Biped is a truly unique game that manages to feel like a Nintendo game at heart. That’s not an insult to any other game out there, but Biped has something special. There’s that mix of charm and delight that you find throughout the whole game that Nintendo has nailed down. Biped comes across as simple to learn, hard to truly master. Yet Biped manages to walk the fine line between being hard to master and being a true delight. In short, Biped is a truly special game you absolutely should play on Switch.
In Biped, you (and a friend, if you want) controls robots sent down to a colorful world to reactivate beacons. Sounds fairly simple, and it is. Yet Biped has a very unique control scheme that adds a unique twist to the game. You see, you control the character’s legs independently of each other. The left thumb stick controls your left leg, the right thumb stick controls the right leg. In order to move around, solve puzzles, or complete tasks, you have to master the simple task of moving.
Like I mentioned at the beginning, Biped is a truly special game because it invokes that Nintendo “charm” at its heart. It’s cute and playful, knowing that you will struggle initially with the unique controls. It’s true that the first level is very much trial and error, you don’t truly feel in control of your character till the end of the first level. Yet, like so many Nintendo games with unique controls, once you’ve made it past “the tutorial level”, the game opens up, and you finally feel in control. Another “Nintendo-like charm” of Biped is just the quality of the overall game. It truly looks and plays like a game made by a large developer who took the time to fine tune each detail. Again, this is not a knock against other games. Nintendo has that unique ability of making a game feel truly polished to a level a lot of devs don’t get to. Biped nails it, feeling like a truly complete, polished experience.
Biped excels at being a multiplayer game. I played the game both solo and with family. The game is totally fun to play by yourself, yet the game truly becomes a blast when you play alongside someone else. Coordinating with your partner to solve puzzles or figure out traversal makes for a hilarious time. Granted, it does take a game that is fairly easy and makes it much more difficult with a partner. Yet that’s just the fun of it. Yelling at your partner to move this way or that way. Laughing as you’re desperately trying to survive on a moving platform. The joy of Biped excels with co-op and is a can’t miss experience.
My biggest issue with Biped is how short it is. Playing this game alone, I was able to complete the game in just about 2 hours. With a partner playing co-op, you can probably add an hour to that time (trial and error increases with the number of people). That said, it just feels way too short. By the time you’ve truly gotten into the game and feel like you’ve gotten a hang of the controls, the game is over. Done. What’s worse is that once the game is done, there’s no reason to keep playing. Nothing besides character cosmetics (make your robot wear sunglasses or the like) to unlock. Those cosmetics don’t do anything for the game itself, so there’s very little reason to collect them all. Plus, there’s nothing more to collect in the game itself, nothing unlocks once you’ve finished. While I’m one that loves when a game finishes leaving me wanting more, I have to say for such a short experience, I feel disappointed. I wanted more of Biped.
That said, I really can’t say enough good things about Biped. Yes, it’s very short, but it’s also a blast to play. It only cost $15, so you’re not out a lot of money for a short experience. It’s a game that I totally recommend you picking up if you play alone, and you should ABSOLUTELY pick up if you’re looking for your next fun co-op game on Switch.
Developer: NEXT Studios
Publisher: Meta Publishing
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, PC
Release Date: 2nd July 2020
Gaming Respawn’s copy of Biped was provided by the publisher.
