Bite-sized Review:
Let Bions Be Bygones

By Chris Picone, 14 April 2024

Let Bions Be Bygones is a sweet new cyberpunk action game with a strong noir aesthetic. It's presented as a 2d side scroller - unlike point and clicks all hotspots are highlighted and there's no inventory or puzzles - but features a strong emphasis on dialogue and visual storytelling.

Aesthetics

Bions has a really unique look.  It's high quality pixel art, and is absolutely loaded with a mixture of both vivid detail and vague suggestion that lets you fill in the gaps.  Interestingly, the developers also aren't scared of zooming right in on some of the scenes, which often has a charm all of its own.  You'll visit a whole range of cliche cyberpunk & noir locales - the dingy office, the underground metro, the noodle shop on the street corner, the seedy nightclub, it's all there.  But: Executed spectacularly, it's all gorgeous and moody... with the exception of the voice acting, which is good for the most part but occasionally a bit over the top.

Gameplay

The game tries to present itself as a point and click but it's really more of a narrative adventure supported by strong visual elements that you can walk through and interact with.  Each location is its own scene you are free to explore; all hotspots are highlighted, preventing any pixel hunting or missed clues, but also making the game very linear. Which is a pity sometimes because the game does have a cool journal feature to track all the characters you meet and all the tasks you pick up along the way but ultimately there's no reason to ever refer to them.  Once past the start you're free to explore areas in any order you choose, which does open the game up but there are a few logic clashes that'll see you interacting with objects or trying to complete missions that you haven't actually gained any context for yet. Slightly jarring at times but nothing game-breaking. There are plenty of characters to talk to and because the story and all subplots are neatly interwoven you'll find yourself frequently jumping between the main and side quests more or less seamlessly as they feed into each other.  The story itself is excellent - it starts as the absolute most generic noir tale out there, but once you start digging in you'll be pulled along by all the twists and turns.  The writing itself - odd logic clunks aside - is also pretty good.  

Verdict

I feel like the developers might have released the game a little early - there are a few bugs still, the end of part 2's story is a little bit messy, and part 3 isn't available yet.  I'm hoping by the full game's available all the other little niggly bits will be solved as well.  Because this really is a memorable little game.  The characters are interesting, the story's interesting, the art's amazing, and it's overall been a very enjoyable experience that I think will appeal to any cyberpunk or noir adventure game fans.

Links: 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1347560/Let_Bions_Be_Bygones/