Berserk Boy is probably the best throwback platformer of the year, mashing together Sonic's speediness, Mega Man's boss-cosplaying powers, and some light Metroidvania elements. The game debuted to 'Overwhelmingly Positive' reviews at launch - no surprise there - but its developer is nowhere near done.
As if releasing the best Mega Man-like in years wasn't enough, developer Berserk Boy Games just announced Berserk B.I.T.S, a spin-off remixing the oft-forgotten strategy RPG Mega Man Battle Network that sees players fight it out on a 6x3 grid. Berserk B.I.T.S is instead an idle auto-battler that you can play on the side of your desktop, with our little berserker fighting computer viruses while running across a 4x3 grid.
"Let your B.I.T do battle and collect items while you relax or work on other tasks," the game's Steam blurb says. "Collect and craft a plethora of battle chips to be used in real-time during battle. Each battle chip is placed in an ever growing library that you can strive to fill out." My favorite part of the trailer below is the ability to decorate your B.I.T.S' very own house though, complete with worker robots. Just look at the high-octane cuteness.
That's not all, though - there's seemingly a lot more Berserkishness happening in the pipeline. The Berserk Boy Games social media account recently tweeted that they actually have four more "SECRET" Berserk-related announcements left for 2024, after announcing the idle spin-off, of course. What they could be is anyone's guess. Xbox and PlayStation ports for the main game? An expansion? More spin-offs? I'm happy to see a game as good as Berserk Boy get extra love regardless.
For now, check out all the upcoming indie games of 2024 and beyond to see what else is up next.