Written by Patrick Orquia
Title: Broforce
Developer: Free Lives Games
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Genre: Arcade, Shoot ‘Em Up, Platformer
Number of Players: Up to 4 players
Release Date: 06 Sept 2018
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Price: $14.99
Also Available On: PS4, Steam
Ever wondered how awesome it would be to gather all the action film heroes of the 80s and 90s? No, I’m not talking about the Expendable movies, where they are already old. I mean the characters played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, and many others during their prime in that time period. Didn’t happen in the movies back then, and the Expendable movies aren’t really that great, but the next best thing happened: in the video games, with Broforce.
Broforce is a love letter of sorts to these iconic characters, such as Rambro (John Rambo from the Rambo movies), Bro Hard (John McClane from the Die Hard movies), Brominator (The Terminator, from the movies of the same name), and MacBrover (Angus MacGyver from the MacGyver TV series) and many more others. Yep, they all have “bros” in their names, with the quality of the pun varying from funny to not so much, and it is part of the overall silliness and satire that this game has in store.
In the game, you control a bro (Rambro at the very beginning) as part of an American paramilitary group that deals with world issues with hyper-violence and hilarious force. Your bro character will have to rescue locked up bros in cages as you progress through levels to unlock more bros. Unlocking a bro makes you switch to that character right away. Each bro has his (or her… yep, there are lady bros in the game, such as Ellen Ripbro (Ellen Ripley from the Alien movies)) own set of attacks or guns, varying from straight up machine guns, such as used by Rambro, to dynamites (MacBrover), and futuristic superweapon (Bro in Black (Agent J from the Men in Black movies)). Some also uses purely melee attacks, such as Agent Anderbro (Neo from the Matrix movies) and Brade (Blade from the Blade movies). You can’t swap between unlocked bros so you are stuck with the current bro you are controlling until you get to rescue the next bro. This could make the level either easier or more difficult, depending on your play style, as the bro you get for a particular rescue is randomized. The more you rescue bros, the more characters you unlock that will be available in future levels. Also, rescue bros give you one additional life for a particular level, and each level gets harder and harder as you progress, so rescuing bros gives you a better chance to reach the end and “getting into the choppah!”, i.e., you ride a helicopter, which marks the end of the level, except for those with boss fights.
And to complement the bros and their wide range of attacks and move sets, levels are almost fully destructible. Buildings, bridges, exploding barrels, LPG tanks, the ground… if you see it, attack it and it will going to get destroyed (or explode right in your face, killing you instantly). This is very useful in making underground tunnels to escape tough enemies and then show up behind them to kick their ass. Though destroying everything in sight seems very fun (it is), you must be also mindful not to overdo it, as it may leave you unable to end the level because there would be no more platforms or ground left to stand on. Also, since you can do it, your enemies can do it as well. These enemies are also very varied, ranging from the usual thugs to hulking musclemen with big guns to gigantic machines of destruction. Better kill them first before they kill you, which they would gladly do it, even if it would mean jumping to their deaths or exploding with their own bomb.
Overall, Broforce is one fun game splattered with over-the-top silliness and hyper-violence. It is not a new game, it has been around since 2014 on other platforms, but it has found a new home on the Switch, now enabling you to play on the go or with other players in online or offline multiplayer modes. It’s also ideal to be played in short bursts, which makes it even more ideal to be on this console. But make no mistake, this game is still packed with features and contents to unlock. If you want to play a game that is not too serious and just to take the edge off playing long RPGs and yet still pretty engaging on its own, Broforce is just the right game for you. Let the bros show you what freedom feels like, with grand explosions and ludicrous machismo. Get ready to shoot and enjoy!
REPLAY VALUE: Very High
PROS
- Cool 16-bit pixel art aesthetics with sound physics and fully destructible environments
- Awesome 80-90s era metal soundtrack to accompany you while you shoot enemies
- Over-the-top silliness and hyper-violence
- Hilarious puns and satire of 80s-90s action movies and characters
- LOTS of characters to unlock, each with varying shooting styles and move sets
- The game is divided into missions with 1-3 levels each, making it very ideal for short bursts of play sessions
- The randomized spawning of bros keeps you on your toes, making you adjust on the fly with any given character that you get
- Enemies have pretty decent AI
- Different game modes for solo and multiplayer play: either do it solo online to join existing sessions or make your own either offline (for local co-op) or online (for others to join you)
- There is also a harder difficulty and a versus mode to battle other players either local or online
- Very good use of HD rumble
CONS
- Cannot swap between characters that you have already unlocked, which could make a particular level very hard to finish if you end up with a character with an attack style that doesn’t fit with the situation you are in
- Gameplay could become very repetitive after a short while of playing
RATING: 4.5/5 exploding barrels of freedom
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