Identity crisis
Stress Level Zero’sBoneworkswasHalf-life: Alyxbefore Half-Life: Alyx released.
Technologically, its still very impressive, and noodling around with its massive interactive potential remains undeniably fun.
But it often feels like a lot of good ideas with too little connective tissue between them.
Also like Garry’s Mod, Bonelab is profoundly weird.
It’s an incredibly disorienting introduction, which depending on your perspective is either bold or counterproductive.
Either way, it sets the tone for Bonelab’s forward progression.
At first glance, this hub area appears to represent the sum total of Bonelab’s experience.
But beyond this is an entire campaign which Stress Level Zero chooses to hide behind an elaborate crane puzzle.
Into this experiential soup, Bonelab adds the disconcerting gimmick of body-switching.
At various points in the campaign, you’ve got the option to change your physical form.
Other avatars include a speedy female ninja and a petite kawaii anime girl.
Being dropped into a sequence of bodies that are so far removed from your own is downright uncomfortable.
This sensation might be less off-putting if Bonelab wasn’t so physiologically demanding in general.
It also leans heavily into surreal effects.
Would I recommend playing Bonelab?
But it is an interesting metric for how VR has evolved in the last few years.
If you’re already well-versed in VR, you’ll find plenty to like in Bonelab.
Otherwise, you’re better off trying something a little less spicy.
