I’ve always appreciated Mega Man from afar, but I’ve got to be brutally honest with you, I’ve never been the best player.

Capcom’s specific brand of action platforming has always been a trifle too difficult for my tastes, but I’ve persevered with many of the titles over the years, and always appreciated their level design and boss encounters.

Judging by the number of times I died playing through Mega Man: Dual Override’s demo at Gamescom, I think the Japanese winner is almost certainly on to a winner here.

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Following on from the critically acclaimed Mega Man 11 – which unbelievably launched eight years ago now – this feels like another pitch perfect platformer with a few wrinkles that may raise frowns from purists.

Mega Man: Dual Override Is Legit, and I Know Because I Died 100 Times 2

Firstly, there’s no “lives” system here, so you’re able to replay from the nearest checkpoint until you progress.

This may have been a concession for the demo, but I suspect Capcom has been looking at other efforts in the genre and wants to make something a touch more approachable here.

You can also equip a Chip before each level which gives you a buff you can activate in-game on the R2 button. This is on a cooldown so you can’t spam it, but I opted for the ability that gave me a shield, allowing me to tank a few more hits as I’m not particularly good.

Purists who don’t want any additional help can opt to enter each level without a Chip, and will gain the ability to call in robo-dog Rush as a reward. It seems like a good compromise to me. Rush allows you to reach out-of-the-way ledges, so I suspect playing without a Chip may be required to eventually 100% the game.

Mega Man: Dual Override Is Legit, and I Know Because I Died 100 Times 3

The level design is largely as you’d expect, with cunningly placed enemies and platforms making each screen a test of dexterity.

Like I mentioned above, I really struggled, but I never felt like the game was being unfair – I just needed to “gitgud” to progress, and I did eventually make it to the end of the demo.

As with all Mega Man games, you’ll be able to tackle the bosses in whichever order you please, unlocking their unique abilities to help you in future skirmishes.

I only had the option to take on Twinkle Girl, which took place in a kinda World Fair-style environment, complete with dazzling drone shows and fireworks in the background.

The easiest way to describe the visuals is to say it looks like that original Mighty No 9 concept art brought to life; it’s like a playable anime from a side-scrolling perspective. All of the assets are colourful and clean, and I found all the platforms and enemies very “readable”.

Mega Man: Dual Override Is Legit, and I Know Because I Died 100 Times 4

I had to fight a couple of mini-bosses, including a replica of Astro Man from Mega Man 8, on my way to the final encounter against Twinkle Girl. She’s kinda like an idol, who can summon fireworks onto the stage Mega Man needs to weave between.

Armed with a drill attack – which I assume you collect from another boss not in this demo – I was able to interrupt a couple of her moves, and I learned her pattern quite quickly. Of course, knowing what to do and executing on it are two different things, and it took me a while to master my approach.

A few other things I should mention before I wrap up this preview: you can now slide using the Circle button, which I think makes the controls a bit more fluid. But it’s also possible to press Down and Cross/X if you’re a traditionalist.

I should also mention the Override mechanic, seeing as it’s in the name. This is effectively an ultimate move like what you’d find in Overwatch or Marvel Rivals, and it powers up the Blue Bomber’s moveset temporarily – at the cost of him overheating for a short period afterwards.

Mega Man: Dual Override Is Legit, and I Know Because I Died 100 Times 5

I found the Override useful when I needed to chip the remaining health off bosses, but I’m not sure I’d interact with it much outside of this scenario.

Overall, though, I came away from this game pretty impressed. Personally, I don’t think it’s for me because Mega Man has always been a bit too tough for my tastes – but I think the art and level design is on point, and I’m not sure what more fans could ask for really.

Where do you stand on Mega Man: Dual Override? Are you open to some of the accessibility improvements here? Do you like the art direction? Does this brand of action platformer personally appeal to you? Let me know below.

PlayStation Buttons based on work by VictorPines, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons