Shapeshifter Biker

Simple arcade games can occupy many hours of your day if their gameplay mechanics are addictive enough, but they are not necessarily the kind of games that you would remember for years to come. Some manage to break this barrier and turn into cult classics, such as Zuma or Bejeweled, but others remain just short and nameless distractions.

Shapeshifter Biker is a fun racing game in which you play the role of a biker trying to survive a dangerous race against enemy black cars, while also avoiding all sorts of obstacles and collecting various animal shapes. It’s a simple idea, but the different animal shapes also come with unique powers, which means that the gameplay changes on a regular basis and keeps you from getting bored.

One of the first inconveniences about the game is the fact that you have to race on a very small map, and you actually fall off the edge if you dare to go too far. Hence, it feels very claustrophobic, especially since there’s not an awful lot of content either. Most of the map is filled with either rocks, trees or the occasional lava pit, so you are always looking at the same thing.

The other half of the gameplay is spent trying to collect all sorts of animal shapes, which allow your driver to become something else for ten seconds. Not only that, but these animals also have special abilities that can come in handy when you are trying to outrun the cars. Whether you turn into an eagle and fly over the obstacles, or a bunny and hop around at great speed, each animal has some sort of power, although they are not all helpful.

As for the graphics and the controls, you shouldn’t expect anything too great in the graphics department, given the fact that all of this was designed in a short period of time for a game jam competition. However, the controls are very accurate and precise, even if you’ll crash a lot in the beginning, mainly because it takes some practice to understand how the steering works.

In the end, Shapeshifter Biker is obviously not the kind of game that keeps you busy for hours on end, but there are some good ideas at work here. Hence, if more content is added in the future, this could certainly transform into something a lot more engaging.