Brigador is probably one of the best written games made in the last ten years. The world built by Stellar Jockeys is unique, complex, evocative, strange and familiar. Despite being set far in the future, it holds some palpable realness that so many other games set in that time period fail to muster.

The first game that comes to mind when I play this, is, oddly enough, F.E.A.R. I liked F.E.A.R. enough to play it and its expansion packs ( but not the sequels) several times over, and I firmly believe that if you liked F.E.A.R., you'll like Brigador as well. This is both an endorsement and a subtle warning: while I love both games to pieces, they are both unquestionably rather repetitive,

You pick a loadout, arrive in the district, and utterly lay waste to it. Then you do it again, and then more times. The reason why this is fun is that there is a staggeringly large variety of loadouts, and each one presents its own challenges: with three very different types of vehicle (tank, mecha, and agrav, which are essentially Floating Gun Platforms) control in a different fashion, and each have their own quirks: tanks are typically slow and strong, but can ram things with explosive resuts, mecha are easy targets but quite straightforward to use, and agravs can float over certain obstacles. Add to this the four different weapon types, bullets, artillery, cannon and laser; four different "special weapons"-- EMPs, smoke grenades, camo, and the audio-kinetic pulse (this is essentially a cone of noise that can level a building-- or foe), and you have a lot of choices.

Fortunately, in Brigador, the act of murder feels sublime. Stellar Jockeys have perfectly calibrated the interface between sound design, animation and damage level, so that landing damage typically feels amazing. If you are a fan of gargantuan tanks being worn down in a series of ambushes, before near-erotically exploding, this will be something you are going to devote a couple dozen hours to.

Speaking of sound design, while the 80s soundtrack is no Hotline Miami, it is certainly contains an earworm or two, and feels grimly suitable for what you're actually doing.

The "problem" with the narrative is a Marmite one: there's a lot of lore, and all the weapons, vehicles, and pilots have bios, but it's all sequestered away. If you demand your narrative and your gameplay synthesized, then you're probably going to be pissed off by this game, or at least disappointed. Which is a huge shame, because it's all really good, and I read all of it. In addition, none of the factions are shallow: each of the three are visually and thematically distinct, in refreshing ways. You'd think that a faction called "Loyalsits" would be boring but they aren't!

In short, for a first game by an indie dev, who clearly have put a lot of effort into making a memorable experience, it's pretty great, and at least worth a spin if you need to scratch that "stylish murder" itch. If you're looking for AAA fidelity, shiny graphics (in an isometric game lmao) or anything fancy, look elsewhere or be disappointed.

Brigador is probably one of the best written games made in the last ten years. The world built by Stellar Jockeys is unique, complex, evocative, strange and familiar. Despite being set far in the future, it holds some palpable realness that so many other games set in that time period fail to muster. The first game that comes to mind when I play this, is, oddly enough, F.E.A.R. I liked F.E.A.R. enough to play it and its expansion packs ( but not the sequels) several times over, and I firmly believe that if you liked F.E.A.R., you'll like Brigador as well. This is both an endorsement and a subtle warning: while I love both games to pieces, they are both unquestionably rather repetitive, You pick a loadout, arrive in the district, and utterly lay waste to it. Then you do it again, and then more times. The reason why this is fun is that there is a staggeringly large variety of loadouts, and each one presents its own challenges: with three very different types of vehicle (tank, mecha, and agrav, which are essentially Floating Gun Platforms) control in a different fashion, and each have their own quirks: tanks are typically slow and strong, but can ram things with explosive resuts, mecha are easy targets but quite straightforward to use, and agravs can float over certain obstacles. Add to this the four different weapon types, bullets, artillery, cannon and laser; four different "special weapons"-- EMPs, smoke grenades, camo, and the audio-kinetic pulse (this is essentially a cone of noise that can level a building-- or foe), and you have a lot of choices. Fortunately, in Brigador, the act of murder feels sublime. Stellar Jockeys have perfectly calibrated the interface between sound design, animation and damage level, so that landing damage typically feels amazing. If you are a fan of gargantuan tanks being worn down in a series of ambushes, before near-erotically exploding, this will be something you are going to devote a couple dozen hours to. Speaking of sound design, while the 80s soundtrack is no Hotline Miami, it is certainly contains an earworm or two, and feels grimly suitable for what you're actually doing. The "problem" with the narrative is a Marmite one: there's a lot of lore, and all the weapons, vehicles, and pilots have bios, but it's all sequestered away. If you demand your narrative and your gameplay synthesized, then you're probably going to be pissed off by this game, or at least disappointed. Which is a huge shame, because it's all really good, and I read all of it. In addition, none of the factions are shallow: each of the three are visually and thematically distinct, in refreshing ways. You'd think that a faction called "Loyalsits" would be boring but they aren't! In short, for a first game by an indie dev, who clearly have put a lot of effort into making a memorable experience, it's pretty great, and at least worth a spin if you need to scratch that "stylish murder" itch. If you're looking for AAA fidelity, shiny graphics (in an isometric game lmao) or anything fancy, look elsewhere or be disappointed.