Of course, the bosses are always the same and even though the stages are procedurally generated, there are many segments that are merely copied and pasted so it all becomes repetitive much sooner than you'd hope. That being said, you'll start to encounter very familiar scenarios after only playing a few attempts. It's decisions like this and the fact that you can choose the next stage from a selection of 3 that make each run different enough to the last one. Back to temporary power-ups after defeating each boss, you can choose to either collect their weapon, a random power-up, or some cash. Being able to start a run with valuable chests or more health is a very cool bonus. As a result, you may lose all of your temporary power-ups whenever you fail a run but there are plenty of unlockables that'll make you feel like you didn't completely waste your time. literally!Īs you play 20XX, you'll discover tons of temporary power-ups and weapons as well as currency that you can use in the hub area between stages in order to unlock permanent upgrades and items that will spawn from then on. In other words, it doesn't look or sound bad at all yet it feels off-brand enough to make long-time X fans want to play the classics. You won't come across any particularly catchy tunes and the environments aren't as comprehensive and memorable as the ones in Capcom's games yet you'll still enjoy your time within the futuristic world of 20XX. However, neither the graphics nor sound quite reach the high notes of the franchise that it's clearly inspired by. Its visuals are cartoonish and the characters are fluidly animated while the music definitely sounds inspired by the Mega Man X series. When it comes to presentation, 20XX is certainly capable. Anyway, the controls are tight and experimenting with different weapons so you can find which ones work best for you is great fun. For the record, I found playing as Ace to make the campaign much easier. Therefore, if you prefer a more intimate melee approach then Ace would be the way to go but if you want to shoot your foes from a distance then Nina will do the trick. You play as either Nina or Ace and they control like X and Zero (respectively).
For starters, I must say that the gameplay definitely feels authentic when you compare it to the Mega Man X series (something that I wish I could have said about A Robot Named Fight and Super Metroid). Having recently reviewed A Robot Named Fight which is a roguelike take on Super Metroid, I was interested to see how 20XX adapted Mega Man X gameplay to the genre. So, does Mega Man X work well as a roguelike? 20XX is here to answer that question. Taking classic gaming formulas and adapting them to modern indie roguelikes seems to be a growing trend.
Maciejewski playing a Nintendo Switch on July 11, 2018Ģ0XX is also available for PS4 and Xbox One