When 20XX was released, I was very interested in it. The game took the Mega Man formula ( mostly based on Mega Man X) and turned it into a neat roguelike experience. Now the developers have taken their ideas to the next level with 30XX, which is an improvement in every way possible.
The basic gameplay of 30XX is the same as 20XX, fight through Mega Man-esque stages in a roguelike, but there are some neat changes here and there. You can now mix and match cores for instance, and as long as you have slots available, you can change things up to your desire u like the first game where gaining a core meant removing the one you had before. As stated though, you need to keep track of your inventory slots if you are to succeed. There are new weapons introduced as well, but I think there are balance issues with more than a few of them at the moment, such as Ace’s hammer. Hopefully these are fixed by the time of the full launch.
This time around, the stages are slightly bigger and have new forms of obstacles, but there seems to be a few glitches here and there. This is understandable though, due to the game being an early access game and more fixes and changes will be coming. The bosses also have some issues, as their boss areas come off as too bland and small compared to the first game, and this is an area I hope Batterystaple Games tackles quickly. There are good ideas here though, and this is a great start for the game so far.
30XX does something interesting here though in the form of a level editor, but it is clearly a work in progress for the game. You can make a level out of pre-made parts and put them into rotation for everyone. The issue is that there are a lot of bugs with this mode so far, and this is clearly an area that the developers will be working on to refine and improve. There is a lot of potential with this area and I have high hopes that this mode will give the game a lot of longevity.
But how does the game look? 30XX goes for a 16bit pixel art style and it looks amazing. Visually, the game is far above its predecessor and everything feels more authentic visually to the time period. Everything looks great in motion, and that is a good thing because the game’s movement is perfect, with no hiccups so far. I feel that the developers have put out a great preview of what they have in mind for the game and I like what ideas they have, but one area that needs work is the co-op mode. Online works fine, but the local co-op feels like a mess so far. It needs to either be refined or dropped because it just doesn’t work as is.
Still, 30XX has everything it needs to be a success and I recommend checking it out even in Early Access mode for fans to see the game as it comes to be in its final form. This is gonna be a good one.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided