Bonelab Review

Have you ever wondered about the possibility of a game that reaches the cusp of true world physics? Stress Level Zero has you covered with their new game Bonelab. Due to its functionality, Bonelab has the potential to be a game changer. This piece will cover what truly changes the game from its engine, modding potential, and the lore behind what happens within the chamber of Bonelab. To begin, let’s talk about what really makes the game, its engine. 

Stress Level Zero’s latest outing runs on one 1Marrow, of the world’s best designed game engines. Game engines allow for game developers to easily manage how a game functions, from a falling rag doll character to a wall asset. The virtual reality component in 1Marrow allows for entirely new original physics games. This allows for even better immersion than previously thought possible. From climbing up a wall using your crowbar as a hook to wielding a massive sword, the power of 1Marrow allows developers extraordinary possibilities.

Another interesting aspect of Bonelab is the mod support.What makes Bonelab truly different from its predecessor Boneworks is the potential of user generated mods. What this allows for is almost limitless potential, with multiple different characters available for play with different stats and attributes. There are even many different worlds to explore and traverse and many props to manipulate. The graphic quality of the game is also one of a kind, as it is able to run on Quest 2, which is optimized for mobile hardware.

The last thing that Bonelab does right is the story behind everything—the lore. The lore of this game goes beyond the game’s story to connect to the worlds in other games produced by Stress Level Zero. From a baseball appearing as a doorknob showing the connection between Bonelab and Duck Season to old characters appearing like Arthur Ford from Boneworks, Stress Level Zero has created a universe of games. What truly blows my mind is the story behind the mods, as everything we can become in Bonelab from the DoomSlayer from Doom to Kratos from God of War are truly canon in the game story. These are just people like you and me who had an idea and birthed it into existence because they wanted to clean the slate and build a new world, like how lava in real life creates a new slate and the world has to build anew.

 For me, this game is the start of something new, just like how Nintendo made Mario back in the 1980s. I feel like we have reached that within this industry and am excited to see more from Brandon Latch and Stress Level Zero.