I remember when Bionic Commando Rearmed first came out on the PlayStation 3. I bought it right away and absolutely loved the music, the gameplay, and just the overall feel of it. Later, when I switched to PC, I was so excited to see it was available there too. It was the same with the other Bionic Commando game—the one with the dreads. I bought both of them back when they originally released on PS3.

Back then, I remember Rearmed being incredibly difficult, and I never managed to beat it. Coming back to it now reminded me why I liked it so much. The controls feel really tight, and the swinging mechanic is still one of the coolest movement systems in any platformer.

This was actually the first game I played on my ROG Ally X. Ironically, I could never get it working properly on my desktop PC, even after trying a bunch of tutorials online. The handheld had no issues, so I ended up playing the entire game there.

One thing I really like is that this isn’t a Metroidvania. You simply pick a level, beat it, and move on. Every stage feels like its own platforming puzzle, and the bosses are puzzles too. It’s not just about having fast reflexes—you have to figure out each boss’s mechanics before you can beat them, which makes every fight feel rewarding.

There are around 19 levels. Some are full stages while others are shorter transition areas, but I actually like that structure because I can jump into a level, focus on beating it, and call it a day instead of wandering through one giant interconnected map. Defeating bosses also rewards you with new weapons and upgrades, like bazookas, pistol upgrades, machine guns, and character enhancements, so it always feels like you’re making progress.

Now for the part where I have a love-hate relationship with the game: that final level. It honestly felt as long as, if not longer than, all the previous stages. It reminded me of the old Gauntlet games where you have a limited number of lives and just keep inching a little farther every attempt. I had to memorize every section. The Albatross stage in particular really was the albatross around my neck—I genuinely thought I wasn’t going to beat the game because of it.

Even after getting through all those sections, you only have so many lives left for the final boss. Eventually I got consistent enough to reach the boss with five lives almost every run, but then I had to learn the boss itself, which is also extremely difficult. The frustrating part is that it takes so long to get back to the fight that practicing the boss is a challenge in itself.

When I finally beat it, though, it felt amazing. It wasn’t one of those “I’m just glad it’s over and never want to play it again” moments. It was the kind of victory that feels earned. I’m pretty sure if I went back now I’d beat that final level much faster because it’s one of those games where persistence and learning the patterns eventually pays off.

I also played the game on the hardest difficulty available for a brand-new save file. I know there’s an even harder difficulty that unlocks afterward, but this was the toughest setting you can choose from the start, and it felt like the perfect challenge.

Overall, I loved Bionic Commando Rearmed. The soundtrack is fantastic, the controls are incredibly tight, the swinging mechanic is still one of the most satisfying movement systems around, and I really enjoyed the level-by-level structure instead of another Metroidvania. It’s a challenging game, but one that always feels fair once you learn it.

It’s also a shame that Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 isn’t available on Steam. I’ve heard it’s not nearly as good, but I’d still like the chance to play it because this game reminded me why I liked the series so much in the first place.