Developer Batterystaple Games has unveiled 30XX, the slightly more pixel-y follow-up to its tremendously entertaining Mega Man-inspired procedural rogue-like, 20XX.
20XX, if you’re unfamiliar, released for Xbox One, PS4, and Switch in 2018 (some four years after its Steam Early Access debut), and it’s a bit of a good ‘un. In essence, it’s a modern reimagining of Capcom’s classic Mega Man X formula, melding traditional platforming and procedurally generated rogue-like, for some endlessly re-playable hijinks.
Although the term “procedurally generated rogue-like” might cause a few eyes to roll back, it actually works incredibly well; 20XX’s optionally co-operative run-and-gun action is satisfyingly tight, its two heroes feel pretty distinct, there’re some great bosses, a dizzying array of abilities to shake-up each run, and the procedural generation, while a tad uneven, uses enough pre-designed level chunks to keep things interesting.
30XX Reveal Trailer Watch on YouTube
All of which is to say that I’m actually quite excited about 30XX. On a fundamental level, it looks to adhere to the same basic formula as its predecessor – procedural rogue-like, local and online co-op run-and-gun action, and so on – but it’ll introduce eight new level themes, each with their own visuals, bosses, and music (the original’s soundtrack was fab, incidentally), as well as “new metagame progression that puts the game’s challenges squarely in your hands”.