Review: Strange Brigade

• Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, PC (Reviewed)
• Developer: Rebellion
• Publisher: Rebellion
• Release Date: August 28th, 2018

Most known for their Sniper Elite series, Rebellion has branched out into somewhat of an unfamiliar space with their latest title, Strange Brigade.  Strange Brigade is a third person shooter that blends puzzle solving and horde mode style gameplay. Set in the 1930’s, Strange Brigade revolves around a very British motley crew tasked with defeating an ancient evil known as Queen Seteki, who was recently released by an archaeologist at a dig site. Strange Brigade doesn’t exactly provide a large scale, indepth storyline, but there are some entertaining cinematics between missions that set the scene for the missions ahead. What makes these cut scenes so entertaining is how they are presented, with grainy black and white vignettes to really give it that 1930’s feel.

When each mission begins you and up to three friends are parachuted down to a location, which are generally laid out like a labyrinth. As you progress through you’ll encounter waves of enemies that can be taken out using surrounding traps and environmental hazards, or with some good ol’ fashioned firepower. In between waves of enemies there are plenty of hidden collectibles, pathways to explore, and puzzles to solve. The mission is then capped off with a boss fight, most of which are both aesthetically pleasing and well designed from a gameplay standpoint. During lengthy single player sessions the formula of enemy wave, puzzle, enemy wave, boss fight, can wear pretty thin, but during co-operative sessions with up to three other players the repetitiveness is masked pretty well. This is mostly due to the fact that you can divide and conquer, and one single player is not tasked with all the work.

Between missions you can spend your hard earned gold to unlock new primary, secondary, and projectile weapons. These weapons can be shared between all of the characters, but the characters do have unique amulets that give them special abilities. In order to use these amulets the player must collect orbs from fallen enemies to charge their meter, and once the meter is full the player can run through a horde like a hot knife through butter.

If you’d like to forego the puzzle solving and prefer just straight up taking on waves of enemies, there are two other game modes in Strange Brigade. There’s a traditional horde mode, where you take on wave after wave of enemies solo or with friends, with a handful of locations to choose from. There is also a score attack mode, where you race against the clock, mowing down as many mummies and mini bosses as you can, trying to keep your score multiplier ticking while you reach the end of the stage.

One of Strange Brigade‘s strengths is the eclectic range of settings throughout the course of the game. From Egyptian temples and tombs to jungles and pirate coves, each time you parachute down at the beginning of each mission the areas are breathtaking and different. There is plenty of replayability in each of these stages, as there are tons of hidden pathways to uncover that contain collectibles and loads of gold.

One thing that should be one of Strange Brigade‘s strengths but is actually one of its weaknesses is its cast of characters. The characters, which consists of a grizzled sharpshooter named Frank Fairburne, a trained demon hunter named Nalangu, a close quarter combat specialist named Gracie Braithwaite, and a professor with an affinity for magic named Professor Archimedes De Quincy, all have distinct personalities and characteristics, but aren’t really given a chance to shine, outside of the brief cutscenes between missions. Even during four player co-op sessions where the entire brigade is present the characters are oddly silent and have virtually no dialogue directed at each other. Some playful banter and quippy remarks similar to what the Uncharted series does so well would have suited Strange Brigade perfectly, and would make the characters more memorable. For the most part this is saved by the narrator, who perfectly encapsulates the 1930’s flavor of the game.

Overall Strange Brigade is an entertaining horde-style shooter that is rather enjoyable with a group of friends. If you plan on playing Strange Brigade solo you may find the Story mode to be tedious after a few missions, but there are plenty of hours of fun to be had with the other game modes. What Strange Brigade lacks in character development, it makes up for it and then some with beautiful settings and excellent enemy design.

A Steam review code for Strange Brigade was provided by Rebellion