Gaming News Inspired by the best titles of the 90s, this action video game is already a gem not to be missed!
In recent years, so-called neo-retro games have been fashionable. Overall, it’s about bringing past experiences up to date, but using current means. The title that interests us today and one of the last representatives of this trend that ticks all the boxes.
Announced long ago in 2019, Berserk Boy is a game that reeks of neo-retro. Once we see your main artwork, We immediately understand that the title is intended to be a thinly veiled homage to Mega Man, the first spin-off series in Capcom’s Mega Man series. And yet this is far from the only influence of BerserkBoy Games, the team behind the project. Although I wasn’t that thrilled with the experience at first, I quickly became fascinated with the gameplay as it reached its full potential.
A neo-retro experience with latent potential
In the great tradition of “old-fashioned” games, our adventure begins peacefully: Kei, our hero, is resting in a meadow, accompanied by Dizzie, his scientist friend. After a while, the latter becomes carried away when she discovers the energy of a berserker ball. Once there, Our protagonists face the terrible Dr. Opposite Genos, who wants to get his hands on these artifacts for his dark plans. While Dizzie is missing, Kei meets Fiore, a talking bird who helps him and allows him to control a berserker ball. This allows Kei to transform and use new powers. During his adventure Our hero will save the members of the resistance and at the same time face the henchmen of Dr. Face Geros by retrieving her Berserker Orb.
At first glance I have to admit that Berserk Boy didn’t convince me. Visually, the style didn’t appeal to me with its very large sprites, its overall aesthetics and, above all, its overly simple gameplay, even if the excellent soundtrack convinced me from the start. But in fact, The more time passes, the more the title reveals its true potential. We quickly find the first Berserker Orb with its first powers, which allow you to charge at your enemies, a bit like Sonic’s homing attack, but also electrocute them. A fairly simple mechanic, but it looks really good thanks to the overall dynamics of the action and, above all, the detailed and successful animations. And after a while the game fascinated me, especially because of the level design.
An adventure for beginners and veterans alike
Over time I realized this The title was inspired not only by Mega Man X, but also by Sonic and not just any, namely Sonic Advance and Sonic Rush, the episodes for the DS and the GBA. In the levels we find rails on which we can slide, a kind of cannon that throws us in different directions All of this means we can complete the courses at full speed. Enough to create a pretty effective feeling of satisfaction. In reality, I would even venture to say that the game borrows more from Sonic Rush than Mega Man. In a Mega Man, you can usually choose the order in which you complete the levels to restore boss powers that are effective against other bosses. Here we are more entitled to a series of levels with at the end a servant of Dr. Genos giving us a new outfit.
After a few hours, It must be acknowledged that the structure stands the test of time, with an emphasis on levels rather than boss fights. As for the difficulty level, the latter is quite accessible thanks to the possibility of choosing between modern and retro modes. Overall, this determines the number of lives available to the player, the first being unlimited, unlike the second. However, The title “BerserkBoy Games” allows those who want to play at a high level thanks to certain featureslike the wall jump, which you can do an infinite number of times, or the ability to change your powers in the blink of an eye. Enough to traverse the levels at high speed and what makes you want to see speedruns of the game in the coming years?
Berserk Boy is the kind of neo-retro experience ideal for the nostalgic Mega Man Supported by a great soundtrack, the BerserkBoy Games title shines with its sophisticated level design that allows you to traverse these levels at full speed like Sonic Rush. Ultimately, it is more due to the aesthetics and, above all, the errors in the French translation that some people might dislike the experience.
