30XX Early Access Impressions

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Back in July of 2018 I posted a review for a game I fell in love with. A game that was lovingly crafted and was made to play like Capcom’s legendary Mega Man X series. With a semi-cartoonish, but very fluid art style, randomized level layouts and power ups strewn through out you (or with a companion) blast and slash your way to victory. I left from my time with 20XX with a great set of memories and have come back to it a couple of times since for a randomized adventure. Thankfully as well, Battery Staple Games has put their sequel, 30XX into early access and were kind enough to grant us access. As this game is still in early access this is not a review but more of a set of impressions based on current availability.

The early access build starts with a introduction level featuring Ace, Nina’s red armored Saber wielding partner. I was immediately struck by the crisp pixel art style that 30XX has now. The previous game had a more cartoonish style that felt like a cross between the aesthetics of classic Mega Man and the X series. The new sprite work for the character models looks very sharp and for something in alpha state it animates very well. After navigating through a short cave level and attempting to rescue his partner, Ace is transported away by a new figure, who then awakens Nina from a state of slumber. This then leads you into one of two different modes, Standard or Mega mode. Standard will run you through a rogue lite mode like in 20XX. Mega mode however, gives you the ability to return to a stage select between deaths or successful boss defeats and allows you to carry power ups on a save file.

Unfortunately, I encountered an issue with my laptop that prevented me from being able to go beyond the first level after the intro stage. I encountered an issue where if I died before the end of the level the game would crash and I could not get to the level select on Mega mode. I had a similar crash on Standard mode as well. After a quick test on another device I realized the issue may be with the laptop used for access. I did however get to test out the controls extensively enough on the few parts I could get to run and was able to find several upgrades during those times. I can say with certainty that the game plays just a smoothly as its predecessor did. There were several options added as well, such as the ability to scrap an upgrade you do not want for other parts or currency. This will be useful on runs that you make just to grind resources and base abilities.

Other features that have been advised are a wide variety of controller supports, a custom level builder, and player mod support on Steam. I may not have had the best luck running the early access (the fault of a somewhat weak laptop, not as much on the current build of the game) but I can already tell that I will have a lot of fun when the game officially releases. Especially if I can play through custom made levels by fans. If you wish to try out the early access Steam version of the game you can find it here.Â