Several years ago I caught wind of a game that played a lot like Mega Man X, but with roguelite elements, namely in the random generation of levels and the permadeath, one run mentality. The game was called Echoes of Eridu, and looked to fill a gap left by Capcom after its many cancellations of the blue bomber, including the already complete Mega Man Universe once Keiji Inafune left. Sadly, it didn’t get much attention, probably because everyone was focused on the potential Mega Man successor Mighty No. 9, courtesy of Inafune. If you somehow missed it, continue to do so – it’s not very good – I backed it for $175 on Kickstarter. But I digress… After a while, Echoes’ name based on the first Mesopotamian city took to its inspiration much more literally and changed to be reflective of what it was going to be for people unaware.

Today people on PC and consoles alike can run, jump, and shoot their hearts out in 20XX, named after the setting for Mega Man in so many of its iterations. It’s also the date for Persona 5, but there aren’t many references to that. For anyone leery of just how much this wants to be like a little blue armored robot, the opening sequence should make it obvious. I remember talking to a few folks back in 2014 about this, and they seemed to think it was nothing like the series that inspired it. I’m honestly not sure how they could say that – there’s so much to love here for fans of both the genre and the format that’s long been dormant. For many, this was a shining light where there was only darkness, although Capcom seems to be getting things together for fans of the beloved character.

So let’s discuss the game itself. If you’ve played the X series, you know what to expect control wise. You’ll have a dash, wall jump/slide, both a charge and regular shot, and a standard jump. Depending on which character you choose, you’ll either have a gun or sword for battle. After you defeat bosses you’ll have the option of collecting their power, although this isn’t required as you can also choose currency for the run or a stat boost. Playing again after so many years I couldn’t help but think that parts of the movement didn’t feel as good as they do in the Capcom games, but it was a matter of upgrading my speed to get to that point. Once you’ve gotten enough boosts to your speed, everything is right in the world when progressing through the levels. You can also acquire upgrades like having a shield when you boost, minimal flight, extra charging power, and more.

With the heights that roguelite games have reached, it’s strange it took so long for a game to take on this genre. It lends itself to it very well, with increasing difficulty for bosses as you progress through the game, with ever changing level layouts. Now it’s important to know that levels don’t change too much between playthroughs – it’s similar to that of Spelunky, where you’ll definitely recognize the different sections, just in different orders. It keeps things fresh and makes sure you’re always paying attention for the platforming. This goes without saying, but if you’re good at Mega Man, you likely won’t have too much issue playing this. I made it to the eighth boss on my first run playing on the normal difficulty. In addition to the standard level, there will be optional offshoots for extra gear/powerups, as well as speed challenges and shops along the way. As this is never the same, it adds a type of strategic gameplay you don’t normally have in these games.

For those that have always enjoyed the gameplay loop of killing a boss and then finding the enemy that is weak against that ability, you can do that here. However, if you’re like me and spent most of your days just using the pea shooter, the game is very welcoming of that as well. It’s why the choice of choosing the power is there opposed to forcing you to take it, and it makes the game much more manageable for those that choose to go with the vanilla method. There are pros and cons to any approach you take, assuming you aren’t doing the extra difficult challenges, where the only pro is the satisfaction you feel after completing the run. If you’re having a hard time with the game, it may behoove you to bring in a friend to play co-op with you. This will no doubt make the bosses later into your run much more manageable, if that’s your main hang-up.

As much as I love the replay factor of levels in this, I can’t help but miss the hand crafted levels I grew up with. You won’t get to intimately know the levels and their secrets, or the placement of enemies. Everything changes, both in the layout and the difficulty depending on where in the run you are. For those that truly struggle with the difficulty, the game offers permanent boosts which you can purchase and turn off and on, should you decide you’ve gotten good enough. In addition to the these, you can unlock new power-ups to collect in your runs, have stuff ready for your next run, as well as buy coins to gamble away.

For anyone that loves daily challenges and the jump/shoot genre, there’s a lot to love here. If you’re looking for meticulously handcrafted levels, you won’t find that here; you never do in procedurally generated games. But the game makes up for it with the replay options, the different challenges the game offers, and a fair amount of content. Yes, you can beat the game in less than half an hour, but you will likely spend much more time with it before you make it to final boss. 20XX is a beautiful mesh of an old school game that defined the genre with new school ideas implemented to keep things fresh for those that want to play the game indefinitely.

8 out of 10

Pros

• Co-op Gameplay
• Sword and Gun
• Endless Replay Options
• Many Challenges

Cons

• Lacking Handcrafted Levels
• Potentially Frustrating

20XX was developed by Batterystaple Games in conjunction with Fire Hose Games and published by Batterystaple Games. It launched on PC in 2017 and on NS, PS4, and X1 July 10th, 2018 for $17.99. The game was provided to us for review on PS4. If you’d like to see more of 20XX, check out the official site.

 

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.

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