Berserk Boy has been tipped as a Mega Man-inspired 16-bit journey, nevertheless it’s really nearer to Inti Creates Gunvolt sequence, and even then feels markedly completely different.
Taking place in a future world the place a scientist named Dr. Genos has gone rogue, you play Kei, a younger boy who groups up with firebird Fiore to battle his approach to saving the universe. The narrative isn’t notably noteworthy, nevertheless it’s effectively dealt with with engaging intermittent stills and fast dialogue exchanges. It’s actually much less intrusive than the Gunvolt sequence on this respect, interjecting simply sufficient story to make issues complete with out making you labour by means of excruciatingly drawn-out reams of waffle. Instead, its waffle is temporary, sometimes mildly amusing, and largely to the purpose.
Berserk Boy attracts on a number of influences and cherry picks parts from numerous titles to construct a strong, honed motion journey all its personal. There are shades of Mega Man Battle Network in its hub part; the aforementioned Gunvolt in its fight hooks; and lots of a 2D platformer in the way you negotiate the springs, spikes, and pitfalls of its multi-tiered surroundings.
Protagonist Kei decides to affix the resistance with the help of his newfound energy: the Berserk Orb. This purple ball of lightning slots into your fast menu, and transforms him from a boy with gentle assaults to a speedy, devastating power.
Berserk Boy gives 5 main Sectors to beat, every break up right into a set of prolonged sub-stages. You get your bearings in New Hope City, and between missions return to the Lab, the place you possibly can speak to numerous resistance troopers for info updates, and crucially, entry a store for everlasting character upgrades. These embody issues like elevated well being, extra highly effective assaults, longer combos, and improved sprint skills, amongst a bunch of others.
Since you possibly can revisit any cleared stage, it’s attainable to grind for money, do you have to really feel so inclined, to extend your purse and your general energy profile. There’s a contact of Metroidvania labored in, too, with inaccessible elements of levels requiring sure power-ups to avoid. Backtracking to seek out hidden areas significantly will increase the sport’s general scope, and in the end unlocks an alternate ‘EX’ mission for every stage.
While some power-ups might be purchased, the 5 Berserk Orbs can solely be received from Genos’ minion bosses, every remodeling Kei with new particular assaults and capabilities that change the best way you deconstruct the surroundings. Finish New Hope City and defeat its flaming boss, for instance, and also you win the Flame Orb. This completely acquired Berserk Power will rework Kei right into a fiery red-haired twister, affording him skills just like the drill assault, one which might burrow by means of sure patches of surroundings.
This ability lets you go quickly subterranean, too, so you possibly can navigate beneath low-hanging spikes — a capability that turns out to be useful when backtracking for stranded troopers to liberate (of which there are no less than a dozen scattered round every stage) and out of attain Berserk Icons. We additionally actually loved the Kunai-flinging ninja guise granted for sector three, casting its future jungle as a run-and-gun, projectile-based panorama. Each guise additionally comes with its personal tremendous assault, engaged with a stab of the set off button, prompting a momentary fullscreen illustration earlier than being unleashed.
It isn’t very similar to Mega Man in any respect, actually. It’s quick, free, and much much less regimented, being extra arcade-action-oriented with a set of distinctive bells and whistles. You aren’t pushed to battle bosses utilizing explicit varieties, however fairly to experiment with no matter works. And all of it hangs collectively very effectively. It feels much less leaden than sure Japanese alternate options, shifting with searing tempo and an upbeat vibe. Four levels in and you need to have a complete understanding of the sport’s structuring.
While the store, in our opinion, is mildly too costly from the outset, it isn’t an excessively troublesome recreation in case you try to make headway with out it. Each Orb type you purchase has completely different capabilities, some excelling in fist fight fairly than dashing, or aerial fight fairly than floor. You can swap Berserk varieties on the fly with the shoulder button, which turns into integral as early as Sector Two, the place you’re prompted to recurrently change guises to skate by means of. It’s all cleverly applied and makes stage traversal regularly attention-grabbing. There are car part interludes, too, including selection to the combo, the place you hop and hearth by means of compelled scrolling sections.
Additionally, Berserk Boy’s combo system could be very pleasing to toy with. Achieving an S-Rank on a stage is often so simple as pulling off a good most combo and never shedding a life, and the layouts actually encourage lean, dash-based chaining. When you smash into an enemy, dealing them harm, a follow-up blow is prompted, permitting you to press the ‘B’ button to ship out a shockwave. It could also be attainable for skilled gamers to chain whole levels by means of dashing, though don’t quote us on that. Either means, chaining enemies is a simple and enjoyable pursuit, and sometimes required to keep away from spike pits. Its engineering works higher, in our opinion, than sure entries within the Gunvolt sequence.
Graphically, Berserk Boy is fairly. The backgrounds are good, the sprites daring and effectively animated — though we should admit to liking sure frames greater than others, and sure transformative guises over others. This, nonetheless, is trivial and a matter of style. The music is top-notch, composed by Sonic Mania‘s Tee Lopes, driving the journey with catchy, toe-tapping themes.
Some of the bosses may have used some beefing up. Stage bosses and assaults are usually repeated, and so they’re hardly ever pitched on a serious scale. There are some difficult engagements afterward that encourage you to experiment with switching Berserk powers. The levels themselves, nonetheless, are a tad overlong. You will typically defeat a boss, after which maintain going till you attain an exit portal. While actually enjoyable, they recurrently really feel like they need to be ending sooner.
We did encounter one glitch the like of which we haven’t seen since Sonic 2 on the Sega Master System, taking successful in drill type that lodged us within the wall. After a lot struggling, we ended up transported outdoors the stage’s play space, working alongside in a bizarre no man’s land. It solely occurred as soon as and is kind of unlikely to occur once more, nevertheless it’s value mentioning nonetheless.
Conclusion
Its very affordable price ticket isn’t the primary promoting level of Berserk Boy. Rather, it’s a really competently made indie motion journey that has the texture of a 16-bit title, powered by the oomph of current-day consoles. It’s way more arcadey than each Mega Man and Gunvolt; sooner, and altogether extra attention-grabbing owing to its a number of character varieties and deft stage design. Its hub world is definitely navigable, and the improve store, Metroidvania backtracking, and prisoner liberating side-missions encourage gamers to squeeze essentially the most from the expertise. There are minor, trivial points that would have been tightened up barely, and the unbiased improvement facet isn’t solely within the background. For what it makes an attempt, nonetheless, Berserk Boy could be very profitable, recurrently displaying up bigger improvement studios with its creativity, and comes straightforward to advocate to 2D motion lovers.
