Bonelab

Bonelab
Developer(s)	Stress Level Zero
Publisher(s)	Stress Level Zero
Director(s)	Brandon Laatsch
Composer(s)	Michael Wyckoff
Engine	Unity
Platform(s)	Meta Quest 2, Microsoft Windows, Steam Store, Meta Quest 3
Release	September 29, 2022
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player

Bonelab is a 2022 video game developed and published by American studio Stress Level Zero. It is a sequel to the 2019 game Boneworks. The player controls an outcast that escapes death and explores experimental worlds in a research lab in MythOS. Bonelab released for Microsoft Windows and Meta Quest 2 on September 29, 2022.

Gameplay

The game uses a fully simulated body that utilizes inverse kinematics. The player can use a body-log positioned on either elbow to change their avatar, which affects their in-game body proportions and ability to use items. The campaign takes place in smaller levels that each focus on different mechanics, from traditional first-person shooter levels to go-karting. The player can also find "Gacha Capsules" that can unlock props, NPCs, and weapons in the sandbox mode upon being pulled apart. Gacha Capsules can be hidden, hidden in plain sight, or out in the open. Some will require parkour skills, or puzzle solving. The game has been compared to Garry's Mod and Half-Life 2 by critics and fans alike for having similarities and homages to these games, such as the crablet sharing similarities with Half-Life's headcrab and Halfway Park somewhat resembling Garry's Mod "gm_construct" map.

Plot

The game takes place sometime after the events of The Clock reset by Arthur Ford in Boneworks. The player takes control of a peasant being hanged in Heaven's Reach, a town in Fantasyland. A knife appears and the peasant uses it to cut the noose and escape. They land in a cave leading out of Fantasyland. The player jumps down an opening in the wall used to get rid of garbage. Afterward, there is a small crawlspace opening in the wall in front of the player, with the words "down" on it. This serves as a tutorial for crouching in-game. This is also where the player encounters their first enemy, the Crablet, which is a VR headset with 4 limbs, resembling an arachnid. after killing the enemy, the player presses a button which opens the door which leads into a room that reveals the next enemy: the Nullbody. There is a locker that says "Gun!" on it. Opening it, the player finds a red Eder22. After picking it up, there are instructions on the gun instructing the player on how to use it. After killing the Nullbodies, the player finds a door that leads to the fantasyland transport station. This room also has the most enemies in it, with Nullbodies and Crablets fighting each other. After that room, there are just rooms with Nullbodies and Crablets in them. After fighting through the enemies they reach a vent, which leads into an air vent and drops into a container yard. This is where the players enter MythOS city and encounter a new enemy type, named the Omniprojecters, which possess firearms. This poses a new threat to the player, so the game grants them an MP5K to fight the Omniprojecters and Nullbodies present in that room. After fighting through the enemies, the player reaches an elevator, where a voice tells them that they are on their own now, and welcomes them to LavaGang, as the elevator cables snap and the elevator falls, sending the player floating up to the roof of the elevator.

The elevator crashes and the player pulls open the elevator door. They find themself in the Bonelab Hub, which hosts all of the sections such as Parkour, Sandbox, Arena, experimental, mods, etc. This requires them to go through each of the sections, and afterward, they use a crane to take orbs from the top of the section entrances so they can place them on six pipes beside them to open the quarantine door, so they can proceed along with the story. After opening the quarantine door, the player finds themself in the Dev Room, where the player is required to use a remote to operate a mini crane to pull a drainage plug out of the floor, letting them drop inside to the next level. The player finds themself in a level similar to "Runoff" in Boneworks, only smaller. This level contains all of the enemies the player has encountered so far, Omniprojecters, Nullbodies, and Crablets. This level also introduces its first puzzles. After that, the player lands in a rollercoaster simulation called Mine Dive, where the player just rides a rollercoaster for about 6 minutes. No enemies are present at this level. After that level. The player arrives at a new level, named "Big Anomaly," which is described by some players to resemble the "Backrooms." This level contains Omniprojecters, Crablets, Nullbodies, and a new enemy called the "Corrupted Nullbody" which is a version of the Nullbody that is purple and can shoot Void Energy balls at the player. After battling through the enemies, they find Jay W, who gives them a device on their arm and transports them into a series of mini-games to unlock avatars named after their main characteristic, such as a Suburban Street Fighter-type game to unlock Strong, (which introduced the game's first fully human enemies,) a foggy bridge themed parkour level to unlock Fast, a hell-themed arena wave game to unlock Heavy, (which introduced a new skeleton enemy and an early exit zombie enemy,) a sandbox moon-themed outer space level to get the Small character, a go-kart race level to unlock the Light character (which introduces vehicles into the bone series,) and a climbing level to get the Tall character. (Which introduces the Void Turrets.) After going through those levels, Jay then activates the device on the player's arm, allowing them to pick between avatars at any given moment. Jay grants the player a key and sends them back to the Hub, where the player must insert the key in the crane map to open the Boneworks door. After doing that, the player will break a crate labeled "Boneworks," which sends them ascending to the next level.

The player reaches the second-to-last level of the game. The beginning of the level requires the player to move heavy balls to unlock the doors and progress through the level. The player must use a strong avatar for this, such as Heavy, to roll the balls into their coordinated spots, unlocking the doors. After that whole section, the player is thrown into a series of battles between Nullmen, Skeletons, Void Turrets, and Omni Projectors. The player must progress through sewer systems, hallways, train stations, and puzzles, which all utilize the new avatars the player has been granted. After battling through and defeating enemies, the player steps on a lift, which takes them into the last level. The player is taken up back to the Heavens Reach village, where they are forced to kill most of the inhabitants of the town. (Villagers.) After defeating them, the players finds themselves in a room with a windmill inside. Suddenly, a hand breaks through the roof, stopping the windmill, so the player can climb the windmill to grab onto the hand, which pulls them up into “Void G114.” Jay greets the player, and the player gets into Jay’s cab, and as he drives the credits roll. When the credits finish, Jay drops the player off at the menu area and leaves to get another caller, leaving the player to "start building!"

Development

Bonelab was initially announced as "Project 4" (due to it being the studio's fourth game) at Oculus Connect 6 on September 25, 2019. However, there was no word for a long time afterward. Little was known about the game other than that it would be a sequel to Boneworks for the Quest and PCVR platforms.

The game was formally revealed at the Meta Quest Gaming Showcase on April 20, 2022 with a title and teaser trailer. It was confirmed to have modding support for both platforms and be built upon "two years of innovation and interaction engine progress”. After this announcement, interest and hype for the game rose over the months, with Director Brandon Laatsch frequently provided updates on his Twitter such as claiming that Bonelab was "playable from logos to credits" on July 23, 2022.

A surprise release date trailer for the game, disconnected from any showcases or events, came out on September 23, 2022. It showed more gameplay than all the previous trailers and said the game was releasing six days later on that very Thursday.

Post-launch development

Since the release of Bonelab the game has had Six patches (excluding public beta), but Brandon Laatsch has stated online that Bonelab is focused on core-work, while the predecessor Boneworks was more focused on content, resulting in more time being spent on updates. However the modding scene for Bonelab skyrocketed after launch with mods that added multiplayer, custom maps, more weapons, and avatars. In late December on X, Brandon asked the community if they would like to test the update over Christmas or wait till its all fleshed out and release then. Despite most of the community, specifically modders, stating that they wanted the update over Christmas, SLZ decided to delay the update. on the 25th of February 2024, Brandon posted an update on X, showing that bonelab would have mod browser mod.io integrated into the game, and also showing a brand new map named Test Chamber 02 that was cut from Boneworks. On March 102024, Brandon posted another teaser, showing the new level loading system. On May 9 2024, Brandon confirmed that unless plans change, the 4th patch would be released in that same month, alongside this Brandon replied saying that more work when into this game then Duck Season. Another comment on the same day spoke about 5 more Patches. On June 6 2024, Patch 4 released with very little issues, except for a few IK and player tracking bugs. On July 18 2024, Patch 5 released. On August 27th, Patch 6 released, adding more features to the games SDK.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	65/100

Review scores

Publication	Score
PC Gamer (US)	81/100
Road to VR	5/10

Bonelab received "mixed or average reviews", according to the review aggregator Metacritic.

PC Gamer criticized the campaign's pacing, but enjoyed the improvements to melee combat, "most avatars I inhabited could swing a sword or club with ease... Blunt attacks land with satisfying weight". While disliking how prone the game was to causing motion sickness, Rock Paper Shotgun praised the gun handling of the game, writing that "the simulated weight and presence of Bonelab's two handed guns that makes it easy to keep track of where your hands are supposed to be". Road to VR felt the title's modding support had vast potential, but wrote that Bonelab's campaign had the same problems as its predecessor. UploadVR was impressed that the Meta Quest 2 version ran as well as it did, but noted numerous performance issues, "It’s certainly playable, but not a completely smooth experience".

Sales

Bonelab had grossed $1 million dollars in the first hour of release on Quest 2 alone, setting records for the storefront as the fastest-selling game on Quest.