Broforce Review - Explosive, Pixellated, All-American Carnage

The super-basic visual style works hilariously with the excessive on-screen violence, and the soundbites keep you smiling even as you're being obliterated. Each mission is prefaced by a stentorian, gravel-voiced general roaring you into battle, the enemies emit zany squeals as you plough through them, and the heroes say 'Yeah' in an adorably poorly processed voice. TBroforce simply sounds like it was made with real love for 16-bit era games and an ear for the absurdity of American action-hero lore.

Devolver Digital/What CultureDevolver Digital/What Culture

The gameplay is fast-paced to the point of being frenetic. Most of the terrain - including the ground beneath your feet - is destructible; a fact that you become very aware of when massive chain explosions made up of grenades, suicide bombers, and exploding barrels obliterate the scenery, and probably you as well. The level variety is excellent, ranging from jungle and urban warzones, to outposts overrun by Aliens' xenomorphs and eventually Hell itself later in the game, with each world forcing you to adapt to new enemy types.

Once the main campaign is complete, you can dive into player-created levels, many of which move away from the constant chaotic shooting of the main game, and offer up different level types like puzzles and survival arenas.

Broforce is best enjoyed with three friends hunched around the same screen (though it can also be played online). But it's during these gripping multiplayer sessions that minor design flaws appear. Keeping every player on-screen simultaneously is awkward, as the camera doesn't zoom out to accommodate ever player, and the apocalyptic amount of bullets and explosions going off everywhere can make the game outright disorientating at times.

Devolver Digital/What CultureDevolver Digital/What Culture

Oddly, the full version of Broforce seems to be a bit less stable and more clunky than late alpha versions. Several well-rated player-created levels failed to load for me, so when I started them my hero would just jump off the helicopter straight to his death (it took me several attempts and a few different levels to realise that this definitely wasn't meant to be happening). It's also prone to odd little delays that weren't there before - such as when new bros get unlocked and a screen slides in showing a cool pixel-art portrait of them, or when loading levels.

But the relatively smooth journey of Broforce from early access through to fully-fledged game suggests that Free Lives Games will see to it that these minor flaws get ironed out quickly. The few hitches don't stop this being the most ironically macho, action-packed platformer around. Even when you're getting decimated because there is just too much going on on-screen, you can never get too angry at it because of its humour and disarming aura of silliness.

Broforce is loud, brash, and brilliant in its fusion of action hero nostalgia with crisp, brutal gameplay, offering a relentless platform experience that splices every cheesy action-film trope into one explosive pixel-perfect package.

What do you make of Devolver's latest? Let us know in the comments!

Contributor
Contributor

Gamer, Researcher of strange things. I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.