Action platformer Berserk Boy now has a release date after years of turmoil
rockpapershotgun.comBerserk Boy first appeared on Steam in 2022 and immediately impressed as a fast-paced action platformer inspired by classics such as Mega Man. Then it vanished from Steam - and re-appeared, and vanished again, and so on.
It returned last year for a seemingly final time, and today it has a new demo and a release date: March 6th, 2024.
There's also a new playable demo available from its Steam page ahead of the looming Steam Next Fest.
Berserk Boy's art, level design and movement are clearly inspired by 16-bit classics of platforming, but there's seemingly a greater emphasis on speed and combos. Attacking enemies in quick succession fills a Berserk Meter that lets you use special attacks.
There also seem to be light Metroidvania elements, with alternate paths to uncover around the setting of New Hope City.
The reasons for its on-again, off-again relationship with Steam aren't clear. Lead developer Zu acknowledged the problem in February 2023, writing on Twitter that they "don't have full access to our Steam page, and we sadly don't see that changing any time soon." The post said that the issue wasn't due to Valve, and Zu has since implied he's unable to talk about the real reasons.
I have my theories, but all's well that ends well, I suppose.
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