Fantastic metroidvania action platformer where you are a group of mercenaries that were sent to an infected mining place to investigate the situation

You can watch some gameplay here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RInhf8wVHvI

It's not so hard to learn the game, but i'd recommend a controller over a keyboard here.
You'll have 4 available characters and 4 other ones that you can unlock, each unique in skills, stats and weapons.
The story is also said to have two endings and there are levels where you also have to drive very special vehicles such as a Mech, spaceship or a submarine!
Also in terms of enemies and bosses there is a nice variation that can avoid some monotonous gameplay.
There is also a variety of upgrades that you can buy for your characters.

Graphically the game is also very nice and a nice ode to the 8-bit era, the few colors that are in the game quickly give you a classic gameboy color impression and I think this is great.
The retro inspired soundtrack is also present and every boss has his own music.

Is this game a masterpiece? This game looks like a Nintendo Gameboy release with 4 colors, but it uses a large screen. It also plays like a Gameboy classic - but this is not a bad thing. It's a run and gun game - jump and shoot (in 4 directions), avoid endless pits, other environemental dangers and enemies. Quite easy to understand, even for me. There are people to talk to, cutsequences to watch, weapons and other items to find - but simply shooting everything also works rather good (most of the time). Later in the game you have to use little vehicles, like a one-man submarine or a tiny mech. Furthermore, you don't play just one hero. You can switch between different characters with unique skills and weapons. The 4-color visuals look great (you unlock new color palettes to swap all the time) - but it does make dangers (or objects to pick up) sometimes hard to see. Save anytime and anywhere - but you have only one slot. My noname gamepad worked fine. So, is it a masterpiece? Probably not, but certainly a solid handiwork if you enjoy some retro action once in a while (like I do).

Conclusion:
Modern run'n gun in Gameboy visuals and with some exploring and backtracking required.

Unfortunately I can't recommend this game. While the overall graphical, sound, and gameplay design meet and in many cases exceed expectations, there are too many problems with the controls and mechanics of the game which make it a chore to play. The wall latch/jump mechanics, in particular, are completely broken:
1. When you jump normally, letting go of left/right will result in your momentum slowing to a stop, but out of a wall jump, your momentum is maintained. It's tremendously non-intuitive and forces you to try and mentally keep track of things that should be muscle memory.
2. You can't shoot while wall-latched (why?) but when trying to shoot, you will enter a glitched state where you alternate back and forth between trying to shoot and trying to de-latch.
3. If you try to slide down the wall, after a couple of seconds you will de-latch and be completely unable to re-latch.
4. Sometimes you'll wall-latch just trying to walk off a ledge. And because of point 3, that will often result in you free-falling in a segment you were trying to do a controlled descent in.

Plus the back half of the game is overloaded with tedious gimmick segments which tried my patience and put me in a bad mood and with no desire to try and post-game.

It's not an awful game if you can get past the jank, but the reality is there are hundreds of more-competently made retro 2D Metroidvanias out there to play and this one mostly just frustrated me.

Tried twice to get into this but the controls put me off. Coming from other, better platformers I felt like I had no precision in where the character ends up off a wall jump and eventually I just didn't want to stick with it

Terrible controls.

Also why can I shoot upwards... but not downards?

Fun science-fiction adventure with enough hot-swappable two-tone palettes to satisfy the most demanding retro aesthete. An evil energy corporation hires mercs to investigate reports of slimy tentacled aliens taking over their asteroid mining operation! Kick-ass music and limited but effective (and grammatical!) dialogue carry the Alien II-on-a-modded-Gameboy mood! Crunchy puffball sprites are notable for recognizability and even artistic value while somehow being one or two pixels away from jagged 8-bit boogers; use what you need, discard what you don't!

It's a fun one, an adventuresome romp through a sci-fantasy land of cinematic and nostalgic imagination where the chunky pieces are usually a buzz to play with, but it's not perfect. The alien grunts could make things more interesting by having minibosses among them and in general fighting harder; they just sort of mosey around like depressed and retarded cows, waiting to be laser-blasted by your band of interplanetary psychopaths. The ability to save anywhere, while handy if you're on the run, somewhat trivializes the challenges. And while I'm happy that now you don't have to collect all 30 samples to get the good ending, it's a little annoying that the devs keep moving the goalpost -- because I did indeed go through the trouble of shooting all the walls and looking everywhere for the things, even though I find this particular mode of secret collect highly annoying, just to say I saved earth from a little of the ol' demographic replacement.

But yes, it's fun! I had plenty of fun, and I would have had even more fun had I known I didn't have to shoot all the walls and find all the whatsits to meet my psychological needs. If this looks like your jam, that's because it is. The trailer doesn't lie!

It’s time to complain again about the lack of space in steam’s rating system for 3/5 games, as it does feel very mean spirited to give Biota a thumbs down. It’s a short, cute, polished metroidvania with no new ideas that is probably worth the asking price of £7.50. It reminds me a lot of Gatoroboto, another decent lo fi metroidvania that was a fun, if forgettable way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Biota’s only real change to the formula is the ability to play a number of different characters, each with their own weapons and special attacks. It’s a neat idea that I’ve recently seen in the excellent Astalon, and like that game the class balance is definitely a bit wonky. Unlike Astalon there’s never any reason to change characters if you don’t want to, as there’s no real gating abilities – progress is determined by literal keycards (the laziest way to do it) and, slightly bafflingly, wallet size. All the key items can be bought from shops, and if your wallet doesn’t hold enough you can’t buy them so the bulk of exploration is based around finding these extra pockets to hold your change.

There’s also a good few vehicle sections, including a mech and a submarine, and it’s here I think that Biota is at it’s weakest. If these had been used as a pace breaker or palette cleanser they could have been a neat diversion, but they all go on far, far too long and use none of the skills or abilities you have spent the rest of the game honing or upgrading. This even extends to the final boss, though I think that section is cool enough to get away with it.

Biota is not a bad game by any means, and I honestly did enjoy my short time with it. But really, I find it tough to recommend over the dozens of superior games in the genre even for the low price.

Fun run&gun metroidvania. A bunch of different characters to play through areas with, all with different equipment and abilities. Retro feel is enhanced by unlockable color pallets, great throwback.
https://youtu.be/0i7zFq4jhAM

A nostalgic trip down the new-age metroidvania.

After completing the tutorial level, you will be brought to a base located above the underground complex. You can use this area to heal, test your skills in a training facility, acquire upgrades on the black market, and switch between characters. Everyone has the ability to jump, shoot, and cling to the wall. Wall jumping, which is required to unlock in practically every metroidvania, is available right away.

The only thing that distinguishes the characters is their weapon and special ability, which are listed on their ID cards among other information like age and nationality. At first, only four squad members are available; the others are discovered as you explore the complex and after you finish the game.

Despite differences in speed and power, the shooting pattern is what you should be looking at. Some have a slower gun that fires stronger bullets, while others have a quick machinegun that fires weaker bullets. It all comes down to personal preference. You'll generally stick with one hero to the end, with the exception of a portion when a certain hero is required and vehicle stages. Special ability also doesn’t matter; the game can be finished without ever using it.

You can buy ammo for special weapons and permanent boosts like health in the various black markets scattered around the map. The game’s currency viridium is dropped by enemies. However, until you discover a larger container, you can only carry a limited amount of viridium.

I don't think I enjoy the training facility very much because it requires a recharge after each use. I get that the viridium-filled chest at the end of a training task may make obtaining upgrades a breeze, but foes drop the valuable material at a steady rate anyway.

The complex is separated into various areas, each with its own set of enemies and aesthetics. It’s also very limited in terms of exploration. There are no permanent upgrades or special powers in hidden regions of the map, save from black marketplaces, which offer every key item you will need. This necessitates a careful exploration of the map for the larger containers, as key items cost several hundred viridium bits, which you won't be able to stash in your starting container.

Saving takes place at designated locations across the complex. For rapid travel around the base, some sites may contain an elevator. There's also the option of saving the game without having to find a safe room or base. Simply locate an area free of enemies or hazards and press a button on your gamepad. Oh, and respawning at these locations won't heal you; if you saved with one health point left, you'll have to continue in the same state. If you get yourself into a jam, you can use your teleport device to return to the surface.

There are no checkpoints, so you'll want to save constantly. Death arrives quickly and in a variety of forms. The traps and natural threats are the ones that hurt the most. While weak enemies only take one health point from you, bombs and laser gates instantly kill you unless you have purchased an additional health point. The most common cause of death is being knocked into one of these by an enemy bullet.

When navigating between rooms, I found it particularly fascinating that you only see the room layout and no objects. After the room is fully visible, enemies and destructible things appear instantly. It's difficult to explain, but it demonstrates that the developers are well-versed in the period; it's a minor element that complements the game's overall aesthetic.

The enemy variety and design are both rather good. The presence of an entity known as "The Agent" can be seen throughout the base, and the black mold has taken possession of all lifeforms. Bosses are essential, and this game has a few. I like how these fights prioritize platforming patterns over shooting. However, they’re quite easy once you figure out their limited attack pattern.

The color palette can be changed at any time from the pause menu. There’s a bunch of them and anyone will find the favorite that will stay with you from start to finish. Each option contains 4 colors. While the left and right are only different hues of white and black (or gray), it's the center two that actually make the difference. Obviously, not all colors work together.

If you have a mild form of color blindness, like me, some settings may even make the experience uncomfortable. The Orion or Neptune palettes, for example, made my eyes hurt by making the screen pulsate. Wave is similar, but the colors are more subtle, and it quickly became one of my favorites.

New palette options are unlocked by collecting specimen found in plain sight or hidden behind a breakable wall. A few notes here. The freshly acquired palettes, for starters, aren't marked. It's tough to keep track of which palettes are new when there are so many. It's also a pain to switch between them; you have to go through each one separately. And second, the breakable walls have no visual clue that there’s something behind them. Shooting at every wall section in the room is not fun.

Music is great, it has that nostalgic ’80 feel with its synth beats. The intro, on the other hand, could benefit from a lower volume because the bass clashes with the narrator's deep voice. No big deal because that’s the only time you’ll be hearing it.

The game relies solely on subtitles, which could require a minor tweak. All words are crammed into the upper portion of the large text box that displays during cutscenes, leaving the bottom part unused and making the text difficult to read. I believe that adding more space between lines would help.

Achievements encourage you to replay the game and race against the clock. There's also a shooting gallery available right away, where you have to hit targets with a sniper, who is possibly the game's most underutilized character. The sniper is stationary; all you're doing is moving the crosshair and firing at targets. One final frustration for achievement hunters is that once you've completed the game, you can't go back and look for missing items. And the achievement for collecting 15 specimens did not unlock.

Cute little metroidvania. It ain't no Hollow Knight but if you've got an afternoon free and want some 8-bit platforming, it's easily worth ten bucks.