Boneworks made massive waves in the VR community. It had an incredible physics engine and encouraged the community to exercise its creativity. Now, Bonelab seeks to dethrone the king of VR sandboxes. The question is: is it as revolutionary as its predecessor?
Bonelab: VR to the Limit
Once players start up Bonelab for the first time, they are dropped into the main campaign. Unlike Boneworks, that started players in a main hub area. This takes the form of a “fantasy land” where players must travel through dungeons and defeat skeletons, etc. before making it to the underground facility that will make up the bulk of the main campaign.
Players who are unfamiliar with Boneworks may need a little time getting used to some of the different game aspects at work here. So, the story mode takes on more of a tutorial aspect. This works well, for the most part. Though the “story” takes more of a backseat, in my opinion, I’m not sure if this is a result of focusing on gameplay, or if it’s more abstract to encourage players’ imagination. More interpretative stories have been very successful with the gaming community in the past, indie hit Inside, for example.
What really stands out here is the new feature of switching avatars instantly. Each avatar has its own strengths and special abilities. Although some of the abilities overlap, Bonelab gives you the chance to try out each one in specific, though short, “training” levels. Afterward, you gain the ability to switch between the avatars whenever you want. This will unlock new areas in the campaign and in the hub area, as well. In my opinion, this made a second playthrough much more fun. It becomes very clear that the developers want to foster a sense of exploration and improvisation.
Avatar abilities vary, from super strength to becoming smaller so you can fit into smaller areas or vents, or faster, taller, etc. Some of these abilities allow you to fight the enemies in different ways and encourage players to explore the different areas. They’ve even given us the ability to upload our own avatars.
Bonelab: VR Playground
While Bonelab does have a campaign, and players are “forced” to play a portion of it to access the hub, once unlocked, this main area becomes a safe haven and jumping-off point for the multiple sandbox sections. These spaces are the real draw in this game, letting players do what they want, even encouraging mods. It’s not often that a developer makes a decent game and encourages its fanbase to run wild with it.
Some of the experiences here are pretty fun on their own. Like a parkour area, climbing park, and even a bowling alley! However, despite how recent its release was, there are tons of mods already available online. My personal favorite is the “Mario Kart“-like mod for go-karting.
Bonelab is all about taking advantage of an incredible physics engine and play how you want. In the past this kind of developer freedom has lead to some amazing experiences. GMod, Player Unkown’s Battlegrounds, and even Minecraft to name a few. All it takes is a few ambitious modders and a spark from the fans and we could have the makings for a great side game.
Bonelab: Boneworks 2?
While Bonelab is an awesome experience that pushes what a VR sandbox can do, players should be aware of a couple of things. There isn’t a lot here that’s new from its predecessor: Boneworks. Reused enemies and assets populate the game. Even the weapons are mostly the same. That’s not to say that it isn’t a fun experience.
The campaign can take about 4-5 hours to complete, and the story leaves a lot to interpretation. While at least 1 more playthrough is definitely encouraged after all the avatars are unlocked, you shouldn’t come into Bonelab expecting a grand adventure. That’s not the intention here.
I think the true intention, and the most fun, is in the exploration, and creativity of the fanbase. While Stress Level Zero is going to be adding their own mods and new avatars over time, letting players add their own is what will give Bonelab its real replay value.
One major thing to point out is, Boneworks was not available on the Meta Quest headsets. Although some of us have been lucky enough to have a full VR set-up, it gets quite expensive. So, there is a large amount of VR users that play on a Meta Quest 2 headset, since it’s relatively cheap and gives players the option of using it with or without a supporting PC. Which means, Bonelab is the first opportunity for some of these players to see what Stress Level Zero can do as a developer, which is incredible. They’ve given us the tools to make some awesome experiences.
If you’ve played Boneworks before, you may not find a lot here surprising. For those who haven’t, it is an amazing way to see the potential of VR in a fun and creative way. Either way, I still strongly recommend it, as the community mods are sure to be something worth checking out.
