dripping, organic, alive, yet gorgeous in its own way. You feel less like you're simply activating puzzle pieces but rather manipulating an alien ecosystem to your advantage.
This element of activity and life is present in the gameplay as well. While Biosis and Contre Jour share some similar mechanics in terms of linking to objects and swinging between them, Biosis is much more varied, with interactive creatures offering growths that push or attract, swinging cables, light bridges, cannons, retractable platforms, and more. Each creature also has a secondary function, and Biosis combines these numerous mechanics in various ways to present interesting puzzle scenarios. Magnetic creatures repel you when angry. Cable-like tongues can be drawn in. Light bridges can be sped up. Having to activate and deactivate these creatures and switch their states manually makes the act of playing Bios feel far more involved and interactive compared to similar games.
Biosis is not an easy game. Levels soon feature numerous creatures and an equally varied amount of hazards to avoid. The game becomes as much about figuring how to use all the elements on screen in conjunction as it is about enacting that plan, requiring tight timing and precision. Reaching the exit is hard; collecting the three plasma nodes (or four if you purchase the special Pro Mode) is a challenge.
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