Bat Boy [Xbox]
Developed by Sonzai Games - whose previous title Super Sami Roll we reviewed last year - Bat Boy is a Mega Man inspired action-platformer that’s a lot of fun. There are Normal and Speedrun options available right off the bat, though the Speedrun option skips all cutscenes - so probably best to hold off on that until a second playthrough. You play as the titular Bat Boy, real name Ryosuke, whose best friend Saki aka Racket Girl - along with seven other Friends - has just been kidnapped and brainwashed by the evil and aptly named Lord Vicious, forcing them all to participate in the Trials of Darkness.
In order to rescue all of his friends, Bat Boy will have to track them all down one by one, and battle them in order to snap them back to reality, dealing with countless other enemies along the way. After teaming up with Garou - a very chatty crow - you’ll be guided through the worlds within Lord Vicious’ dimensional gateway in order to defeat him once and for all. As well as the main quest of rescuing your pals, you’ve got various Side Quests that you can pick up, such as tracking down some lost puppies and kittens that are hidden across the dimensions, or locating special ingredients for drinks that the Boarman (not a typo) wants to make.
Combat consists of hitting baseballs back to enemies and attacking them with your bat, knocking enemies into each other, and utilising the selection of skills you’ll learn as you defeat each boss. Similar to the likes of Mega Man, after each boss fight you’ll gain the use of their abilities, such as a protective Bubble Shield; a shoulder-tackling Bull Rush; a Slash Bash that allows you to dash forward to hit enemies, bash blocks or dodge across spikes; and a Grappling Ribbon to help you reach higher areas to name just a few. These require stamina to use, unlike your normal attacks, but for the most part this doesn’t ever seem to be too much of a problem. One of the most fun parts of combat is timing your bat swing when jumping towards enemies, allowing you to bounce off them - and if you pull it off successfully, you can bounce from enemy to enemy whilst doing this. Your deaths are counted by strikes, with a running tally that pops up each time you die. Checkpoints located through levels will replenish your health and stamina, and you’ll sometimes come across green plants that refill your stamina, too - and keeping track of where these are will help if you need to backtrack for a wee top-up.
The world is designed with a Super Mario 3 styled overworld to separate each of the levels, with plenty of areas to explore outwith the main levels. Rescued friends will return to the ‘Groovy House’, where you can listen to the jukebox and buy drinks from the Boarman - once you’ve found the ingredients for them, at least. Vending machines are also at the start of each level where you can replenish your drinks supply without having to go all the way back to the Bar, though this only works for drinks you’ve already unlocked via the Boarman in the first place. You can get new costumes from Hog Ross (yes, he looks like who you’d think) who has a little gallery located here too, filled with paintings he has done - each of characters from ‘other worlds’, and each of whom you’ll encounter on your travels.
The pixel art style is gorgeous, and everything is brightly coloured, with plenty of beautiful scenery and environments. Many of the enemies you meet will come in the form of Pigzies, who are the low level grunts; but you’ll also come across the likes of Azaros, who is a much bigger, badder foe. Pigzies come in a variety of designs, with different costumes to match the areas they’re in, their attack styles and more - you might come across little baseball pigzies, ninja pigzies, or even ribbon-twirling pigzies, all of which can be dealt with swiftly. The chiptune soundtrack is brilliant, composed by Evader Music - whose previous work includes soundtracks for Super Sami Roll and Smelter - and really flows well with each level, with plenty of high-energy, catchy tracks.
There’s lots of stuff for you to find that will keep you hunting throughout the levels: secrets hidden behind breakable and walkthrough walls; red and green seeds - as well as golden ones you’ll have to purchase - which all go towards increasing your health and stamina; and collectible cassette tapes, of which there’s one in every level. And once you’ve 100% completed everything (thankfully there’s a percentage tracker shown on your save file), you can always make a new save and attempt the Speedrun. Available for £11.99 on Xbox, Bat Boy is a decently priced game coming in at around 4-5 hours of gameplay. It’s a really enjoyable game and whilst it can be quite challenging at times - throwing the odd curveball to keep you on your toes - it does feel more manageable than some of the earlier Mega Man titles that inspired it, keeping it feeling fresh and fun throughout.
In the end, we decided to give Bat Boy the Collecting Asylum rating of 9/10.
Are you interested in Bat Boy? What do you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!
- V x
Thank you to X PLUS Co Ltd for the Bat Boy Xbox review code!
