Berserk Boy is a satisfying modern take on Mega Man

Although there have only been two main series Mega Man games in the past 14 years, fans are still, in a way, spoiled for choice.

On the official front, Capcom has re-released practically every Mega Man, Mega Man X, Mega Man Zero and Mega Man Battle Network game over a variety of retro compilations. On top of that, there’s also been a steady stream of indie games that take clear influence from the Mega Man series, hoping to recapture some of its magic for those itching for something new.

Berserk Boy is the latest example of this, but while its debt to Capcom’s classic series is clear, it also offers enough to make it stand out on its own. The game’s plot is hokey nonsense and has players controlling Kei (the titular Berserk Boy) as he tries to defeat the evil Dr Genos and his Dark Energy minions. We’d be lying if we said the storyline engaged us, but we’d also be lying if we said most 2D action platformers were played primarily for their lore.

Visually, the game has that sort of ‘HD retro’ art style a number of modern indie games have, where it’s clearly inspired by the SNES era of sprite-based graphics but pulls it off with a level of fidelity that would never have been possible at the time. It’s one of the better uses of the style that we’ve seen and is the first example of the game pulling away from its apparent inspiration and moving in its own direction.

Where it takes this further is in its combat, which is more focused on physical melee attacks than the gunplay featured in Capcom’s games. Shortly into the game, Kei meets a bird called Fiore (his equivalent of Mega Man’s robot dog Rush), who helps him make use of a variety of special powers called Berserk Orbs.

You gain the Lightning orb shortly into the game and collect Fire, Earth, Air and Ice orbs as you progress through the various worlds, each giving Kei different abilities. And if you don’t think those abilities will have their own strengths and weaknesses against various enemies, then we don’t know what to tell you. There’s also a light sprinkling of Metroidvania, as newly-gained powers can be used to find hidden areas in previously completed stages.

The powers are most often used in combat, however, and it’s here where Berserk Boy satisfies most. Hits are pleasantly crunchy in the most delightfully tactile way, and players can chain attacks together to create combos, which in turn lets them fill their Berserk Meter and pull off stronger attacks.

It can result in situations where the protagonist is pretty overpowered, especially early in the game where you can lightning dash through enemies like butter. Even some of the early bosses are a bit of a walkover, which is another key area where Berserk Boy differs from the Mega Man games.

Thankfully, the difficulty level does eventually catch up, and by the time you reach the end of the 6-8 hours, there’s certainly a challenge here (especially if you play in ‘Retro’ mode, where you have finite lives and tougher bosses).

Special mention must also go to the game’s music, which is composed by Tee Lopes of Sonic Mania and TMNT Shredder’s Revenge fame. It perfectly walks the tightrope between retro and modern and is one of the highlights of a Berserk Boy playthrough.

The sum of all these parts is a highly entertaining action game that may not offer anything that pushes the genre further in any meaningful way, but nevertheless delivers the goods when it comes to how fun it simply is to play.