Bat Boy | Steam Deck Review
Bat Boy, from Sonzai and X Plus Games, is a brand new independent platformer with all the flavors from the original, classic 8-bit genre of the past. With all the soundbites and action present, players will have fond memories rushing back to them with some controller smashing nightmares to haunt them later on. Casual platformers, seasoned pros, and even speedrunners will sense fun and frustration with a very solid entry to the platforming category.
Batter Up!
You play as Ryosuke aka (you guessed it) Batboy; a normal school kid by day but a hickory wielding vigilante crime fighter by night…cheesy backstory but on par in the sense of the memories of those familiar with the 8-bit entries from decades past. Batboy doesn’t travel alone. He’s accompanied by a rag tag group of schoolmates who join him in a sports drenched mission to fight crime sometimes waaaay past their bedtimes. Batboy’s friends each have their own sports niches such as basketball, tennis, football, and other sports. Suddenly they are intercepted by Lord Vicious who brainwashes the crew to follow him and prepare for a series of dark sports trials. However, Batboy, with his trusted (insert your Kentucky town here) slugger, manages to fight off the brainwashing waves Lord Vicious deals out to avoid mind entrapment and, expectedly so, venture off to the far lands where he can rescue his kidnapped crew.
Time to Round the Bases
Current platform players will immediately draw conclusions to Shovel Knight when starting out. Not only can Batboy return serve with projectiles that are fired at him, the bat itself can be charged for a bat flipping shot that stays on screen for several seconds. This proves deadly for any foes that touch it and as a means for Batboy to hurl himself upwards to generally unreachable areas. The bat proves to be so powerful as to knock out false walls and find secret areas to gather either red or green fruits (or vegetables…it’s hard to tell) to improve on his health or stamina respectively. In some cases, he will also encounter a stranger who happens to be present in every level, which is expected in a game like this but you can’t help but utter to yourself “Really” when he shows up. He offers his take on the area that is being explored, but will also offer to sell you a piece of gold fruit (or vegetable…still hard to distinguish) that can be used for either health or stamina improvement. Batboy is also accompanied by a bird sidekick named Garou who is present for no other reason than to make “Captain Obvious” observations about the scenes to be explored or provide running commentary during cutscenes; generally useless otherwise for ALMOST the entire game.
Also as expected, a boss waits for our hero who will try and strike him out with their own powers dictated by the sport they’ve specialized in. Each boss fight comes in two forms, with the difficulty of the second form ramped up from double-A to all star levels. If victory is achieved, the brainwashing spell is removed and gratitude from Batboy’s opponents is expressed and a gift is bestowed upon him in the form of a weapon or talent that they tried to eliminate him with, drawing beloved features of the Mega Man franchise.
Hit Down the Line… Fair or Foul?
Bat Boy definitely hits on all the classic notes from the 8-bit genre in everything from gameplay, sound bites, and even the overworld map which draws parallels from a certain plumber duo with the third entry in their epic franchise. This map feature makes the player hit every boss-ending level to obtain every power offered, but also allows for optional levels to test their skills and to visit health and stamina shops to spend the secret produce they’ve gathered. Even the bits that are a tad eye rolling such as the text interactions between our hero and the bosses are par for the course.
Something else that draws from that era is the difficulty of the game. Starting out it is pretty fair to get a good handle as to how you are moving forward in the game, but the difficulty definitely ramps up in later levels and boss fights. Even the pig-like foes during the levels, who themselves have sports specific powers, become wiser to the offense that Batboy presents and will occasionally return the projectiles that Batboy fired at them with his trusty bat. One frustrating feature is each time you die and roll back to the last save point you activated is the strikes that pile up. You’d think, to match the baseball theme of our hero, get to strike three and you get “game over.” In this case it’s an ever running tally of strikes that mocks your futility trying to pass the level you are struggling to complete. The powers you gain as you move forward will help in your quest, but several weapons are ineffective and not even used during the game. Again, par for the course for Mega Man fans (sorry for the golf reference here but what can you do?) who are familiar with the Rain Flush or Power Stone weapons. The story is expectedly “out of left field” for this kind of game with an interesting twist as part of the excursion.
What’s the Call on the Field?
Bat Boy definitely scratches classic 8-bit gaming right where it itches. Clever level layouts and action will keep gamers engaged. Difficulty is a bit unfair at times and will make the urge to break the controller in half a bit difficult to resist. Completion is satisfying but playing a doubleheader (going through that again) will not be a pleasant thought. Overall Bat Boy is a solid double to the gap but not quite a home run.
To hear me talk more about Bat Boy, be sure to listen to the May 31, 2023 episode of the Gaming Outsider podcast around the 48:53 time stamp.
This review is based on a Steam copy of Bat Boy provided by X PLUS Games for coverage purposes. It is also available on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.
Bat Boy
$14.99
Pros
- Very Clean 8-bit Platforming Experience
- Very Clever Use of Bat as a Weapon and Level Movement
Cons
- Diffifculty During Game Ramped Up Too Fast and Too High Especially for Casual Gamers
- Weapons Gained From Some Bosses Not Proven Useful and Not Worth The Effort of Obtaining
