I absolutely loved Berserk Boy – enough to want to come back for more thanks to its fast-paced platforming, fluid combat, incredible soundtrack, and nostalgia-bomb of SNES-era gaming. This 2D action-platformer is worth the ride so you can GO BERSERK!!
When I saw the initial trailer for Berserk Boy, I immediately felt a sense of familiarity from its 2D platforming, upbeat tunes, and power-swapping protagonist. I was excited for another indie platformer to bring me back to the SNES-era of 2D platforming where I continuously struggled against Mavericks, Dr. Wiley, and platforming gauntlets full of hazards that were a surefire instant death for me.
These games were notoriously difficult, meaning that they were often good to play in short settings. On the other hand, it’s also great to watch players speedrun these titles because of how easy they make platforming seem as they effortlessly slay bosses and clear levels in a matter of minutes.
Berserk Boy is BerserkBoy Games’ first entry into the field. After just under six hours of its platforming and combat, I am very thrilled with what I played.
Players take on the role of Kei, a member of the Resistance who is trying to stop Dr. Genos from abusing powers granted by Berserk orbs and enact world domination. Accompanied by Dizzie (Kei’s closest ally) and Fiore (a talking bird who helps Kei learn the secrets of the Berserk orbs), Kei must use his newfound Berserk power for good and stop the existential threat of Genos’ plans.
In my first few minutes of playing Berserk Boy, I realized that this was a faster-paced Mega Man game. Heck, I felt more agile than Mega Man X when he was fully upgraded with Armor of Light. Right from the jump I was tasked with wall jumping, dashing in every direction, and grinding on rails while slamming into enemies and following up with an electric burst. It felt sort of like Sonic the Hedgehog’s mach speeds without visually blurring the screen to demonstrate momentum.
It felt good — quite good – to GO BERSERK! The common theme of Berserk Boy involved Kei and the rest of the cast screaming GO BERSERK!! as a way to activate their powers, just like out of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.
Berserk Boy surprised me because it nailed traversal and movement quite well. Combat began simple – just fly into enemies and zap them if they are not yet destroyed. Despite the simplicity, I had full control of Kei and was challenged by timing my attacks correctly and not always following up for secondary attacks. Once I killed enough enemies, I could use a Berserk Power to instantly clear a group of enemies in a big burst of color and energy.
Additional powers became unlocked when I defeated bosses who held the Berserk Orbs at the end of each world. The fire orb allowed me to turn into a tornado and slam into enemies. I could drill under ground and into walls, too. The ice power, which became by favorite form, allowed me to continuously chain my dashes through enemies or throw kunai at them like an ice ninja. Like Mega Man’s implementation, I could freely swap between the powers with a quick button press.
I appreciated the variance of the powers and how they offered me additional traversal and weaponry, but I felt like some of the powers needed additional fine-tuning. The wind power, for instance, allowed me to hover in air. The mine power gave me the ability to double jump (err…ricochet) off of ephemeral platforms. More often than not, I ended up ignoring the ephemeral platforms and just flew over them using the wind form just so I didn’t have to bother with timing the jumps. I also continued to defer to the ninja kunai form because of how easy it was to snipe enemies from afar using the kunai.
This is not to say that the powers were ineffective or lacked creativity. Nor is this to say that I wasn’t given opportunities to use these powers in new ways and in combination with each other. Upon getting a new power and form, the first level in a new world gave me a brief tutorial on what I could do while subsequent levels taught me to continuously swap forms to increasingly utilize my entire arsenal of abilities.
By the time I reached the final levels, I was appropriately challenged in both combat and platforming. Some rooms had me continuously hot-swap from the default purple Berserk Form to the Mine Buster form to the Ice Kunai form. The best platformers make me feel good at gaming because of how they task me with timing jumps and utilizing the game’s mechanics in tricky situations. When I was going berserk playing Berserk Boy, I sure as heck felt like I was a “good” player.
This speaks volumes about Berserk Boy’s levels, as they’re not the kind of platforming levels you can one-and-done and move on. Instead, I could access the majority of a level using my currently available tools – if I wanted to fully complete a level and find everything, I needed to have every ability unlocked.
That said, the levels were quite long. Each level is separated into four areas along with four “checkpoints” that allowed me to deposit everything I’ve collected. If I died before hitting a checkpoint, I was set back a bit and lost most of the currency I had acquired from defeating enemies and exploring the level. Some levels had me teleport back and forth as I cleared specific portions that unlocked other earlier passages in the level that were originally locked.
Thankfully, there weren’t too many situations where I lost progress. Bottomless pits are clearly labeled with flashing red skulls. Most spikes would kill Kai if I stood on them for too long rather than instantly. Older platformers are considered to be difficult because of the “cheap” difficulty spikes in the form of instant deaths and lack of checkpoints. Berserk Boy lacks that cheapness.
Each of Berserk Boy’s bosses were unique, albeit slightly predictable in the sense that they followed a concrete pattern of behavior and utilizing a very restricted set of attacks. Berserk Powers helped a lot in chunking boss health, but I was often tasked with very limited windows to chip away before dashing away to safety. If you’re looking for an easy way out in hopes of exploiting enemy weaknesses like those found in the Mega Man X series – I couldn’t find such weaknesses. No cheesing bosses, folks!
There’s a very small part of me that was disappointed with Berserk Boy’s bosses. I wanted more of them. Not just big bosses, but minibosses, too. Some levels had minibosses like gigantic spiders and turtles, but some levels had no bosses at all. I appreciate that the boss-less levels had a mini-gauntlet of enemies, but I would have rather preferred additional variation in this space.
There are very few optional objectives and side missions in Berserk Boy, further driving home the nostalgic simplicity of SNES-era platformers. Each mission contained five medals and a handful of Resistance citizens that Kai could save and bring back to the main hub. Saving all of the Resistance members unlocked an additional, but optional, level.
In between missions, I was sent back to the main hub that was full of the Resistance members I had saved along with the rest of Kei’s allies. With the currency I had acquired, I could permanently upgrade my Berserk suit with additional health, additional energy, and other upgrades that augmented my existing unlocked powers. These additional powers refreshed combat in a way that made me feel more powerful whilst also changing how I could attack enemies without relying on spamming singular attacks. They’re a worthwhile investment, folks. Upgrade your suit!
Berserk Boy is a good-sized game in the sense that it avoids dragging on or becoming repetitious. I completed the game (and the secret final boss) at just under the six hour mark, only completing two of the EX-levels. I can imagine that most players will have a similar experience unless they struggle with platforming, then I would assume that their completion would take around eight hours. The additional EX-levels I played were fun time trials, so don’t expect a good chunk of time to be spent chasing completionist objectives. That said, the EX-levels present a good challenge, so if you’re down to test your mettle against higher-difficulty and more challenging trials, they’re worth an attempt.
Older players (like myself) might find Berserk Boy to be too forgiving in how it implements its platforming and presents its hazards. I didn’t consider it to be too easy. Nor did I feel like it missed the mark in capturing the “true essence” of its source material. Instead, it strikes a very happy medium that many players will enjoy. Those looking for nostalgia will get that level of retro-inspired 2D platforming but with additional tools. Those unfamiliar with classic action platformers will be treated to an approachable game that looks classic but plays like a modern title in its fluid and flashy glory.
I am honestly excited to see players and speedrunners get their hands on Berserk Boy because of how well it links up with the nostalgic platforming of the Mega Man series. It’s faster than Gravity Circuit and presents a greater challenge than 30XX in the sense that objectives are consistently difficult rather than progressively difficult as the game goes on thanks to roguelike mechanics. These games I mention are fun to watch online and even more fun when speedrunners show off optimized play patterns at GDQ and on Twitch. Berserk Boy will be a treat for speedrunners who desire a fast-paced platformer with optional objectives that encourage backtracking.
On the topic of Gravity Circuit, it’s important to note that Berserk Boy is slightly meatier in game length and depth. Sure, I spent twice as much time successfully completing this game and a handful of the optional objectives, but you should expect to spend some additional time doing some backtracking (as I did) to fully complete the game. An end-game objective involves collecting medals for a secret quest – I had to return to earlier levels and attempt to fully complete them once I had all powers unlocked. With platformers like Berserk Boy and Gravity Circuit, it’s nice to have additional time in-game to stress test the powers acquired from defeating bosses. Thanks to Berserk Boy’s endgame, there are reasons to backtrack and use newer powers in older levels.
All of this said, my biggest critique of Berserk Boy is that I wished it had some form of additional mode or higher difficulty, such as a New Game+ or an “Ultra Hard” mode with a different ending. Having the option to replay the game at a higher difficulty and challenge the best players in the form of a boss rush or kaizo-inspired platforming can be a way of rewarding those who finish the game and come back hungry for more. I’m not asking for a souls-like platformer by default, mind you – I’m asking for something that can, and should, be made available after one has demonstrated their initial completionist commitment by finishing the base game in its entirety. The EX-levels offered a smidge of a challenge, but it wasn’t enough for me to feel like I had truly bested the game after having fully unlocked all of the upgrades.
I loved the entire art direction and designs of Berserk Boy. I know I’ve alluded to the familiarity and nostalgia that the game inspired at first glance AND while playing: The entire package looks just as retro as it plays. From the distinctive animated biomes to the robotic enemies’ designs, it all harkens back to classic gaming without being too visually jarring.
Before I conclude this review, I want to touch on Berserk Boy’s soundtrack. Tee Lopes is one of the incredible minds behind Berserk Boy’s tunes, and let me tell you: The soundtrack is incredible. In true Tee Lopes fashion, the game is full of nostalgia, electro-inspired chiptunes, and upbeat tracks that keep the pace of Berserk Boy’s amped momentum. It perfectly captures the synth sounds from the SNES-era of action platformers. Every world has a unique song, with each of the world’s levels having a variation of the overarching melody that was assigned to that world. If you were a fan of Sonic Mania or TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge’s soundtracks, you’ll be just as thrilled with what Tee Lopes and the team cooked up for players to jam to while playing.
I absolutely loved Berserk Boy – enough to want to come back for more thanks to its fast-paced platforming, fluid combat, incredible soundtrack, and nostalgia-bomb of SNES-era gaming. This 2D action-platformer is worth the ride so you can GO BERSERK!!
