20XX
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Critic Reviews for 20XX
20XX's great gameplay is let down by inconsistent procedural level designs and underwhelming boss battles.
Playing 20XX has an addictive rhythm to everything. You dive into the level, find loot like upgrades and currency bolts, kill bosses to take their weapons, and keep pushing until you die. After dying we'd often suffer from that 'just one more run' itch that's so common in roguelikes and the formula fits an action platformer like 20XX perfectly. The procedural engine does a good job of mixing things up, but after a while you can start to see a little repetition, but that's easily overshadowed by the sheer variety and amount of upgrades and customisation.
20XX is going to make things very difficult for us. A remarkable roguelike with an aroma of Mega Man that seems a copy but that is a tribute to a whole way of making and understanding those kind of video games.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
If the procedurally generated levels were better, I'd wholeheartedly recommend 20XX to anyone, but with how it currently functions, I can only recommend it to Mega Man fans who need that itch scratched. With that said, Mega Man X Legacy Collection releases later this month, and Mega Man 11 arrives in October, so that window is already dwindling. 20XX is a game that controls nicely and surely felt needed and relevant back when it hit Early Access in 2014, but winds up feeling underwhelming in 2018.
It's a worthy successor to any of the old games, it is the game that Megaman fans have been waiting for, and quite simply it does what it does spectacularly.
Part of the reason why 20XX exists is Capcom's negligence of the Mega Man series. Batterystaple Games has successfully taken the Mega Man X formula one step further by adding in roguelike mechanics, essentially giving the game infinite replay value. Don't worry about mastering 20XX in a week and having nothing else to do afterward, there are plenty of modes to keep the best players happy. In addition to this, the developers have also confirmed that all DLC for 20XX will be free on consoles going forward. When you consider the reasonable price (£13) and the continued support for the game, it seems like an easy decision for platforming fans.
While I know I ragged on the game in this review, I do it out of love. Without a doubt this is a fantastic playing and looking game. There are a few issues with the rogue-like elements and the boss fights can be a bit lacking, but that doesn't stop 20XX from being a well made action platformer, and one worthy of comparing it to the legendary Mega Man series. Players looking for a new platformer to sink into will find a great time here, and any Mega Man fan should not hesitate to pick this one up. There's a lot to love here and the things that it does right more than make up for its shortcomings.
There's a lot of fun be had here, a great challenge for those looking for a new retro-style platformer like this to take on, but 20XX never truly finds that "retro" charm. Instead, it's a new idea pretending to be a retro experience, and the more astute players out there will be able to sniff it right out.
