BONEWORKS
BONEWORKS
Game
Game2022
BONELAB
Developer Stress Level Zero
Bonelab (stylized 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 was released for Windows and Meta Quest 2 on September 29, 2022, and later for the Meta Quest 3 on October 10, 2023, and then for the Meta Quest… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
441 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
91
LovedLoved
314 positive · 30 negative
95% range 88–94%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 314 | 30 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 13 | 6 | 55 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Mastodon * | 1 | 0 | 9 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
13,486 of 16,676 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
91% recommend · 225 yes, 22 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 247 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (17,019 of 20,635 positive).
Players praise the modding and sandbox elements, calling it a must-have VR physics playground. [1][2][3] Many note the story is weak or lacking, advising to buy Boneworks for narrative instead. [4][5][6]
Liked
Representative posts
- [16]
Genuinely one of the best VR games ever but I am not giving it a thumbs up for one vital reason. The optimisation. Tell me why my PC can run Cyberpunk Path Tracing on Ultra at about 40-60FPS without DLSS, but a VR game can't run a game that runs at less than my monitors resolution at ultra settings - I have to put it on medium/high to achieve 72 FPS on the base game before mods too? Hopefully this patch is taking so …
- [2]
If you ever wanted GMod in VR, here it is. This is THE sandbox game for VR, packed with as much jank and as many mods as you could ever wish for. BONELAB is some of the most fun I've had just doing stupid things in a physics sandbox game, and there are plenty of mods to choose from. Thanks to the game's built-in mod.io integration, they are really, really easy to install (like, super easy). Currently, the devs have …
- [4]
It’s good, but VERY overpriced. It should be like $20. The story—well, uh—sucks ass, and I’m being generous. The story is horrible and very hard to understand. Modding is good; I like that, and the sandbox is fun. But do not buy this for the story—buy BONEWORKS if you want story. This game is only sandbox. It’s a 7.5/10 at best, and that’s only because of the modding and sandbox elements.
- [5]
I have played over 500 hours of this game across quest and pc and finally got it on steam after so long I bloody love this game, probably one of my favorite VR games of all time, I love the level design, the weapons, and the mods alone is worth the price of admission. But its not for everyone, Bonelab is primarily a sandbox game unlike Boneworks which was mostly about the campaign, if you loved Boneworks because of …
- [3]
Like Garry's Mod but VR Bonelab may have a lackluster story compared to BONEWORKS, but what it lacks in story, It makes up in freedom, the physics, the avatars, and most importantly, THE MODS. allowing even more freedom in the gam, as well as the entire BONEWORKS campaign. Buy this game and, through mods, Get BONEWORKS for free!
Summarised from 34 of the 337 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
BONELAB sits at 91% positive across 344 opinionated reactions from 4 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Bonelab received "mixed or average reviews", according to the review aggregator website 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…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 441 · most liked firstBONELAB for mods and sandbox. BONEWORKS for story and puzzles.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☑ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☐ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☐ Potato ☐ Decent ☑ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a pretty solid game to start with, but you kind of need some mods to make it good. If you want some good mods do this: -download Lemonloader from github on browser (latest release) -Go to thunderstore (website not app) you can search for any mod -when you get a mod click manual download, then open that file and paste the .dll which should be in a folder labeled mods, and paste it into the programfilesx86-steam-steamapps-common-bonelab-mods (I recommend pinning that to quick access)…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☑ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☑ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☐ Potato ☑ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer ---{…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you ever wanted GMod in VR, here it is. This is THE sandbox game for VR, packed with as much jank and as many mods as you could ever wish for. BONELAB is some of the most fun I've had just doing stupid things in a physics sandbox game, and there are plenty of mods to choose from. Thanks to the game's built-in mod.io integration, they are really, really easy to install (like, super easy). Currently, the devs have gone almost radio silent about their next major update, Patch "789." Because of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →and that's Bonelab in-game and past the first level in Klepton, running on top of MoltenVK with no graphical issues that I can see
positive · AI labelView post →Hytale comes out tomorrow, and I'll be streaming with @baileyfeesh.bsky.social at 1PM PST! I am still quite skeptical on this game... The last time I believed a too-good-to-be-true game that promised a lot of modding potential... Bonelab happened... but tomorrow we'll find out if there's sauce here
neutral · AI labelView post →It’s good, but VERY overpriced. It should be like $20. The story—well, uh—sucks ass, and I’m being generous. The story is horrible and very hard to understand. Modding is good; I like that, and the sandbox is fun. But do not buy this for the story—buy BONEWORKS if you want story. This game is only sandbox. It’s a 7.5/10 at best, and that’s only because of the modding and sandbox elements.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☑ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☐ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☐ Potato ☑ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Beyond Sandbox burned me so badly that i appriciate this game now. used to be really bad with its sdk, but now id say its worth your time with fusion + the extended sdk that the community made, can def lose alot of time making stuff for this game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wayyyy overhated, yes it may have a short story, but the modding capability definetly fixes that.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →the devs spend their days jacking off in the office rather than finishing the 4 year old game
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm a tad biased here, since I make mods for this game, but Bonelab is my favourite VR game bar none, I just wish Stress level Zero would update the game more often.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →♥♥♥♥ without mods 0/10 Best game with mods 10/10 I recommend this game a lot. I sold my house to buy this.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have played over 500 hours of this game across quest and pc and finally got it on steam after so long I bloody love this game, probably one of my favorite VR games of all time, I love the level design, the weapons, and the mods alone is worth the price of admission. But its not for everyone, Bonelab is primarily a sandbox game unlike Boneworks which was mostly about the campaign, if you loved Boneworks because of that you might not be a fan of this game. If you know what you are getting…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good game, i don't know what to say. Mods are very fun, as the game on it's own is good but is way better with mods. I have waayyy too many hours on this game😭. Buy it, buy it, now.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →no updates in 2 years as of writing, the story is incredibly bare, modding is fun, but you can only get so much out of that.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Genuinely one of the best VR games ever but I am not giving it a thumbs up for one vital reason. The optimisation. Tell me why my PC can run Cyberpunk Path Tracing on Ultra at about 40-60FPS without DLSS, but a VR game can't run a game that runs at less than my monitors resolution at ultra settings - I have to put it on medium/high to achieve 72 FPS on the base game before mods too? Hopefully this patch is taking so long because they are making it so you don't have to have a 4090/5090 to run…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →BONELAB isn't perfect, its not supposed to be because its a sandbox game. Stop complaining that it isn't a story game when it was never supposed to be. Go play BONEWORKS. I personally LOVE Bonelab, its an amazing showcase of what the Marrow1 sdk is capable of and I've played wonderful mods with Bonelab. Bonelab is cool. Boneworks is also cool. Both are equal and have different goals. The only issue I have with Bonelab is the fact they use AI Generated "Art".
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☑ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☐ Very good ☐ Good ☑ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☐ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☐ Potato ☑ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer ---{…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Don't be fooled by the puny amount of hours I have on this game. This is one of the best VR games that I have ever played and has ever hit the surface of VR. I don't know where I would be without the amount of inspiration I have gotten from this game and it's genre and how many hours I have sunk into the Quest version of the game. It has gotten to a point where I have bought this game two times, one on quest and now on PC + the BONELAB and BONEWORKS OST that is on sale for purchase. I own…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →a MUST HAVE if you love the comedic physics of garrys mod / half life, but dont want the gun focused VR topic of H3VR!!! Actual comfort game, and those hours say it. u 3 u (STAY AWAY FROM FUSION. PLEASE!!!! ; 3 ;)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bonelab – Impressive Tools, but for what? Bonelab is technically impressive. The physics system feels solid, interactions are satisfying, and the modding potential is clearly one of the game’s biggest strengths. There’s a huge amount of high-quality community content: • Detailed and satisfying weapons • Vehicles, NPCs, avatars • Well-made maps with strong attention to detail A lot of effort has clearly gone into both the base game and the mods. Core issuet Bonelab is a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After 300+ hrs on standalone and quest link. I can say with certainty that this is the greatest VR Game ever made.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →PC VR Exclusive ‘Boneworks’ is Now Entirely Playable on Quest Thanks to This Free ‘Bonelab’ Mod.
neutral · AI labelView post →It's quite the experience, I started with the Index. Unless Valve releases a new game with the frame I'd recommend trying Half Life: Alyx first, it's a very AAA-like experience and does a great job at demonstrating all of the capabilities of VR on top of being beautiful. Once you've tried that Beat Sabre is a blast (and quite a bit of exercise). Superhot is probably the best selling VR game, you can live out your Keanu Reeves fantasy of being both John Wick and Neo. The art style ensures…
neutral · AI labelView post →Videos simulating mass shootings at schools and spaces associated with LGBTQ+ and Black Lives Matter communities are circulating on TikTok. Using the virtual reality game BONELAB, users recreate extremist violence, raising concerns about TikTok’s failure to remove extremist content.
neutral · AI labelView post →old and no update, but still ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ awesome. campaign isnt that bad, lowk its good why hate the game with the mention of boneworks, just go play that, dont give this game bad reviews for no reason
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →BoneLab (8.7/10) (BONELAB OVERALL) VVV this is literally my favorite VR game, it scratches an itch in VR that i haven't been able to in a while, and is extremely fun. i wouldn't recommend this game to someone who is new to playing VR, because of its complex controls and systems etc. but the decent size campaign and the ability to mod the game so easily (in my case) makes BoneLab one of the only VR games i play anymore. (BONELAB vs BONEWORKS) BoneLab is a step up from BoneWorks (in my opinion,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Best VR game besides blade and sorcery, also being in the #1 spot. Story wise, get Boneworks instead.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Like Garry's Mod but VR Bonelab may have a lackluster story compared to BONEWORKS, but what it lacks in story, It makes up in freedom, the physics, the avatars, and most importantly, THE MODS. allowing even more freedom in the gam, as well as the entire BONEWORKS campaign. Buy this game and, through mods, Get BONEWORKS for free!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Verdict: A stunning, physics-driven playground that’s as clever as it is chaotic. Bonelab — it’s a F*CKING masterpice VR experience. 10/10. (recommend playing it ) I F*CKING LOVE IT
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very fun game to play with friends or mess with mods by yourself. Peak.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →BONELAB Stress Level Zero. No disclosure for ai 'art' -y youtu.be/jzwhbuCbnnE
neutral · AI labelView post →honestly... this is FIREEEEE uhh i recommend getting bonelab fusion its actually so funny it pisses me off
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Physics Action Puzzler ‘BONEWORKS’ is Coming to Quest 3, Pre-production for Next Game Announced. Stress Level Zero’s physics-based sandbox follow-up BONELAB (2022) has done spectacularly well on Quest, although the studio still hasn’t brought its award-winning physics action puzzler BONEWORKS (2019) to Meta’s latest standalone hardware generation. That’s about to change. If you haven’t played on PC VR headset, Boneworks is a narrative VR action-adventure using advanced experimental physics…
neutral · AI labelView post →Shocked to see that there was no custom BONELAB feed, so I took the liberty of making one myself. Despite my gripes with the game, BONELAB is such an incredible and revolutionary title, and one of my personal favourites. Figured I'd share some neat BONELAB screenshots. #BONELAB
positive · AI labelView post →very good vr game especially with fusion and thhe mods definitly top 3 if not tyhe best vr game out there
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game, probably my favourite vr game, absolutely amazing with mods, the campaign is quite bad but you can get a mod that adds different campaigns including the boneworks campaign which is a gem. It is super fun with friends through the fusion mod, overall 8/10 (ps: also surprisingly optimized im playing on a laptop with these specs listed below and im getting 80 fps and my graphics is set to high)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First, the campaign is wayy to short, i managed to get through the whole thing in about 6 hours while getting stuck on 2 puzzles and exploring a lot, if i hadn't gotten stuck it would've likely been about 5 hours, if you JUST want the campaign it is not worth the full price or honestly, even on sale (which i got it on) However you don't buy this game for the campaign, i knew that going in, you buy it for the mods and hot damn there are so many good mods for this game, from being able to use a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Literally the best VR game I've ever played. I love this game so much, it's my favorite!!! I honestly regret getting it so late, in the summer of 2025, and I wish I would've got it earlier. A friend of mine gifted this to me and he told me the hype for this game back in 2022 felt surreal. Either way, if you're looking for Garry's Mod in VR, this is for you. Get the Fusion mod and you're golden. Using the SDK to make maps and avatars isn't that terribly hard either. If you're here for the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is not standard for a ton of reasons, just look at TABG. Boneworks/BONELAB are two more games that behave somewhat similar, but they're both VR titles.
neutral · AI labelView post →TikTok continues to host videos simulating deadly white supremacist attacks through the virtual reality game BONELAB. The recreations of massacres feature neo-Nazi symbols and weapons. After further reporting, TikTok removed 37 videos and seven TCC accounts, but stronger enforcement is still needed.
neutral · AI labelView post →game is fun alone but it is more fun in fusion and also graphics on lowest are still 10 times better than standalone worth my money (refunded standalone and bought this one)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a great solid game, but seems development is dead. Leaving modders to create content and updates for the game. So expect a good story and gameplay similar to boneworks and that's it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →super nice game with great physics
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I recommend playing with fusion Campain 9/10 Gameplay 10/10 Graphics 7/10 depends on settings i cant run the highest especially in fusion Overall 9/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There is actually quite a backlog on VR games by now. Admittedly mostly by b-grade studios, so not reaching the quality of HL:Alyx or so, but not bad either. Stuff like ~~Boneworks~~ Bonelab or the Alien and Metro games are genuinely quite good and came out recently.
neutral · AI labelView post →Cool game but be prepared for motion sickness
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sr. Eng on Bonelab until recently, previously Oculus+FB+Reddit+Crunchyroll. I guess my career has serviced weebs, nerds, and gamers. So clearly my next move is to move to Japan and work on a game with some Friends. Also involved w/ Basis (github.com/dooly123/Bas...), a nifty little VR framework.
neutral · AI labelView post →Bonelab Will Add Inside-Out Body Tracking On Quest 3 & 3S. > Stress Level Zero's Brandon J Laatsch [described](https://x.com/BrandonJLa?ref=uploadvr.com) inside-out body tracking as "the most game changing feature of VR hardware since tracked controllers in 2016", and said "Other hardware players either need to step up and develop it or concede the space to those who do because it will create an insurmountable divide." […] > > IOBT shipped in December. However, almost a year later it's still…
neutral · AI labelView post →i bought the game on my pc after i had already owned it since launch on my quest 2, Bonelab is one of the best VR games i have every played. almost everything is interactable and its just a very fluid game. SLZ are one of the greatest VR game developers of all time with there physics and interactions. although the story isn't as good as Boneworks, it is a phenomenal game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I’ll start off this review by saying: I do not want this to be a fully negative review if I had the option to I would make it neutral. So bonelab is not really finished and does not update at all furthermore most of the base game content is just kind of placeholders to introduce you and say “go play mods now we can’t be bothered to make content” which kind makes the price really weird. The updates are just kind of not here at all and even if they are they cannot ever keep to their deadlines…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this physics based sandbox game has the most stupid and insane mods alongside garrys mod the best way i can describe this is just garrys mod + vr + confusing but fun campaign the physics in this game is hilarious too i recommend playing with fusion (basically adds multiplayer to the game) its just so ♥♥♥♥♥♥ chaotic lol
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Somewhat hot take... I'd argue Boneworks (*not* Bonelab) was "better", at least if you're used to VR and if you judge by freedom and replay value. Don't get me wrong, playing through Half Life Alyx was fun and engaging, but to me it had little to no replay value, since for all it did great in visuals, audio, accessibility, and especially story, it failed dramatically in physics. Since I played Alyx right after Boneworks, I kept trying to pick stuff up which I ended up not being able to for…
neutral · AI labelView post →Gonna be real, was so hyped to finally try this, only to realize it's a glorified VR gmod with the absolute WORST community ever for the online mod Fusion. Fusion is what makes it worth it, but the kids who play this game genuinely should've never even been born. Bunch of wannabe e-thugs
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Best VR game, period. With one of the best most loving community i've personaly ever been in
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Single player is fun and all but I would have stopped playing if it wasn't for fusion, bonelab fusion is absolute cinema.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i genuinly LOVE this game. it is my favorite vr game EVER, with only half-life alyx coming close to it. but i'm gonna be so honest, it completly sucks ass without mods. seriously, the campaign is like 4 or 5 hours long, FOR A 40 DOLLAR GAME BY THE WAY. i love playing round with the mods and fusion and all that, but without that the game is so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ dry. i WOULD tell you to get boneworks if you want a better story, but just get this game, set up mod support which is super easy, and go download…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bonelab is the definition of VR replayability perfected. The story isn’t even that bad, but the main focus of the game is the sandbox, so keep that in mind. Something else to keep in mind is the insane amount of storage you will use installing mods. “I’m sitting at almost 200 gigs in total.” Like I said, endless replayability, so it’s hard to not say it’s a 10/10.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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