Bionic Surfer

When it comes down to it, humanity's future lies with a half-naked brah.

No other game proves the absurdity of the App Store better than Bionic Surfer, but not for its hilarious hang ten take on platform-action. Instead, this original game crashes in like a wave of exceeded expectations to show that creative games often come from the most unlikely places.

After being knocked unconscious in a killer wipeout, our anonymous surfer hero awakens to find Earth overrun by alien invaders. Sending the extraterrestrial enemies back to their home in the remote Kaon region of space means flip-flopping through more than a dozen levels under instructions from a hard-nosed general.

Starting on Earth, your mission to fry alien hides takes you to the surface of Venus, the chilly ice floes of Europa, and beyond. Each locale introduces a bizarre cast of exoskeletal enemies, from slow-moving blobs to aggressive over-sized purple grasshoppers and flying beetles. Boss battles cap your visit to each planet, serving not only as added variety but a test of your combat skills.

A laser rifle provides unlimited firepower with which to blast foes, though stronger weapons like an energy shotgun and rocket launcher can be picked up along the way.

Buttons lining the bottom of the screen allow you to fire, as well as switch firearms via separate screen. Enemies are automatically targeted, although tapping on a specific alien focuses fire on that foe. Additionally, a free look button wisely enables you to temporarily remove the buttons from the screen and touch to fire your equipped gun.

Combat only comes in waves, with platforming keeping the gameplay balanced. Bionic Surfer tempers its combat with a range of platform challenges that have you hopping across cliffs, traversing gaps using floating pads, and even solving simple puzzles using physics to your benefit.

The controls aren't ideal, but they manage a fundamental level of utility. Two arrows on the left side of the screen move you left and right, while jumps are ordered with a press of a triangle button. There's also a contextual action button that lets you activate switches and tutorial tips. Eliminating the latter would reduce the mess of virtual buttons that crowd the screen.

More critical, however, is the need to tighten up the directional buttons so as to avoid unintended movement. It's common to accidentally move left when you intend to move right. This becomes problematic when you're navigating atop narrow platforms and evading enemy attacks.

Moving well past plain hop, skip, and jump platforming, the game introduces a physical component that enables you to move objects and utilise your surroundings to complete puzzles. Barrels and blocks can be kicked around or even picked up and manipulated using a special gravity gun.

In later levels, switches tied to doors and platforms are triggered by firing your laser rifle at reflective crystals with a touch of a finger.

Combined with the game's absurd surfer-in-space scenario, this physics-tinged gameplay results in a game like no other. Bionic Surfer combines several familiar elements into a game greater than the sum of its parts. Whatever campy vibe the visuals send out is countered by its creativity and humour. It doesn't take itself seriously, but it delivers serious fun.