20XX (2017)

If you've played the Mega Man X series, you know what to expect control wise. You'll have a dash, wall jump/slide, both a charge and regular shot, and a standard jump. Depending on which character you choose, you'll either have a gun or sword for battle. After you defeat bosses you'll have the option of collecting their power, although this isn't required as you can also choose currency for the run or a stat boost. Once you've gotten enough boosts to your speed, everything is right in the world when progressing through the levels. You can also acquire upgrades like having a shield when you boost, minimal flight, extra charging power, and more.

With the heights that roguelite games have reached, it's strange it took so long for a game to take on this genre. It lends itself to it very well, with increasing difficulty for bosses as you progress through the game, with ever changing level layouts. Now it's important to know that levels don't change too much between playthroughs - it's similar to that of Spelunky, where you'll definitely recognize the different sections, just in different orders. It keeps things fresh and makes sure you’re always paying attention for the platforming.

For those that have always enjoyed the gameplay loop of killing a boss and then finding the enemy that is weak against that ability, you can do that here. However, if you're like me and spent most of your days just using the pea shooter, the game is very welcoming of that as well. It's why the choice of choosing the power is there opposed to forcing you to take it, and it makes the game much more manageable for those that choose to go with the vanilla method. There are pros and cons to any approach you take, assuming you aren't doing the extra difficult challenges, where the only pro is the satisfaction you feel after completing the run.

As much as I love the replay factor of levels in this, I can't help but miss the hand crafted levels I grew up with. You won't get to intimately know the levels and their secrets, or the placement of enemies. Everything changes, both in the layout and the difficulty depending on where in the run you are. For those that truly struggle with the difficulty, the game offers permanent boosts which you can purchase and turn off and on, should you decide you've gotten good enough. In addition to the these, you can unlock new power-ups to collect in your runs, have stuff ready for your next run, as well as buy coins to gamble away.

For anyone that loves the jump/shoot genre, there's a lot to love here. If you're looking for meticulously handcrafted levels, you won't find that here; you never do in procedurally generated games. But the game makes up for it with the replay options, the different challenges the game offers, and a fair amount of content.