I’ve never reviewed anything like Brigador and I’ve never reviewed a book. So when I first discovered that Stellar Jockeys were going to be the first developers to ever release a novel alongside their game on Steam, I was intrigued. When I took a brief look at the game, I was fascinated…

Brigador. The Game

I decided to play Brigador on my Macbook Pro. Not because I’m a weird Mac gamer (I do own the alternatives), but purely because Macs don’t get enough love and I figured this would be a great addition to the ever expanding arsenal of games.

Brigador puts you in control of a wide variety of mechanical vehicles as you are thrown into the midst of a rebellion. Your job is to take contracts across Solo Nobre, earn cash and reap the rewards.

I said earlier that I’ve never reviewed anything like Brigador but perhaps if I was a lot older and had been in this industry for the past 20 years, I might have. Having said that, Brigador deserves to stand alone and hold it’s head high without being compared to other games. Thankfully I was a very early bloomer when morphing into a gamer ‘back in t’ day‘ and just turning Brigador on gave me the biggest nostalgia rush ever.

Story (in game)

I read the book before playing the game. This gave me a lot of background on what was going on but if I hadn’t read it then this would be where I feel the game falls a little short. The menu GUI provides short mission briefs and slightly confusing explanations as to what is going on but I didn’t feel like I was involved so much, almost as if each mission was standalone.  I think Command & Conquer style videos would of worked amazing here and added to the story really well. Reading the book negates this massively but I think that after they put so much effort into the book itself, it would of rubbed off into the game too. I kind of expected their to be an amazing crossover between the two but I didn’t get it. So… go read (or listen to) the book and then enjoy the gameplay because that’s really what the base game is all about.

Gameplay

At first I was a little frustrated with the controls. Thankfully there’s a decent tutorial to get your head around them but you’ll still finish it a little confused and possibly deflated. But do not fear, this difficulty and awkwardness is part of the game, in fact it’s a huge part of the game.

You’ll come to realise the more you play, and the more mechs you get to play in, that each vehicle is unique. In the campaign mode; everything from the speed to the mobility to the weaponry is different and choosing which mech you want to use can completely change the way you play. Do you go for the heavy defensive walker and plough through the enemy or take the Anti-gravity vehicle and strafe between buildings whilst picking them off? Even each weapon has a different range and arc of fire. It’s easy to overshoot and miss, which I’ve done on many occasions and will probably continue to do so. The weapons even have different turning speeds, you’ll see when you rotate around that some of your weapons don’t move as fast as you want them to, but perhaps they’ll punch a massive whole in the enemy; providing you don’t drop short. Mastering everything is what this game is all about in my eyes. It’s not easy, it’s sometime really bloody difficulty, but thats where it excels.

The best part about the gameplay for me though is the fact that I want to complete each level with each vehicle. I’ve never felt like this is a long time, I actually thought I’d lost my patience for 100%ing a game a long time ago. But as each vehicle presents it’s own personalised difficulty and skill requirement, I want to overcome the disadvantages and finish it each way that was available.

I haven’t finished everything yet but I will. I know I can pick this game up anytime in the next 10 years and still feel exactly the same towards it.

Graphics

I hate sprite based games in todays market, it’s true. There’s far too many wannabe retro-rip-offs released nowadays, particularly on mobile, and they have absolutely no right pulling the nostalgia strings of those that gamed throughout the 80’s and 90’s. They’re fake, going pixelated just to look cool and it’s infuriating.

Brigador however does have that right. I’ve never seen a game that looked so genuinely retro that you’d think it was created 20 years ago. It almost feels like a developer went into a coma, awoke today and had a modern team create the idea he had before his horrendous car crash. It just works and it works well. The graphics are detailed and stunning and coupled with the eerie music, gets you right into the zone. I can only describe the music exactly like I just described the graphics. Like a 90s composer’s imagination of a distant future except somehow modern. It’s genius.

Everything within the game is destructible and this even adds to the tactics that you might use. I found myself smashing buildings to get where I wanted to go or firing holes into walls as I try and outrun a convoy of tanks on my arse. Again, each vehicle responds to the environment in a different way. The attention to detail is impressive.

The night life, neon signs are signature to Brigador and I just love this old school style of isometric beauty.

Brigador. The Book

I was fortunate enough to grab an electronic copy of the book before I nabbed a copy of the game. So I read it rather than listened to the audio but I kind of wish I’d listened to the audiobook instead as this novel would be perfect for it. You can buy the book standalone on amazon or as an audiobook via the Steam DLC.

Brigador the book actually follows the story of the opposite side of the fray as to the game itself. It’s follows a small platoon of mech fighters from the Army as they battle their way through the rebellion and must survive long enough to complete their mission. That’s all I’m going to write about the story side. I just don’t want to spoil anything.

What I will tell you though is that I don’t often read books, I’m a gamer and I can’t play them. But I just couldn’t put Brigador down. Every spare second I had, I wanted to sit and read. It’s such an explosive, adrenaline fuelled story that it will get you hooked like a dirty bag of heroin. Battles and background stories, the writer, Brad Buckmaster, shows an understanding of this futuristic world as if he’d already lived through it. Every little detail from the mechs to the characters, I wanted to know more and more and I couldn’t wait to take control myself after finishing.

The idea of coupling a novel with a game is the best thing since sliced bread. Reading Brigador before playing it really got me excited, I just couldn’t wait to jump in my own Buckmaster and start reaping havoc.

On it’s own, this book still stands tall.

“Brigador the book compliments the game perfectly and it really adds to the immersion of the entire experience.”

You can purchase both the game and the book on Steam right here.

Conclusion

If you love retro, then you’ll love this. If you didn’t experience retro, then you need to experience this.