Berserk Boy Review | The New Mega Man?

Check out our review of Berserk Boy, a brand new action platformer from BerserkBoy Games…

We’ll tell you everything you need to know about the gameplay, the visuals and everything else you need to know before you play. Will it live up to the likes of Mega Man and Sonic the Hedgehog? Watch on to find out…

Transcript

I’ve said it before in a couple of recent videos, but we’re really living in the golden age of indie games. Whatever you’re looking for, whether it be something deep and thought-provoking or a sugar rush of adrenaline, you’ll find something to tickle your fancy. 

And Berserk Boy is definitely aiming for the latter. Developed by the very aptly titled Beserk Boy Games, it’s an action platformer, set in a futuristic world in which an evil scientist named Dr Genos is trying to harness cosmic Dark Energy to take over the world.

You take the role of Kei, a teenager who unwittingly comes into contact with a Berserk Orb – a mythical phenomena that imbues its host with superpowers. Now the titular Berserk Boy, it’s up to you and your pals to stop the baddies and save the day.

But after being in development hell for 4 years, a charming retro style and the promise of fast-paced gameplay, will it do enough to drive us berserk in this best possible way? Watch on to find out…

When they said the gameplay was fast-paced, they weren’t joking. With both vertical and horizontal platforming, you can zip around super quick, dashing over obstacles and quite literally bounce off the walls. 

Then there’s the combat. Dr Genos’ minions come at you from all angles, and you’ll either have to take them on or dash past them and hope you don’t clock a surprise whack. If you do decide to throw proverbial fists, you’ll be able to chain together combos to stylishly take down the baddies.

I won’t lie, I put everything on the lowest difficulty but still found a lot of the enemies pretty challenging. Some of them can absorb a lot of punishment before they go down, making for a bit of a learning curve. But once you get the hang of it, there’s a real fluidity and rhythm to the action that’s super satisfying when you’re in the groove. 

Speaking of difficulty, you can either play with modern settings, where you get infinite retries, or if you’re a total masochist and pick retro, where not only is everything harder, but you get a set amount of lives before you get a game over. 

If you pick retro, we get it, you drink at the Salty Spitoon. But honestly, I’m happy at Weenie Hut Jr’s.

Despite experiencing most levels at a blistering pace, there’s still a lot of detail and charm to each stage. Not only is there plenty of variety in the design and challenges, but there’s also plenty of branching paths in the spirit of classic Metroidvanias. Now if you’re a completionist like me, that’ll mean a lot of backtracking, but honestly I didn’t hate it.

But what really sets Berserk Boy apart from its contemporaries is the abilities you gradually develop from the Berserk Orb. Largely based on the elements, it won’t be long before you’re harnessing the power of fire, ice and even learning to fly. It adds a whole new dimension to combat and problem solving, and each power is balanced in a way where I never ended up relying on any particular one. 

Plus these powers make you feel like you’re playing through a Saturday morning cartoon, and that will never not be cool. This vibe extends to the visuals. With bright colours, cartoony sprites and Super Saiyan-esque hairstyles, it’s the lovechild of Mountain Dew and 3D Doritos. I say that with the utmost respect and reverence. 

So as you can probably tell, I had a great time with Berserk Boy, and it’s an easy one to recommend. The only thing is, it’s definitely a product of its influences, for better or worse. The obvious one is the Mega Man X, which I’m sure you’ll hear from other critics, but the speed and fluidity is more than a little reminiscent of the Sonic series. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with homages and building on what’s come before. 

But that’s the thing, I’m not sure how much it really builds on what’s come before. It’s a lot of fun and technically proficient, but where’s the line between influenced by and derivative of? This is a super cynical outlook and like I said, you should definitely check it out, I just don’t know if people will be talking about it all that much in years to come. 

But what did you think of Berserk Boy? Please let me know in the comments below, I’d love to read your thoughts. And while you’re down there, don’t forget to like and subscribe for plenty more videos on all things gaming, and you can always visit upsidedownshark.com to keep up with everything else we’ve got going on.

Until then my name is Tom, this has been UDS and we’ll see you next time.

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Tom Baker

I like Star Wars, heavy metal and BBQ Pringles.

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