Boti: Byteland Overclocked is a game that gives you a fantasy version of being a component in a computer with tons to do.
Developed by Purple Ray Studios, based in Warsaw, Poland, they gained hype during the 2021 Epic Game Jam. Boti: Byteland Overclocked is the continuation of Purple Ray Studios’ Jam Entry. Published by Untold Tales, who themselves have specifically helped launch games that have more narrative and world-building aspects, such as ARISE: A Simple Story or What Lies In The Multiverse.
Starting in Byteland, home of technological life forms within what appears to be a computer, we are introduced to the main character, Boti, a new bot whose purpose is to deliver data, your traditional matrix of 1s and 0s, delivering them to different parts of Byteland.
You are met by three residents of this world. Two small flying bots, one named Zero and one named, well, one. You also meet a wise, older-looking bot called Kernel. After being introduced to these three bots, you are taken through a tutorial where you learn the basics of collecting data and distributing it to different outputs around the map, unlocking the next parts of your mission in delivering data. You are also introduced to smashing, dashing, and jumping your way to the different islands and sectors of the PC.
The first mission after the tutorial would be to find your way to the PC’s CPU and overclock the processor. Something to note on your way to do a mission is to smash and look at everything. Boti: Byteland Overclocked is littered with loot, and getting around is pretty easy if you’re creative enough, from flying to dashing across great distances, there’s not much you can’t do aside from swimming, as the great abyss will force you to restart at the closest checkpoint. Checkpoints aren’t just there to save how far you’ve come, but can also be clobbered to give some bytes and health when needed.
Getting through runs will require you to do certain things to get to the next stage; this is where basic attacks become more useful. Like most classic 3D platformers, the game pays homage to games such as Mario and the Crash Bandicoot series in the case of battle mechanics and loot box destruction. Using your left mouse button will give you the use of light attacks, which can be used to make spinning combos that will allow you to do AoE damage when surrounded by guard bots. These bots are relatively easy to deal with, but they hit when you least expect it with saw hands.
Using your heavy attacks will require you to be in the air, using double jump along with using your right mouse button, you will have Boti plummet to the ground with an AoE attack, destroying one or two and stunning the rest. Unless you have done some other damage before your cannonball into the ground, which creates a shock wave, you’ll be able to take out all of your enemies at once.
Boti: Byteland Overclocked consists of jumping puzzles and slamming buttons to open up pathways throughout the computer world when you’re not smashing robots and boxes. Throughout most of the game, you will be trying to figure out each jumping puzzle with a lot of tasty loot at the end. Your home is where you can make necessary updates and upgrades to your health, scanner, and pick-up range. This is also where you can change the look of your character if his current color doesn’t fit your play style, although you will have to find secrets to unlock more skins.
You can also purchase and explore more in your home component if you have enough in-game currency. Areas such as a musical slide island are unlockable in Boti: Byteland Overclocked. This aspect can also be found in certain parts of challenges, such as ones dedicated to speed, where Boti will receive bonuses for gliding on a certain slide rail while hitting different colored buttons on the ground. However, this can be somewhat difficult, as getting to the next lane is more drifting than snapping, making it harder to avoid obstacles. There are a few other fun things to explore at home.
Although Boti has its challenges to complete, it’s the looting and exploring aspects that are mostly the priority, as collecting bytes is more distracting than anything else. Getting distracted will get you more bytes than are needed for the main campaign, making you breeze through it a lot faster.
Although the game has a short yet full playthrough, Boti: Byteland Overclocked is primarily meant to be played multiple times in order to discover the many secrets and rewards along the way. The character and world-building are both very solid and keep you interested enough in the task at hand for you to be sucked in for hours. The music is warm and inviting while painting the picture of the inside of a computer quite well. The voice acting in the game was quite good and can keep you entertained, especially with zero and one bickering now and then.
The platforming aspects of Boti: Byteland Overclocked are really solid and straightforward, as you can easily land and glide your way to your intended location without needing to often retry or restart, as some parts of the game do require some strategy, such as double jumping and dashing or jumping and hovering to certain ledges. With mechanics like the Scanner, any loot is pretty much highly visible to you, granted, you can upgrade it to extend its range as well. The scanner alters the perspective of Boti’s vision, highlighting potential puzzles and lootable items as you traverse through the game.
Going from port cable to port cable and visiting the different locations in Boti: Byteland Overclocked, you will see some NPCs with chat boxes above their head. It brings the game to life a little bit more, although they are not voiced, some of the boxes will have you wondering if the code in your PC is always trying to learn and understand, for example – coming across a bot staring at a wall, wondering what the graffiti could mean. You will learn what kind of society makes up your motherboard and its components.
If facing Byteland alone seems lonely and would be better with friends, that is because it is. Boti: Byteland Overclocked does host two options for playing, one being a plug-and-play co-op, and the other being to join another player’s lobby. With Boti: Byteland Overclocked offering co-op capabilities, you can take on challenges with friends, completing challenges from a different perspective and thinking outside the box with some assistance. The game is pretty easy to do alone, but having a friend to play with does enhance the experience.
Overall, Boti: Byteland Overclocked is a fun and well-polished game featuring quite a few mechanics from other platforms of the past. Although the game has a few minor bugs, Purple Ray Studios is actively sending patches and updates for a smoother experience. The story is fun and gripping, with the voice acting of One, Zero, and Kernel keeping you entertained for hours, not to mention the amount of exploring you can do in your free time. The game is warm and inviting, with gameplay being snappy and fast-paced or relaxed for the ride. Boti Byteland Overclocked is well worth a spin.
