Steam Early Access: BiT Evolution - A game that respects every aspect of retro gaming

Now available on Steam as part of their Early Access category, you can experience the indie game BiT Evolution, which takes its place alongside community favourites Evoland and Life Of Pixel in creating a game that respects every aspect of retro gaming in a fun and unique way.

You play the titular character, BiT, who starts as a puck in a hockey game, but - much like Ralph from cinema hit Wreck It Ralph* - he finds his way outside of his world and into the realm of Code, (described as) “a mysterious place found between game levels”. There, he explores multiple game types, with the visuals and gameplay evolving with time.

Concept art for the "World Selection" screen.

While progressing through the game, BiT evolves and visits new worlds, each inspired by a different form of retro gaming, including Atari, Gameboy, NES and SNES.

What makes this game truly unique, however, it the “dual world mechanic”. The Rendered Dimension and the Realm Of Code are “two sides of the same coin”, the website explains. By travelling between them, our hero is able to navigate obstacles, “collect hidden pixels” and see the world in a new way. In an example (see images below), BiT becomes stuck by a cliff that is too high to jump over in the rendered world, so he switches to the coding world and discovers a hidden pathway in order to progress.

Purchasing an Early Access game means that you are buying something that is not yet complete, but also that you also help it grow into fruition. You can read more about Early Access here.

On their decision to make the game Early Access, the developers stated confidently

“Early Access is the perfect way for us to get feedback on BiT Evolution while allowing players to see the game a 'BiT' (see what we did there?) early and become involved in the development process. We want to make this game the best it can be, and the more players give us input, suggestions, and contribute in general, the more we will be able to work towards that goal.”

So far the reviews from the Steam Community are very positive, with only one negative review. Players are saying that the game is “The closest a PC platformer has gotten to replicating the joy I had playing Super Mario Bros as a kid” and describe it as “Fun and challenging with period accurate artwork.”

When the game is complete, there shall be sixty levels spread over four platforms and two dimensions. Currently only three of the four platforms and a limited number of levels are available in the Early Access version.

The development team! Having sushi! Because!

The game RRPs at £6.99/$7.49 on the Steam Marketplace presently, but if you are a regular at Bundle Stars you will have got it at a much lower price as part of February's bundle.

The RRP might seem a lot for a game that is still in the production process and indeed for an indie game, but I for one would much rather spend my money on an indie game than give my cash to “The Man” aka the big games producers like EA. The price is also going to increase once the game has been completed, so grab it while you can at this early-bird, lower price!

It is currently only available on Windows.

You can find out more about the game on the official website, follow progress on the Development Blog, and “Follow” and “Like” through social media on Twitter and FaceBook.

Article credit: Illisia Adams.

* Reviewed here.