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Even if Mega Man’s been out of Capcom’s spotlight for a few years now, there’s still been something refreshingly reliable about his presence. Sure, he might get a leaf shield or a throwing saw sometimes depending on which of his machine-kin he’s forced to cull, but by and large, his capabilities are easy to wrap your hand around: He has an arm cannon, and you can charge it. It’s predictable. It’s safe. It’s comfortable.
So what the hell is that?
During last night’s Gamescom Opening Night Live, Capcom released its first glimpse of gameplay for Mega Man: Dual Override, the first entry in the classic Mega Man lineup since 2018. And it’s with the appropriate gravity that I’m forced to report: They’ve gone and overclocked Mega Man.
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According to Capcom, Dual Override has Mega Man “overriding his limits and powering up for a new adventure” by using “new Custom Chips to freely modify and enhance your abilities” and an Override system that can “unleash overwhelming power for a limited time.” In other words, someone thought it would be a good idea to crank up the voltage on our sweet android son beyond the recommended manufacturer guidelines.
The results, I’ll admit, seem pretty effective: In the gameplay trailer embedded above, Mega Man’s aftermarket mods can let him shoot a barrage of damaging projectiles, hover over platforming hazards, and dash around enemies for a more advantageous shooting position.
I can’t help but notice, however, that after deploying those modifications, he’s forced to expose his visibly incandescent heatsinks to avoid overheating. There’s even a moment late in the footage where he pulls a Unicorn Gundam and enters Destroy Mode, exposing all his available cooling surfaces to fire a massively overcharged shot that—to his credit—insta-KOs a boss. But it also leaves him sparking and billowing smoke.
This just seems irresponsible during a hardware shortage crisis, is all I’m saying.
We don’t have a precise release date for Mega Man: Dual Override yet, but it’s set to launch sometime in 2027. You can wishlist it on Steam now.
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