Mega Man: Dual Override Tokyo Game Show Hands-On Impressions

Mega Man: Dual Override Fans Will Love What Capcom Is Cooking Published Oct 2, 2026, 9:00 AM EDT Sam Woods is TheGamer’s Senior Reporter. He’s been in games journalism since 2020 and has undertaken a variety of roles in that time. These have included roles such as SEO Editor, Managing Editor at DualShockers, and Global Head of Gaming, and he's also been seen on the BBC. He was promoted to the Senior Reporter position in 2025 following a series of high-quality reports and exclusives for TheGamer. Since 2020, Sam has written over 3,000 articles and specializes in telling the stories of the people behind the games. He’s interviewed the biggest game directors, some of the industry’s top talents, told the stories of how indie games came to be, and spoken to players about what really makes them tick. He’s also interviewed some of the world’s biggest musical artists to find out how the medium has inspired their work, and TV and Film actors about their roles in video game adaptations. He even hosted a PAX panel in 2021 and made a documentary in 2024 surrounding the creation of a Disney game. Alongside this, Sam focuses on breaking news. He got the scoop on Perfect Dark’s cancellation, provided context on some AI drama, and revealed that Lady Dimitrescu’s actress would love to step back into the character’s giant shoes. These articles have been picked up by the biggest gaming sites, including IGN, GameSpot, and PC Gamer. He also loves to dive into the numbers behind the games. Sam’s journey in games journalism has taken him all over the world. He’s covered Gamescom in Germany, Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles, and Tokyo Game Show in Japan, each on three occasions. He’s been learning Japanese since 2024 with the intention of identifying and translating Japanese-language news and bringing it to English-language audiences first, something he’s done countless times. Sam’s first review was 2020’s Battletoads reboot, and he’s since reviewed games in The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, and Pokemon franchises. I remember playing a Mega Man game as a kid. I don’t remember which one it was, but I do remember that it was way too difficult for me. It was something that stuck with me, and I’ve not touched another Mega Man game since. I’m aware then, that this seems like a terrible precursor to any piece of writing about Mega Man, but come for a ride with me. I played the next entry in the franchise, Dual Override, at Tokyo Game Show, and it kinda got its claws into me. Mega Man: Dual Override Is Shaping Up To Be A Faithful Evolution Of The Franchise Dual Override’s big hook is that you get to play through the game as two protagonists: Mega Man, who prefers ranged weaponry, and Proto Man, a character that specializes in close-quarters combat and defensive abilities. I got to experience the first three stages of the game with both, and it’s immediately clear that they’re more than reskins of one another with huge gameplay differences between them. I’ll start with Mega Man, my favorite of the two characters. He plays just like the Mega Man I remember—his ranged Mega Buster attacks help to nullify the game’s enemies, allowing you to keep your distance when things get brutally difficult in typical Mega Man fashion. More on that later. Proto Man felt more difficult to play than his counterpart, given his reliance on close-quarters attacks, but he did come with one major benefit: A nifty dash that helps him navigate the trickier platforming sections. Both clearly have their pluses, and they’ll be needed. Mega Man: Dual Override looks set to pull no punches when it comes to the difficulty of both its stages and their platforming elements. I personally found the platforming slightly easier than the game’s enemies, which are placed with such precision that they’re dangerous without being unfair. As I said earlier, Mega Man games are known for their difficulty, and I’d be lying if I said there weren’t points where I struggled during the demo. It’s very much going to be the type of game where dying repeatedly is part of the learning curve. Often I’d learn where the enemies were hiding on one life, before clearing them out on another. It’s a loop that the development team touched on in our interview, stating they want players to “feel a sense of accomplishment in bite-sized chunks”, and it was definitely that type of game. I’d be lying if I said there weren’t points where I struggled during the demo. That comment led the team to talking about the new features of Dual Override, including Upgrade Chips and the titular Override System. I didn’t get much chance to toy around with the former, but players can use over 50 chips with Mega Man and Proto Man to customize the characters to suit their play style. I did get to play with the Override System a little, though. Upon filling my Override Gauge with Mega Man, I was able to unleash a killer charge shot that melted enemy health bars. Proto Man had similar utility and enhanced his shield attacks, letting him mow through hordes of enemies. It's a fun system, but one that isn’t without its risks. At the end of the Override period, Mega Man and Proto Man enter a vulnerable state. It hampers certain skills and abilities the pair have, so using it requires strategy and thought. Mega Man: Dual Override surprised me. Maybe that says more about me than the game, but the levels I played were expertly designed, looked great, and felt excellent to play—even if I died more than I’d care to admit. The team's efforts to evolve the Mega Man formula can’t be overlooked either. With the new systems and Upgrade Chips, you can customize the two characters in ways that really suit your play style. I’m very excited to check this one out when it launches next year. Released 2027 Developer(s) Capcom Publisher(s) Capcom Franchise Mega Man Number of Players Single-player Genre(s) Platformer, Action, Adventure, Side-scroller