BIOS Reviews

The concept of the game looks amazing, and the graphics are reasonably well done. However, I'm surprised at the performance. I have an i7-6700k on liquid, 32gb of DDR4, and a gtx 1060; all WELL beyond the recommended specs. And I still experience some pretty severe drops (the game auto-detects me to ultra, but even cut all the way down it doesn't perform very well). For a game that is entirely about speed built on an FPS, having such poor optimization is a very difficult thing to overlook. I also question some of the level design choices. Granted, if the game performed more smoothly, and the aiming was cleaner, it might not be as frustrating, but I had difficulty forcing myself to play through as I just wasn't having fun through the performance issues. Eventually I just couldn't bring myself to do it any more. I'll keep an eye on the updates, and keep it installed, as I really want this game to work well. It looks like a great concept. But it's not a good game yet.

From what I have played so far, I can tell you that this game is a very unique experience. The game is an early access, FPS shooter. There are currently three gamemodes, Strike, Anamoly, and Coop. The game is a test of speed and skill as you try to complete each level as fast as you can to earn higher medals. The levels aren't a walk in the park either, they are all very challenging, and if you don't have the patience to repeatedly play levels over and over to get the highest medal, don't buy this. The graphics are very nice. They are above average for a game like this, and compliment it nicely. The game has many graphics options which affect the performance. On a mid-range machine on high settings, I get around 50-60 fps. No complaints there. The level designs are very cool and are part of the reason the game is so challenging. The levels are a decent size, but usually very narrow, or make you go in a narrow path. The constrictive environment makes the game more difficult, and I personally really like this idea. Strike involves levels with robotic-looking enemies with guns and turrets. You have to run through the level as quick as you can without dying. Pretty straightforward, but can be difficult. Anamoly is my personal favorite, but unfortunately doesn't have nearly as many levels as Strike. You have to run through the constrictive environments as quick as you can while trying to fight through a horde of zombies. Difficult, but fun, and the zombies are very cool. I have not been able to test Coop due to the lack of players. Will update when I try it. The developers seem devoted to the game, and I have no problem giving them 15 bucks for this game, it's worth it. They are committed to making the game the best it can be, and appreciate feedback. Updates aren't too far apart from each other, and add a decent amount of content. This game has a lot of potential, and the developers know that. Things that I think would be great for this game: A co-op zombie mode, where you fight waves of zombies until your team dies. I would personally love to see this. Steam Workshop to allow people can share levels. Map editor, a tool to create and share custom levels via Steam Workshop. Custom gamemodes, it'd be cool for this game to be able to have user-created gamemodes like Garry's Mod. Campaign? Not sure if there are plans for this or not, but it would be cool to have a story driven campaign mode for this game. Weapon customization, weapon and health pickups on maps, and explosive weapons (RPGs, grenades). Overall this game is great, and if you want to support it in its alpha stage, then buy it.

I'm really surprised by this game. I was hesitant because of it being EA even with the sale price of $12, but I'm definitly glad I picked it up. Pros + Solid Gunplay. In the way they handle, sound, and the shots feel like they've got a good amount of weight to them. + Graphics are really well done and I would say look to be fairly on par with most AAA shooters. + Music fits the frantic nature of the game style. + Quick reset when you complete a match or die is great when you're powering through trying to get the fastest time. + The levels are very well designed and thought out. Also, the variety of the level themes is very nice and makes each one very distinct and have its own feel. Cons (with this being EA, most of these are suggestions that could be fixed before the actual release) - The name... BIOS? More like, "hardest to Google game title EVER!" Searching for this online is near impossible and brings up almost entirely unrelated results. Obiviously they can't change it at this point, but geez, whose idea was this? - The menu. I don't know, it just looks ugly to me. Having all of the options up at the top is something I've mostly only seen in F2P games. Needs to be rearranged and polished. - No option to change the color of your crosshair. Seeing how it's white and all the enemies are white as well, it's a bit hard to keep track of sometimes. - Your character sometimes slides when you're trying to stop or change direction, usually when strafing. I've noticed this only seems to happen in some levels, like the one with all the freight containers. There are other things I could mention (would be nice to have a rewards/progression system, story, extra content, etc...)but from what I've heard they're working on it. Overall though, great job guys! I look forward to playing more and seeing what is in the future for this refreshing twist to a genre that really needed something new.

The Gameplay is so Unique. I honestly didnt think i would like it but i did. The game is actually really optmized (on most levels) considering my PC isnt that great. I wish they would add in a Story though. 8.5/10.

[i]BIOS is a first person shooter (FPS) with racing elements. Complete a course from start to finish as fast as possible by dodging lasers, obstacles and multiple stationary and mobile enemies. The game is currently in early access (EA) and may be subject to change, I will give a report of my experience only at the current time (25th December, 2015).[/i] [h1][b][u]Design & Art[/u][/b][/h1] Design of the game is solid. Menu is clear, [u][b]graphics are above average.[/b][/u] Weapons and emenies are detailed enough. If you take a closer look though, you'll start noticing bland environments (container levels... really?) plus washed-out textures. Fortunatly, BIOS is not here to be a graphical masterpiece, you are set in a virtual reality setting, visuals do not need to be highly appealing. [u][b]For what the games main focus is (its gameplay), BIOS is doing its deeds in terms of graphics.[/b][/u] [h1][b][u]Controls[/u][/b][/h1] The game is controlled by [u][b]input via keyboard and mouse.[/b][/u] If you played any FPS in the last century, you will have no problems whatsoever. [u][b]Sadly, no controller support exists until the day of writing this review.[/b][/u] [h1][b][u]Sound and Music[/u][/b][/h1] BIOS features a [u][b]nice electronic soundtrack[/b][/u] which makes you feel engaged and pumped for its gameplay. Musical backdrop has been selected wisely and never sounds enervating at a time. Guns, enemies and environmental sound effects seem standard and solid. Overall, the sound of BIOS feels fitting for its virtual reality setting (techy and electronic). [h1][b][u]Gameplay[/u][/b][/h1] [u][b]The game revolves around one simple goal: Reach the end of the course as fast as possible. Shoot your way through or dodge and run, it is your choice.[/b][/u] BIOS lives through its [u][b]trial-and-error principle,[/b][/u] you need to try courses multiple times in order to find the fastest way to the exit. [i]'Do I really need to shoot this enemy? Can't I just go around him? Is he doing too much damage? Am I too exposed if I take this way?'[/i] The game wants you to remember its courses, it wants your muscle memory to work. Remember where chokepoints and enemies are, build patterns to move and remember them. Find pauses where reloading will not hinder your advancement. Leaderboards to compare your times on different courses are included. Trials are sorted by difficulty. Classic zero to hundred healthbar with a slight autoheal included (probably one health per second). You can take a fair share of damage but not heal so fast, stopping you from simple run & dodge. Nice! Next to the standard time-trial courses, you can also choose to do a [u][b]zombie-course.[/b][/u] Clear an area full of zombies and reach the end of the course as fast as possible. [h1][b][u]Weakpoints[/u][/b][/h1] With the premise of fastest completion time comes great limitation: [u][b]Tubular levels[/b][/u]. Now I understand, that these need to be in order to make it fair for everyone (shortcuts would help those who played longer) but with tubular environments and multiple tries to complete said designed courses eventually comes boredom, at least in my opinion. BIOS makes one thing right in terms of animations: Sprinting. It feels good and realistic. Unfortunatly, and everything following is what ultimately ruined the game for me, all other [u][b]movements feel off, weird or outright wrong, strafing being the worst. [/b][/u] I cannot turn my character precisely at a hairpin curve. Increasing my sensitivity did not help in resolving the problem. Jumping feels lifeless, I cannot tell if I made it over a floor laser safely by guessing my position. Aiming is just the same, thanks to the weird mouse behaviour. I crashed into walls more often then I would have liked to (don't get me wrong, I played multiple FPS before and they had great movement controls). [u][b]No tutorial. This is a BIG letdown.[/b][/u] In a genre, which I never played before, yet is not that new, I need to have the option to get adjusted to the controls, because the controls are a BIG PART of how fast I can complete a course. Simply throwing me into the first normal difficulty mission will NOT do. I cannot figure, why a 'Zombiemode' had made it into the game even BEFORE a tutorial was added in. Completely unbelievable. Oh yeah, also: Zombies. I hate them. They are overused and old. I do not want them in this game, and I think the game does not need them, they feel like they just need to be there, because... zombies. [h1][b][u]Concluding Thoughts[/u][/b][/h1] [i]I gave BIOS a hard time and I'm sorry for that, because I liked the games core idea. The premise is completely awesome, I was drawn in the second I saw the trailer: 'Cool, a FPS that doesn't focus on multiplayer gameplay. Count me in!' But I figured I may have bought this game out of the wrong intentions, thinking that BIOS focuses less on multiplayer FPS aspects, yet I came to the conclusion, that the game is in its core a racing game with shooting elements. Like I said, the controls are the aspect that ruined the experience for me. If there is no precise aiming and comprehensible movement, I can't have fun with BIOS, which ultimately relies on exactly these functions. No recommendation at the current time, even if it is early access. I expect controls to be comprehensible, even in early access. Don't forget: EA means, the games CORE FUNCTIONS stand completed! Just wait for some development, better input and controller support and you may have my recommendation.[/i]

It had so much potential, but now it sits here BROKEN without any indication of it ever being finished, let alone patched. Sadly, I can only recommend avoiding this game, as it has only gotten worse, then forgotten about. FUCK EARLY ACCESS!!!

While the concept of the game is interesting and fun. The game is super broken(especially with turrets and damage) which gives unfair experience for players. Shame devs gave up. https://oddshot.tv/s/ycCCTm

I usually don't buy Early Access games. Reasons are plenty and some of you have probably exprerienced some of them yourself, so I'm not going to go deep into that. This game however (I'm happy to admit), proved me wrong. As always, for those who like their reviews short - TL;DR is at the bottom [h1] Let's dive in to positives: [/h1] [h1] 1. [/h1] BIOS is as simple as a brick yet very deep at the same time. It tries to be a 90's old school hardcore no bullshit shooter and it plays and feels like one. It's very easy to pick up and play but quite hard to really master. [h1] 2. [/h1] There is no story to speak of, just you, Finish line, enemies in between and a timer. Based on your success, you'll be rewarded with one of the 4 possible medals be it bronze or platinum. Devs are talking about implementing some kind of narrative elements to it, so some kind of story could be available later. #storymodeconfirmed (ha ha) [h1] 3. [/h1] There are 21 challenges and 3 anomalies spread across 8 different environments to run & gun through. Environments vary from industrial complex, training facility, subway tunnels, ports and parking spots. Maps are short in length but highly replayable, well made and balanced. Enemy placement is great. You actually have to learn and memorize their placements and attacks to succeed, so when you die, it's usually your own fault and not some cheap enemy spawn behind your back. [h1] 4. [/h1] To counter this, BIOS needs tight and responsible controls, and they are. Mouse controls felt weird to begin with, but some fiddling in settings helped. Keys are few, and completely rebindable to your preference. [h1] 5. [/h1] Graphics are nothing groundbreaking but they do their job pretty well. Lighting and explosions looks great and some environments are destructible, even though I can honestly say that you'll probably be too busy to notice since game is so fast paced. I know I was. There is a lot of graphic settings you can fiddle with to make it work. [h1] 6. [/h1] Sounds and music are superb. Guns sounds really great and punchy, while music is kickass and fits the setting and theme well in my opinion. [h1] 7. [/h1] BIOS is also surprisingly very well optimized and runs smooth as butter on my relatively old PC. I have played it for a few hours and except for a few FPS drops on 1 anomaly map, haven't experienced any bugs or glitches. [h1] Now with the negatives, but remember, this is Early Access, so things could be changed in the next update: [/h1] [h1] 1. [/h1] There are only 3 guns (SCAR, M4 and AK with some variations) in this game and they feel completely the same (except SCAR have 20 round mag while M4/AK has 30). At least they did for me. You also can't change your loadout since guns are tied to specific maps. Like this M4? Can't have it, since this map only spawn you with AK! [h1] 2. [/h1] Animations are simple and feels a bit unfinished. [h1] 3. [/h1] As said before, maps are small, short and can be completed in 2- max 10 min each, with heavy emphasis on replayability. If you're not into that kind of thing, you'll run through it in 1 hour flat and be disappointed. [h1] 4. [/h1] This game is also pretty challenging, as in you die really fast if you stay in one place for more than 2 seconds. To be honest, this game is built for mostly hardcore players, so it's not for everyone. Yet I personally think that some enemies need few damage tweaks, since some places are extremely hard, because enemies melt you before you even can react to their presence. [h1] TL;DR and/or conclusion: [/h1] BIOS is a very fun and addictive game, and I'm having a blast playing it. It's fast, it's challenging and it runs extremely well for an Early Access title. It is at the moment a little bit low on features but, developers seem dedicated and more content is in the works, like progression system, guns, maps, coop etc. Hopefully, full release will be even better, more action packed and even more enjoyable. I almost can't wait :)

Never known a single player game have such a huge input lag on key press. Ever wiggled the A and D keys? Impossible on this game, pressing a key results in (maybe a minor) but very noticable lag which makes any fine motor movement impossible

If you made speedrunning into its own game, it would be BIOS. The game is punishing, yet fair and has nearly flawless level design. You're forced to make choices like "Do I run through the lazers to save time, sacrificing half my health in the process?" or "Do I slowly clear this room of turrets, or do I make a break for it, hoping none of them finish me off?". The game is even fair when you die, there's no annoying death animation, you just get a game over screen and a slow-mo first person view of your death so you can see exactly how you screwed up, and it only takes 3 seconds to go from death to retrying the level. The levels don't have any BS like hidden turrets or enemies that can hit you but not vice versa, it's designed for you to go as fast as possible while killing as fast as possible. Currently, there's only about a dozen or so people on the leaderboards on the harder levels, which is a shame. The amount of content already available for such an early in development game is astonishing, and the music is fantastic. The best way for me to describe this game is as if Super Meat Boy were an FPS.