Thank you Major Games for sending us this game to review!

As a kid I enjoyed playing on classic gaming systems like the Atari 2600 (later upgraded to a 7800) and the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).  It wasn't until after I got married that I owned my first Super Nintendo (SNES) and Gameboy Advance.  I never owned the original monochrome Gameboy, but my husband brought one into our marriage.   BiT Evolution brings back many fond memories of those gaming systems and pays homage to many popular games in that era including Pong, Castlevania, Kid Icarus, Sonic, and Pokémon.

BiT starts off as an Atari 2600 esque  sphere that can bounce on some enemies, but not all of them.  His goal in each level is to collect the twenty pixels scattered within and make it to the end in one piece.  There is no death in this game but if BiT touches a deadly foe, he is sent to the code realm where he must find a portal to get back to the main world.  Trips to the code realm are required if you want to collect the pixels within it.  If BiT is touched by an enemy or their laser beams in the code realm, he will be sent back to the beginning of the level or at the check point if he has gotten far enough to trigger it.  By exiting out properly in a portal he is usually taken further ahead in the main world.

In order to unlock the next area, the previous levels and maps have to be completed.  At the end of each era awaits a mighty boss that has to be defeated with resourcefulness instead of strength.  Steam Achievements are unlocked for each conquered foe.    There are fourteen achievements in total and seven trading cards as well.  

BiT Evolution has sixty levels that get gradually harder as the game progresses.  The Gameboy levels are in black and white and BiT sprouts some legs, but is still defenseless.  In the NES area, BiT has both arms and legs and in the Sonic inspired levels, he has the ability to transform into a rolling armadillo and can throw  objects at enemies.  No matter what era BiT is in, the basic sound effects and chip tunes music bring back pleasant and nostalgic memories.

I would like to say that I have completed the game, but that is not the case and this is because of two reasons.  The later levels in the NES era are brutally difficult and can only be played in small doses for me.  My kids have enjoyed playing the Atari levels, but I don't think they'll have the patience for the NES ones.  The invincible enemy patterns and sticky/spike traps are just too much at times.   To add insult to injury there's a game breaking bug that prevents further progress on my current level.  I have notified the developers who were quick to address other issues users have reported.  Perhaps I'll pick up this game again after the issues are resolved.

Despite its flaws BiT Evolution is a family friendly game that can re-kindle many fond memories for classic video game enthusiasts.  The asking price is a reasonable $9.99 and had a 15% off launch sale.  If you see it on sale on Steam, it's worth checking out.  I'm confident that the devs will patch the issue I have experienced by the time it goes on sale again.