BIOMORPH - Switch Review

BIOMORPH, from Canadian developers Lucid Dreams Studio, is the latest metroidvania to appear on the Nintendo Switch. A year on from its original release, this cartoony-looking adventure makes its way onto Nintendo’s grand old console (can we start saying that yet?) and looks pretty darn beautiful.

I love an indie metroidvania and I sincerely hope that these remain a staple of Nintendo’s third-party catalogue when the Switch 2 comes out in June. The BIOMORPH gameplay looks fairly standard on the surface, but let's dig a little deeper!

The Good

So, who or what is BIOMORPH? Well, it’s actually a verb in this case! The act of killing an enemy and taking over its body is called biomorphing, and that’s exactly the main USP of BIOMORPH. You play as Harlo, a small cat-like creature who awakens from stasis in a mysterious laboratory. Once you escape, the world opens up, as does the story. Harlo meets a few companions along the way, many of whom reside in the hub town of Blightmoor. This is where things get interesting, as you can develop new shops and bazaars in Blightmoor as you progress through the game and discover blueprints. This adds a new depth of play that makes BIOMORPH relatively original and gives it a very low-level city-building vibe.

The game world in BIOMORPH looks beautiful, if a little dark. But the background hues are stunning and Harlo really pops off the page as you meander your way around. The character designs are intricate and almost have a Disney feel to them. Furthermore, all of the character animations appear to be hand-animated and it makes everything feel fluid and authentic, which is a lovely touch. At its heart, BIOMORPH runs smoothly and looks good, which sets up everything else to follow.

Talking of fluid… the combat in BIOMORPH is very satisfying. Whether you’re playing as Harlo or you’ve biomorphed into one of the enemy character types, regardless, it feels natural, and the combat is tricky but not to a degree that will have you hurling your controller across the room. The bosses are equally doable, which is refreshing and overall makes BIOMORPH a relatively accessible metroidvania along with its easy-to-navigate menus and clear map. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a metroidvania for kids, but it certainly isn’t for hardcore gamers.

TL;DR

• City-building feature a pleasant surprise
• The character animations and character art are top-notch
• An accessible experience

The Bad

The biomorphing element in BIOMORPH drives the whole gameplay experience, which is fine. However, in the first half of the game, the puzzles relating to it feel relatively spoon-fed. Can’t work out how to get past that obstacle? Oh, how about biomorphing into that conveniently placed enemy just over there? This is obviously expected early on to tutorialise the experience but it went on a lot longer than I expected. 

While the backgrounds in BIOMORPH look beautiful, it was sometimes a little hard to tell what you could jump on and what you couldn’t. I often found myself leaping onto what I thought was a platform before plunging to my death. I’d dust myself off and try again, fully willing to blame myself when returning to said area and realising I’d made a silly mistake; however, I’d often end up agreeing with my former self.

TL;DR

• Biomorphing puzzles can be pretty rudimentary
• Sometimes hard to tell what is background environment art or platforming sections

Final Score: 8/10

BIOMORPH is a great option for anyone wanting to ease themselves into the metroidvania genre. Its biomorphing mechanic presents enough originality to make it stand out from the pack, and the added element of city-building also felt fresh.

Overall, BIOMORPH is perhaps only second to Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist in the best metroidvanias I’ve played so far in 2025 on the Nintendo Switch, and that is an impressive feat as I’ve played quite a few!

Thank you for checking out our BIOMORPH Switch review, thank you to Lucid Dreams for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support:

• Andrew Caluzzi (Inca Studios / Camped Out)
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