#Birdgut rotating platforms for free#

Born different from the others, the bee is exiled from the hive and forced to survive the world on its own. It takes about two to three hours to finish.About This Game BirdGut is a hand-drawn 2d puzzle-platformer set inside the internal organs of a bird.Р”Р„ bee hatches in the hive, but something's wrong.

#Birdgut rotating platforms for free#

You can get it on Steam for free (Windows and Mac OS). It also helps to highlight how much more effective the rest of the game is - at its best, BirdGut is a fascinating blend of simple controls and very strange situations.Р”В«irdGut was created by Micah Boursier. That said, while it is a pain, it isnРІР‚в„ўt really a deal-breaker on recommending BirdGut the last section effectively adds only a little more time to a game that takes at least two hours to finish. Unfortunately, while thatРІР‚в„ўs helpful for the platforming section, it doesnРІР‚в„ўt do much for the shooting. ItРІР‚в„ўs a frustrating part to a game that until this point isnРІР‚в„ўt particularly frustrating, thanks in large part to frequent check pointing. The time between shots feels especially long compared to how enemies move and how often they appear, often leading one missed shot to cause an enemy to hit you and then you have to start the section over again. This was annoying, but less of a problem than the enemy encounters which demand a precision with the shooting mechanic that you donРІР‚в„ўt really have enough time to properly learn. But this new mechanic requires the use of your mouse, which meant I had to go back to the default scheme so that I could move and jump while aiming and shooting with the mouse. I remapped this when playing so that I could control movement with one hand, and everything else with the other, in order to make the platforming easier. Until this point, the entire game can be played on just a keyboard in fact, the default control scheme is set up so you can play it pretty much with only your left hand. It adds a completely new shooting mechanic, along with a new mouse control for firing. Unfortunately, the second to last area of the game ignores a lot of what makes it really good. ItРІР‚в„ўs a bad civilization of brainwashed, enslaved bugs, but itРІР‚в„ўs more of a society than youРІР‚в„ўd expect to find. You pass bugs mining or transporting materials, but also building and policing. As you make your way through the bird, you find that bugs arenРІР‚в„ўt just working all the time, but there are actual homes, including city blocks of apartments. It reminds me a lot of Hollow Knight ( and not just because both have bugs) as each area feels distinct and says a lot about what the world inside this bird is like. WhatРІР‚в„ўs perhaps most interesting about the game, though, is the sense of place the levels have. In this way it makes the gameplay feel concentrated as opposed to simple. You might have to find fuel that you have to push back to your ship to get it to move, or lasers that need to be angled just right to correctly open a door.

The puzzle design of each level keeps things challenging as it finds ways to layer in new mechanics without complicating the gameplay beyond moving and jumping.

But actually escaping the bird isnРІР‚в„ўt an easy task. The gameРІР‚в„ўs 2D puzzle platforming gameplay is fairly simple the bee can mainly just walk around, jump, and slow their fall thanks to their wings. The result is that you can freely move within the bird to find a way out. Due to the beeРІР‚в„ўs bent-over posture, the brainwashing chip isnРІР‚в„ўt implanted correctly. It turns out that the bird isnРІР‚в„ўt eating insects for sustenance, but rather to brainwash them into mindless slaves who help operate and maintain the machinery inside the bird that keeps it alive. The bee manages to make its way through the world, despite not being able to fly, but eventually itРІР‚в„ўs eaten by a bird. ItРІР‚в„ўs about a disabled bee who is kicked out of their hive after being born. IРІР‚в„ўve written about a number of weird games for Short Play, but BirdGut might have the strangest premise so far. In our biweekly column Short Play we suggest video games that can be started and finished in a weekend. It can be difficult to find time to finish a video game, especially if you only have a few hours a week to play.