Boti: Byteland Overclocked review

Robotic Cyberspace Adventure

Boti: Byteland Overclocked is an upcoming co-op 3D collectathon platformer that takes inspiration from the genre’s late 90s / early 2000s classics while also aiming to introduce its own modern twists. Enter a whimsical imagining of a computer’s interior cosmos and step into the shoes of the game’s mechanical protagonist, Boti! Following a critical system failure and a virus invasion, Boti will have to step into action in order to save Byteland and its inhabitants from absolute catastrophe. In this quest, Boti will be accompanied by two loyal “infobots”. The energetic, spontaneous, and emotional “One” and the cynical, somber, and more reserved “Zero”. Together, they will have to journey through a wide variety of dream-like cyber-themed locations full of wacky cutesy characters, secret sections, and of course, countless collectibles: from common MB points to rare “Botcoins”. Visual presentation is one of the game’s most impressive highlights.

The cheerful art style, the colourful landscapes, the wacky character designs, and the fluid animations, are all ingredients for a quality modern collectathon platformer. When combined with creative environmental design and carefully thought-out level design, these ingredients become catalysts for a highly amusing adventure. What also deserves praise is the sound design which in my opinion was absolutely excellent and enhanced both the gameplay and the world itself. There were two other components that contributed to a livelier world and a more engaging journey. The game’s professional voice acting and the cheesy pun-obsessed humour which was, to my surprise, fantastic at times. While both can feel slightly tiresome at certain moments, they are overall well-implemented and provide an additional layer of charming wackiness to an already absurd world.

The Unlikely Resurgence

In recent years, the gaming community has witnessed what can only be described as the unlikely resurgence of a seemingly outdated genre. The 3D Platformer collectathons of the late 90s and early 2000s were entirely a product of their time. This is because the design choices that shaped the genre's fundamental character were defined by the technical options and limitations of the era. As a result, one could view the original collectathon titles as nothing more than a transitional phase for the 3D perspective in video games. It is now quite apparent that this would be an incorrect assessment. Not only have many of the original classics (such as Spyro and Crash Bandicoot) received critically acclaimed remakes but a wave of new games has swept both the Indie and AAA realms. In the Indie scene, titles such as Kao the Kangaroo, Hell Pie, and of course the highly renowned A Hat in Time, have ushered in a new era for the genre. An era defined by its delicate balance between traditionalism and innovation.

This was My first observation in Boti: Byteland as the game aims to maintain a harmony between the old and the new. First of all, the game does a wonderful job of reconstructing the feeling of adventure and curiosity that its classic predecessors were defined by. As it is well known, the original 3D platformers were less about platforming and much more about exploring and collecting. Boti: Byteland is able to cleverly implement these traditional loops of open-ended exploration and zealous hoarding of collectables to the journey it offers. Traversing the world, discovering its hidden corners, and unearthing its peculiarities are all well-coordinated aspects of Boti: Byteland’s core gameplay loop. The result is a delightfully enjoyable adventure with the consistent ability to induce a sense of nostalgia to players such as myself who had experienced the genre’s original titles when younger. However, Boti: Byteland is not content with simply reconstructing a lost “golden age” of colourful collectathons that many loved decades ago.

While the game manages to capture the classical feel that many relish, it still wishes to innovate and reach greater heights. It is able to partially achieve that goal through both fresh ideas and unique variations of older concepts. First of all, central to the gameplay experience is the inventive use of magnetism. Boti is equipped with two antenna ears that have the ability to either pull or push certain objects. By itself, that mechanic sounds simple and quite barebones. But when combined with smart ideas and excellent level design it becomes a vehicle for both energetic movement and engaging puzzle-solving. Another part that I found enjoyable was the game’s unique twist on sliding segments. Sliding sections are not an original conception but nonetheless, the game is able to craft them into something cleverly distinct. By carefully borrowing elements from rhythm games, Boti: Byteland places you on a fluid musical downstream that becomes a surprisingly addicting game of its own.

Crisis in Byteland

There are undoubtedly numerous elements that one can praise in Boti: Byteland. The balance between nostalgic charm and modern ideas. The great and colourful visual style. The whimsical world and its fun inhabitants. The engaging movement system and its clever uses throughout environmental courses. And more. However, when perceived as a whole, Boti: Byteland does not feel very special. It is an overall pleasant and consistently enjoyable adventure but that’s it. There never seems to be a “high point” for the game and there is no particular aspect of the experience that seems to stand out as exceptional. The journey that Boti: Byteland offers is one that does not feel particularly memorable or noteworthy. So, while I do believe that a great number of players will very much enjoy the game following its release, I doubt that many will be talking about it in the near future.

Another significant downside that needs to be mentioned is the game’s technical dimension or at least parts of it. There were quite a few bugs that I encountered during my playthrough and there were numerous visual issues. These included blurry textures, graphical elements not loading properly, messy particle effects, and much more. It is obviously a shame to have these kinds of issues in a game where the visual presentation is a highlight as they often overshadow the true extent of the creator’s craft. Further general polish and careful refining of graphics-related systems would allow for a much smoother and more enjoyable overall experience.