Iconoclasts creator, Joakim Sandberg from Bifrost Entertainment, talked a bit about the upcoming Iconoclasts for the PS4 and PS Vita, which is due to drop on January 23rd this week via the PlayStation Network in a post over on the PlayStation Blog. He revealed that the upcoming side-scrolling, hand-animated, sprite-based boss rush game is designed in the old-school vein of 16-bit classics, where it was about learning the patterns of enemies and improving your reflexive skills rather than trying to master complex button combinations.

The post was accompanied by a new gameplay trailer that rolls through some of the features of the upcoming game, which stars a young female mechanic named Robin. She’s intent on helping those around her using her skills, even if some of those skills are outlawed by the rulers of the land. Along the way players will have to upgrade Robin’s skills, which primarily focus around her stun gun and her wrench. You can see how the gameplay operates with the trailer below.

The whole visual aesthetic is really charming and engaging, it’s similar to other new-school classics like Freedom Planet, which are steeped in nostalgic, 16-bit graphics and templates that help make the game feel inviting, fun, and filled with adventure.

Obviously, the gameplay most closely resembles Mega Man X, and the sound effects and music are quite similar. But beyond the running, jumping and clobbering of enemies, you can collect resources and use them to upgrade your gear.

If you enjoyed games like Rocket Knight, Gunstar Heroes or newer titles like Batterystaple’s 20XX, then you’re probably going to take a liking to Iconoclasts.

The Norwegian developer is hoping to capture a small pocket of the gaming audience looking for a good boss rush title. It appears as if the game also combines some of the charm and flavor from other new-school classics like Owlboy. So it has a good potential to become a sleeper hit if it plays anywhere near as well as it looks.

Of course, having a female lead in a game can be dangerous these days due to the highly caustic political landscape of the entertainment field in Western society. If there’s any hint of feminism or Leftist politics located within Iconoclasts, it’ll be a short lived walk down the lane of success for Bifrost Entertainment.

You can look for the side-scrolling action game to launch for PS4 and PS Vita on January 23rd.