Brut@l
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for Brut@l
Brut@l is a clever homage to old-school ASCII dungeon crawler games, but its stiff difficulty, cheap deaths, and repetitive gameplay limit its appeal.
In case it hasn't become clear, Brut@l is a simple experience. That simplicity isn't necessarily bad, as it allows the game to be very focused on the intended experience. I enjoy the game, and for others your enjoyment of the game will hinge entirely on how much you enjoy the core gameplay: kill/break stuff to get materials for more and better stuff, try to conserve resources, repeat until boss or death. The simplistic combat leaves a little to be desired, but it's an entertaining and mostly gratifying way to unplug and spend a few hours causing a little mayhem.
The rest of Brutal doesn’t live up to its inspired visuals but it still makes for a good time
People can argue the merit and worth of roguelikes until the sun goes down, but while they’re not the most assorted or varied of role-playing experiences, what makes Brut@l work is the very procedural nature of its design.
A neat dungeon crawler offering some fluid combat, with tough challenges wrapped up in an art style straight out of Tron.
When it comes to gameplay, Brut@l may not be very innovative to the rougelike genre at its core; it’s actually pretty standard as those kind of games go. This game has its artstyle and inspiration to thank for adding tons of charm to what would have been a pretty by-the-numbers entry into the genre. If you love roguelikes, or have fond memories of the old ASCII games, you will absolutely enjoy Brut@l. Even if it lacks the depth of some of its competitors, it makes it up in spades in old-school retro charm, and will hook you for hours.
I can’t recommend this to all but the most diehard of genre fans. Even then, the art style may be lost on people who aren’t old enough to remember MS-DOS or a ZX Spectrum. That seems to be the most unique feature of the game.
Brut@l is certainly a punishing experience for those not used to Rogue-like tropes. Yet it’s a visually attractive game that pays tribute to Rogue in its ASCII style that’s genuinely appealing, as well as having a clean interface and enough flair in the combat to not be devalued as a button masher. A few issues rise when it comes to cooperative play, which make this a harder sell, but Brut@l is otherwise a fitting tribute to Rogue and the genre that came from it that dominates the indie scene.
