Reviews

Brut@l review for PS4

Platform: PS4
Publisher: Stormcloud Games
Developer: Stormcloud Games
Medium: Digital
Players: 1-2
Online: No
ESRB: T

I suspect that a little bit of nostalgia goes a long way towards determining whether you’ll really enjoy Brut@l. After all, it’s essentially a love letter to old-school roguelike dungeon crawlers, just with a fresh coat of paint. If you played those games back when they originally came out, I can imagine loving every second of seeing them reimagined with modern graphics made out of ASCII characters.

And if you didn’t…well, then you may have a harder time getting into the game. At least, that was the case for me. I never developed a taste for roguelikes, so whether they have Commodore 64-level graphics or cutting edge ones, it makes no difference to me: all I really see is a game where you start at level one, you hack and slash your way through dungeons and enemies, and then you die and start all over again from the first dungeon. I know I’m simplifying things horribly, but that’s my impression, and even if Brut@l makes it look amazing, there’s not much here changes my impression of the genre.

Brutal 1Brutal 1

Of course, in Brut@l’s defense, the hacking and slashing is simple enough that even someone like me has no trouble picking it up. Early on, especially, this is a game where you can punch your way to victory (or at least the entrance to the next dungeon), which is pretty fun. And when you realize that you have a Captain America-style shield that ricochets back to you after you use it to explode traps and incapacitate enemies, then it gets really fun.

Further, I should note that I’m doing Brut@l a disservice by saying that it “only” puts a fresh coat of paint on ASCII dungeon crawlers. Simply put, it looks phenomenal. You wouldn’t think a game where the dominant colours are black and white could pop off the screen, but this game suggests otherwise. More importantly, the developers understand that with such a limited palette, a little splash of colour can go a very long way. Hence, the red splatters that accompany every kill look amazing, as do the neon-tinged enemies who come chasing after you. No one is going to mistake it for Journey or anything, but in its own, limited way, Brut@l knows how to make a little do a lot.

So I love the aesthetic and I enjoy punching my way through dungeon after dungeon; why am I so down on it? Basically, it comes down to personal preference. Brut@l starts feeling repetitive really quickly. There are only so many bad guys you can explode to bright red bits before they — pardon the pun — start to bleed into each other. If that’s your thing, then for sure you’ll want to check this game out, but if it’s not, you’ll want to proceed with a bit of caution.

Grade: B
Matthew Pollesel

Recent Posts

Iron Galaxy details Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3+4’s accessibility options to ensure skating will be fun for everyone

You really have no excuse to not digitally go outside and shred.

8 hours ago

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves sees a 33% percent discount on Amazon’s Prime Day event

Think of it as SNK not charging you for Salvatore Gannaci and Cristano Ronaldo.

10 hours ago

Fahkuram, the Muay Thai juggernaut to set foot in Tekken 8 on July 11th

So who’s going to be the first person to put the Atelier Yumia Hair accessory…

13 hours ago

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 review for PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch

The remade experience is not perfect, but Tony is back and it’s great to see…

14 hours ago

A new trailer for The House of the Dead 2: Remake is now live

The release for the remake of Sega’s beloved arcade light gun shooter sequel is creeping…

1 day ago

Tune into a Ghost of Yōtei – State of Play event on July 20th, 2025

Ger ready for nearly 20 minutes of Ghost of Yōtei gameplay soon! And a trailer…

2 days ago