Kick Butt In This Co-op Fighting Robot Platformer
Welcome to Indie Spotlight!
This week we dive into a familiar year that isn’t what you think it is — 20XX!
For those who don’t recognize it, 20XX is a year commonly used in the Mega Man franchise. You’ll find this game is appropriately named, for it is a Roguelike spiritual successor to the Blue Bomber!
So, you take on the role of a daring, adventurous cyborg and it’s on you to explore randomly generated levels and defeating big bad robots of all shapes and sizes. You can (currently?) choose between Nina, the cannon-toting ranged specialist, or Ace, an energy sword-wielding maniac! (He’s not really crazy.) The game once hoped to also include a charge-smashing dog named Jam and the insane old man known as Blitz, but the Kickstarter campaign did not reach that stretch goal, so to my knowledge there is no plan to add them. Sad face.
The game begins outright with a tutorial stage to show you the ropes. You can do the usual platforming moves: jump, dash, attack, drop through ledges. You can also hop along a wall to climb or slide down it slowly. Throughout a playthrough you will also come across an array of powerups that augment your arsenal, such as giant boomerang blades or rockets!
You’re met with a slew of robot baddies hellbent on taking you out. Plants with lasers, dragon whelps, angry bees (watch out, Nic Cage!), you name it. At the end of each level you face a boss, like a bladed spinning wheel that shoots more bladed spinning wheels. Blade-ception!
Now here’s the fun part: 20XX supports full local and online cooperative play! You and a friend can both hop in together and wreak havoc as a dynamic duo. Who said cyborg heroes had to fight alone?
The folks at Battery Staple Games have been hard at work for more than a year since the campaign was successful, and who knows how long before that. The game is still declared as an Alpha build, but updates have been coming through consistently every two weeks. I’m excited to see what else is added!
20XX is available on Steam, and you can hop in on the action RIGHT NOW! You get full access to the latest build and will receive anything else that comes out until the game is officially released. Though frankly, it feels official enough as is!
