Overview

Bonelab is a virtual reality action physics puzzle video game developed by Stress Level Zero and released on Steam in September 2022 for use with the Oculus Rift, Quest 2 and other VR headsets. It is a successor to 2019's Boneworks and tasks players with solving a number of VR physics-centric puzzles and combat situations. The game also gives players access to a sandbox mode and the ability to create and download mods, largely seen as the highlights of the game.

History

Boneworks

Boneworks is the prequel to Bonelab, released on December 10th, 2019. The game plays similarly to Bonelab and features a campaign filled with physics and combat-based VR sections and a sandbox mode. In Boneworks, the sandbox mode is only available after you finish the game. Boneworks inspired a large modding community (mod showcase shown below, left) and fandom, also inspiring Let's Play videos (example shown below, right).

Bonelab

On April 20th, 2022, a teaser trailer for Bonelab was posted to the Meta Quest YouTube channel, garnering over 713,000 views in six months (shown below).

Bonelab was released on Steam^[1] on September 29th, 2022. The page describes the game as "an Experimental Physics VR Adventure. Use found physics weapons, tools, and objects to fight across dangerous playscapes and mysterious architecture." On the day it was released, YouTuber josalt posted a full playthrough of the campaign, gaining over 94,000 views in five days (shown below).

Online Presence

Following the game's release, clips and Let's Plays from it became prevalent on TikTok and YouTube, as well as other sites. The hashtag "#bonelab" became increasingly popularized on TikTok^[2][3] in early October 2022 as users uploaded videos of the game (examples shown below, left and right).

Bonelab Mods

Mods for Bonelab are available on sites including Nexus Mods^[4] and bonelab.thunderstore.io.^[5] The majority of mods at the time of writing are new player models and maps. On October 4th, 2022, YouTuber BMFVR posted a video showcasing several mods for the game (shown below).

Reception

Reviews for Bonelab have been largely positive, holding a 7.9 out of 10 average user rating on Metacritic^[6] based on seven reviews as of October 2022. On September 29th, 2022, YouTuber ThrillSeeker posted a positive review of the game where he calls it his "favorite VR game," garnering over 640,000 views in five days (shown below).

On October 5th, YouTuber Matteo311 posted a video criticizing Bonelab, breaking down several reasons why people might not like the game, addressing complaints including motion sickness, its niche-ness, the quote "unnecessary" scene in the game where you have to put a noose around your neck and claims that the game is basically a demo (shown below).

Search Interest

External References