The Mega Man franchise, created by Capcom, has many series, starting with the classic series on the NES from 1987, with 11 titles, the main highlight being the creative bosses with multiple powers, but also challenging stages.

The success continued with the X series, launched in 1993 on the Super Nintendo, with a more dynamic gameplay and making better use of the Japanese company’s new hardware. On the GBA and Nintendo DS handhelds, starting in 2002, the Zero and ZX franchises arrived, not as bombastic as the previous ones but a great success among Mega Man fans.

Berserk Boy‘s gameplay is more reminiscent of Mega Man Zero and Mega Man ZX, even faster and literally “berserk”, in other words, hitting the enemies in front of you with everything you’ve got.

Exploration is encouraged

Dash, use an electric pulse and, as the game progresses, unlock other powers by facing bosses and revisiting levels to find collectibles that will be useful in your progression through the game, whether to unlock extra missions, unlock upgrades for your power-ups or even accumulate collectibles to discover even more secrets.

The gameplay is very satisfying, responsive and the game has a well-balanced difficulty, as well as encouraging exploration. Perhaps some of the game’s flaws are the repetition of the same enemies and, above all, the same mini-bosses in repeated stages, but Berserk Boy makes up for this by making good use of the new powers not only to face enemies, but also to progress through the stages, the mechanics that the game introduces organically and even, as mentioned above, the incentive to re-explore previous stages in order to collect the remaining items.

[in this next paragraph I will bring you a slight SPOILER regarding an important mechanic of the game, if you do not want to take this SPOILER, be aware]

The final part of the game, after you defeat Genos, the game’s final boss, sounds strange. The game doesn’t add credits, you get an achievement that leaves you confused and wondering if something is missing and if more can or should be done.

Berserk Boy has a few collectibles, including the resistance soldiers you rescue in the stages that unlock time challenges, which are optional, and the medals (which have a letter B as a symbol).

After defeating Genos, you need to interact with some specific NPCs and collect 50 of these medals in order to progress to actually completing the game, doing a boss rush and progressing to the real final battle of the game.

The big issue is that the game doesn’t make it clear that you have to collect these items in order to complete the game, which I can say is the game’s biggest flaw.

I enjoyed the game and went back through the stages to collect whatever I wanted to collect because I enjoyed the game, but not everyone is obliged to do so or even necessarily likes this feature, so I’m weighing this up and making this point, even with spoilers, because I think it’s necessary for the game review.

Berserk Boy can give you good material for a live stream

Now, spoilers and game mechanics aside, this game is very interesting to bring on a live stream. With a retro vibe and inspired by a great classic like Mega Man, it adds value, has good gameplay and is a very enjoyable platform game to play on a stream.

Add to that the beautiful pixel art visuals and a soundtrack led by Tee Lopes (Sonic Mania, the work that brought him great prestige in the industry, Penny’s Big Breakaway, another recent release, Sonic Superstars, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, among others).

Completing the game, considering all the details of the game, can be done in between 6 and 8 hours of play, while exploring all the other collectibles and achievements in the game can take between 12 and 15 hours of play, or even longer.

The game is not boring and lasts a considerable amount of time for what it offers, as well as being very accessible in performance for live streams or for other people who want to play the game on their computers, even if they don’t have great configurations or setups.

Berserk Boy

PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch (2024)

Performance

Streamability

Audience Engagement

Replayability

Summary

Berserk Boy has very strong roots based on Mega Man and makes good use of these roots to build a fun game with beautiful pixel art and, despite some repetitions and continuity errors, has many more virtues than flaws. The game is fast-paced, fun and extremely addictive in its gameplay. Although based on Mega Man, it has a style all of its own and certainly stands out on its own merits.

STEAM

Ludovicoluka

I have 25 years, I produce content to internet for 4 years and I like retro games, indies and I’m an enthusiast for new launches. I have as my favorite games Donkey Kong Country 2, Super Mario World, Hollow Knight and Red Dead Redemption II, per example. I like to experiment everything and the more, the better, but I never get sick of my comfort games!