30XX makes some impressive additions to the roguelike Mega Man X feel of the developer’s previous game, 20XX. Which results in DANG fine platforming action.
20XX got a whole lot right when creating a roguelike Mega Man X, if only because it gave me infinite Mega Man X levels to play. It also let you play with a pal. And had you wall jumping, sword slashing, and buster blasting your way through dangerous slews of traps and ferocious enemies. Again, doing all this with near-infinite variation in stages made it one hard game to put down. Now, the next game does all of this stuff too, but tightens up every aspect to somehow make an incredibly compelling game that much more enrapturing.
The controls give the player characters a greater sense of weight and presence, making platforming feel more precise. The pixel art visual style captures this feeling of playing a long-lost SNES title, evoking nostalgia while also offering some striking scenes in battle and exploration. The two playable characters carry their own definitive styles, leaning into doing far more interesting things with each style rather than giving you one character with a bit too much to do. Also, you can stack abilities on the buster character to do some wild, wild stuff, which is honestly something the Mega Man series should have thought of by now.
From the time I spent hurtling and shooting my way through the PAX East demo, I can tell that 30XX is shaping up to be a super solid action platformer. The procedural level composition creates challenging layouts, each area feeling like it was thought out and carefully designed. Movement and action just plain feel great, rewarding risk and speed and finesse that make you feel amazing as you work through them. The abilities really felt like they added to your character’s play style, making them feel unique to how you want to tackle the game. I loved 20XX, and this one somehow just feels eons better.
30XX is currently in development, but in the meantime, you can add it to your Steam Wishlist.
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