I haven’t been shy about my love for Batterystaple Games action platformer roguelike 30XX. I gave it my Game of The Show and PAX East 2020 and sitting down and speaking with the games creator remains one of my favorite moments at Irrational Passions, so when I got a chance to take an advanced look at an upcoming patch, I of course took it.
For those unfamiliar, 30XX is the sequel to 2014’s 20XX, both being roguelike titles heavily inspired by Capcom’s Mega Man X franchise. You and a friend (or solo), as either the buster-wielding Nina or saber-swinging Ace, fight through randomly generated stages collecting new abilities, armor pieces, and more, before confronting that area’s big boss enemy, gaining their power, before heading to the next area. Fans of the classic Mega Man and X games will find a lot to love here.
This latest patch will give players a brand new area full of new enemies and a new boss, and hidden lore terminals. First up is the brand new eighth area, the WaterGrav. This underwater-themed area is full of fish and oceanic-themed enemies, submerged paths, and pools of water that like to move around. I really enjoyed the motif they went with, with the bright teals and coral in the background, mixed with the more mechanical futuristic aesthetic. The new gravity-manipulating boss waiting for you at the end, Experiment 9, is also nothing to shake a stick at either and is a great addition to the already menacing list of bosses.
Should you be an old pro at this style of game and have found the challenge presented in 30XX so far to be lacking, Batterystaple has you covered. The brand new “Spicy” difficulty puts hard to shame and will give you that ball-busting difficulty you’ve been wanting. I will happily continue enjoying my Normal difficulty on the other hand.
To give you a little hand though, a brand new set of armor is available that is usable by both Ace and Nina, the Resonant Armor is now available. To take advantage of the new gear, however, you will need to defeat special mini-bosses in order to claim the four pieces. I love and appreciate the fact that this new armor set will also change the appearance of the characters, a feature that was present in 20XX but had been lacking in 30XX.
The last of the big features found in this new update is the hidden lore dumps that are now scattered around levels. Ever since I first played the demo at PAX I’ve been intrigued about the 1,000 or so years that separate 20XX and 30XX. The addition of these terminals, five of which are hidden in each stage, will allow you to start putting the timeline together and figure things out. I’m a sucker for this sort of stuff so I’m just eating it up!
30XX remains one of my favorite roguelike titles out today, and the consistent feed of new additions continues to improve an already great package. There is still no word on when the final release will happen or any console ports, but there is no better time to jump into 30XX, so grab a friend and get to busting!
30XX is currently available in early access on Steam!
