BioGun

Review

The Dooper Virus is about to wipe out the beloved canine, man's best friend, into extinction. Many pharmaceutical institutions have tried to develop vaccines, but they have failed. The superbug has been relentless since the start of the Pet-demic.  Its origins took years to be found. When all hope for our canine friends was about to vanish, one researcher was still working on a vaccine to save his dog and what was left of dogkind. He believes that his vaccine project, named BioGun, will be successful. Be ready to fight the superbug along with other bad cells, as you are about to be injected into the researcher’s dog to destroy the Dooper virus.        

BioGun is a twin-stick Metroidvania platformer game developed by Dapper Dog Digital and published by Ravenage Games on the 17^th of April 2024 on the Steam platform.

I have played this early-access game for 17 hours, and encountered at least 10 mini-bosses, one of three big bosses, activated 11 out of 40 missions, explored five of many areas, and I’ve still only completed 30% of the game! The game is challenging from the start and runs exceptionally well.  The developers have been releasing frequent updates, four since the game was released. This is an excellent early-access game with a super-devoted developer team. Being early access, the final version will likely be different to what I have played so far. I hope they keep working in this current direction because it is brilliant.

So, after viewing the introduction, you'll be injected into the dog as a vaccine named Bec, who looks like a little pig in half a scuba diver suit. At the start of the game, Bek will have one primary and one secondary gun. Of course, she will have access to other weapons as she explores new areas of the dog's anatomy and defeats bosses. But in a nutshell, primary guns can be used constantly, while secondary weapons need atomic energy to dispatch projectiles. Yes, those secondary weapons are more powerful, but when the atomic energy is depleted, you can no longer use them until you refill the gauge, which is part of the larger syringe icon on the top left of the screen. Some of these secondary weapons will also be needed to open doors or destroy solid obstacles that restrict Bek from accessing new areas, but I will let you discover all of these by yourself. Bek will also be limited in terms of ability at the start of your playthrough with a dash and jump. Very early on, she will not be able to access platforms because they are too high or too far apart, but don't worry; she will receive new abilities as you go along. Yes, you'll have to go back and forth in this game.  

This brings me to the game presentation. The artwork is unique, and you feel that Bek is exploring different parts of the dog's organs, each with its specific appearance. The levels look like caves that are joined to each other by arteries that act as doors. And yes, each level will combine caves and larger zones to explore, and there will be many things to discover: chests, collectibles and NPC's to chat with to unlock missions. There are also nervous system rooms on some levels, represented as metallic tubes that look like a tree; you can attach these yellowish spheres (three of them) called Sypnases and then you’ll be able to see important locations on the map.  The map will show you specific items for your missions, boss fights represented as an octopus icon, where the bio-shops are located to purchase new goodies, and the atomic station where you can see Bek shower to regenerate her health and save her progress. Some of these atomic stations can be used for fast travel. The map will also show you where the different enzymes can be found. There are four types of enzymes you can activate: the atomic enzyme (which will keep regenerating your energy), the bright enzyme (which will light up dark areas), the bile enzyme (which will allow Bek to swim in bile without losing health), and the blast enzyme (which will destroy enemies and cartilages when it explodes).

You will encounter different enemies and obstacles as Bek explores new areas, and don't forget to shoot at the walls and ceilings, as you might find secret rooms with chests or dooper eggs to shoot at to collect globs which you need to purchase items from the bio-shops. Every time you kill an enemy, it will drop a couple of globs.

I have enjoyed the boss fights and their different attacks so far. Of all the bosses I have encountered, only a couple were straightforward, while the others gave me trouble and took me more than a few attempts to beat. The worm that was shot out from the bile and dispatched projectiles at Bek was the only boss that had one attack. The others had three different attacks, all randomised. The last one, Came Leo, had seven attacks, including electrical obstacles such as wiring on all surfaces. That was tough but fun! What will be next, Bek and I are wondering?

The artwork is stunning, the soundtrack is fun and suits the game perfectly, and the game runs really well for early access. You can play BioGun with your mouse and keyboard, but I strongly recommend using a gamepad. The controls are super tight, and playing this game is a pleasure. And for the initial price point, you get plenty of hours of gameplay and content. If you like challenging Metroidvania, this game is for you. For me, it is a little gem! The only issue that annoyed me was dropping frame rates in some areas and at the start of some fights. I am sure they will fix that quickly.

Review written by THE CPT FROGGY for Zeepond.com

BioGun Steam Store Page