Berserk Boy is a 16-bit throwback that improves on the likes of Mega Man and Sonic with "Metroidvania elements," and I see why it's got 97% positive Steam reviews

Berserk Boy trailer still
(Image credit: BerserkBoy Games)

Berserk Boy is an obvious love letter to a wide swathe of the biggest 2D action games of the '90s, but it's not just a derivative throwback. Take the relentless speed of Sonic, the Saturday morning sci-fi vibes of Mega Man, and add in just a dash of Super Metroid and you've got the makings of a very special little platformer.

The big gimmick in Berserk Boy is its combo system, which encourages you to take down enemies at ridiculous speeds. With the basic elemental loadout, you can dash into enemies, dealing damage and creating a lightning chain to any baddies that take more than a single hit. You can then cash in that lightning with a tap of the B button to deal massive damage.

I've only played about 40 minutes of Berserk Boy, but that's been enough time for me to fall in love with the risk-reward balance this system offers. I find myself just booking it through levels, looking at enemies not so much as roadblocks but as little power-ups I can abuse to keep that combo meter going. It's got all the speed of a Sonic game, but honestly seems to do a better job at letting you become an active participant in the speedrunning.

The part I haven't gotten to yet is where you can switch up your powers with various elemental forms - which, naturally, you pick up from defeated bosses, Mega Man-style. The game's structured linearly (so no choosing which robot master to fight next), but you can return to previously cleared levels and reach new locations with new abilities. Those are the "Metroidvania elements" mentioned on the game's Steam page, and while they probably won't scratch the itch if you're looking for a true Metroidvania, they do help make poking around the various corners of the levels feel more rewarding. (Here's a new, gorgeous Metroidvania that might be more your speed for pure search-action fun.)

It looks like I'm not the only one taken with Berserk Boy, either. The Steam reviews are 97% positive, and the average critic review score is 84, as shown on OpenCritic. The bottom line across all these reviews seems to be that Berserk Boy absolutely understands what made those 16-bit games great - as well as what modern design elements could make them better. If you want to check it out for yourself, you can grab Berserk Boy on both PC and Switch.

The best retro games stand the test of time. 

Dustin Bailey
Staff Writer

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.

Read more
Beyond the Ice Palace 2 screenshots showing whip attacks
And you thought Hollow Knight: Silksong is late – 37 years in the making, this retro Metroidvania has a whip-smart Steam Next Fest demo that's as Castlevania as it gets
Blade Chimera title art
The folks behind some of the best anime-style games of the past 5 years have a cyberpunk game out this week, and it's my first must-try Metroidvania of 2025
The First Berserker: Khazan protagonist
Steam Next Fest hasn’t even started, but I’m already obsessed with the subtly Soulslike demo for this “hardcore” action RPG with over 3,000 reviews of its own
A screenshot shows the pixel art characters of Angeline Era floating through stars.
The devs of a legendary indie Zelda-like have a new retro action game with "bumpslash" combat, and its Steam Next Fest demo is a gem: "Fans of Ys, take note!"
Rascal celebrates completing Buccaneer's Beach in Rollin' Rascal
My dream Sonic game is finally real and it even has online multiplayer, except it's actually this "high-speed" 3D platformer with a glorious demo in Steam Next Fest
Climbing up a massive enemy and striking its chest weak point in Eternal Strands
Eternal Strands review: "Flawed but fun behemoth battling"
Latest in Platformer
Sonic Unleashed Recompiled
Sonic fans are leading the charge on a new preservation tool that can help give any Xbox 360 game a native PC port
Rascal celebrates completing Buccaneer's Beach in Rollin' Rascal
My dream Sonic game is finally real and it even has online multiplayer, except it's actually this "high-speed" 3D platformer with a glorious demo in Steam Next Fest
Beebz collects a gear in Demon Tides
Super Mario Odyssey and Wind Waker collide in this expressive Steam Next Fest 3D platformer that's already an early GOTY contender for me
Key art for Ruffy and the Riverside showing the titular character run through a lush green forest with a waterfall in the background
I'm getting some good Banjo-Kazooie and Crash Bandicoot vibes from my favorite Steam Next Fest platformer, where you can swap water and lava to break levels
Super Mario 64
A week after suffering webcam tragedy, blindfolded Super Mario 64 speedrunner casually breaks 3 world records in 4 days: "Another day in the office, another world record"
Super Mario 64
Super Mario 64 speedrunners thought a trick that requires landing on a spot "the width of a red blood cell" was virtually impossible - now it's been done blindfolded
Latest in News
Dragon Age Inquisition
Dragon Age actor says the last time he played Inquisition, he upheld the RPG tradition led by Baldur's Gate 3 actors and romanced his own character: "Which is the best — the best"
Monster Hunter Wilds
Capcom promises "this is just the start for the next generation of Monster Hunter" as Wilds shatters sales milestones: "The Guild authorizes this celebration!"
Lester sitting at a computer in some artwork for GTA Online
Some GTA 5 players can't bring their characters to the new PC upgrade, and the open-world game's mixed Steam reviews are hammering FPS caps and a lack of text chat
Kamala Khan holds Jean Grey's body in an homage to the cover of Uncanny X-Men #136
45 years after the original Dark Phoenix Saga, Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan will travel back in time to save X-Men history
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Assassin's Creed Shadows is the first game in the series with "a fully customizable sandbox" as your base, which is where Yasuke and Naoe hang out and pet baby animals
Monster Hunter Wilds screenshot of spider boss Nerscylla
Monster Hunter Wilds takes an infamously rare and annoying material from the old games and absolutely buries you in it – and also buries you in tiny spiders