Bionic Bay is a physics-bending sci-fi platformer that looks like Limbo via Portal

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"Up" is really a matter of perspective

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(Image credit: Future)

Bionic Bay just got a new trailer, and we're seeing the sort of casual disregard for physics and gravity that would make Isaac Newton curl up into a ball and start sobbing. 

Shown at the Future Games Show at Gamescom Presented by Sid Meier’s Civilization® VII and published by Kepler Interactive, the new trailer shows off the adventures of a silhouetted protagonist making their way through what looks like rusty junkyards, old factories and forges, and even running along the giant bodies of kaiju-sized robots. Er, those aren't going to wake up, right?

The immediate comparison is to the indie classic darling Limbo - a 2D platformer with a big emphasis on lighting and shadow - but there's also flavours of Valve's beloved Portal franchise and The Talos Principle, with the sci-fi setting and warping of physics, and the fast pacing suggests a speedrunning element beyond all of them.

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The two major powers we see the hero toying with in the new Future Games Show trailer are redirecting gravity and using some sort of teleport ability to swap himself with other objects - in the process avoiding lasers, molten metal, and a thousand other dangers. A simple drop through a chute becomes a twisting, omnidirectional form of flight, as gravity snaps back and forth to pull us in all sorts of directions. I hope the hero has a strong stomach - to say nothing of the moment where we see him leaping between missiles like he's Rico Rodriguez.

Bionic Bay is planned to release on Steam in 2025, but you can wishlist it and try the demo by going to its Steam Page right now.

If you’re looking for more excellent games from today's Future Games Show, have a look at our official Steam page.

Joel Franey
Joel Franey
Guides Editor, GamesRadar+

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.