Strange Brigade Xbox One review: Casual fun with some unfortunate flaws

Cooperative shooter games are typically intense and difficult, requiring everyone to work together effectively to succeed. What makes Strange Brigade unique is the fact that information technology emphasizes a casual, laid-back experience that everyone can enjoy regardless of skill level. Unfortunately, while information technology executes on the gameplay mechanics perfectly, the game is held dorsum by mediocre visuals, poor level blueprint and the lack of a practiced soundtrack.

In Strange Brigade, you lot and upwardly to three friends can each play equally 1 of 4 characters: a scholarly wizard, a retired soldier, an African adult female covered head-to-toe in war paint, and a girl who looks similar she was ripped directly out of a war-fourth dimension propaganda flyer. Together, they are the appropriately-named Strange Brigade, and their mission is to stand as a line of defense against mummies, zombie scorpions, and other Egyptian-themed undead foes.

Each character brings their ain weapons, abilities, and personalities to the table, which makes Foreign Brigade feel reminiscent of a game like Overwatch in terms of mechanics and atmosphere. Players tin can upgrade and modify their tools of destruction past collecting money found in-game and and then purchasing unlocks betwixt levels, which allows them to specialize their equipment in order to accommodate their play style.

The enemies are interesting and creative. The developers took various monsters found throughout Egyptian mythology and converted them into video game foes. Every bit you progress through Strange Brigade, new enemy types are slowly unveiled to you lot and you become a chance to discover how they operate earlier facing them. The Sinister Stinger, for case, is armored, fast, and mortiferous, but its weakness is that information technology'southward a huge target.

Some of these baddies can pose a threat if you don't pay attending, only generally, they are simple to take down, peculiarly if you accept a full grouping of friends with you lot. Since Strange Brigade aims to be an accessible and casual experience, I don't consider this a bad affair.

Good puzzles, poor levels

In add-on to the combat, Strange Brigade's levels are littered with fun puzzles that help keep the feel from feeling repetitive. These range from locked doors that require finding an alternating path to shooting symbols on a wall in a specific order. Completing them rewards the player with weapons, coin, and upgrades.

When it comes to level design, Strange Brigade nosedives in quality. While the play infinite is filled with absurd traps that you lot can use to oversupply command and kill enemies, the levels are style too long and there are several areas where you're not doing anything. This issue makes the game feel much less fluid.

Presentation fails to impress

Strange Brigade on the Xbox I looks good in some places and poor in others. It's ridiculous how frequently the visual quality fluctuates, particularly in terms of anti-aliasing. Having textures rapidly shift from sharp to blurry is very annoying on my eyes, and I imagine information technology will exist for everyone else'due south, too.

Colorwise, the game is bright and vibrant, but these qualities don't get a true chance to shine because of how mediocre the lighting engine is. The lighting is acceptable, but it'south far from praise-worthy. It doesn't assist that the game is plagued with shadow pop-in bug, which break the immersion severely.

Rounding out Foreign Brigade'due south presentation issues is the soundtrack, or rather, the lack thereof. Bated from a couple of ambient tracks, the game is devoid of any music during combat or exploration that would set a tone and assist players feel more engaged with the experience. At least the title runs fine with no performance problems.

Should you buy Foreign Brigade?

If you're looking for something piece of cake and simple to choice upwardly and play with your friends, Foreign Brigade is definitely worth considering. Despite the variety of issues I accept with the feel, my friend and I enjoyed our fourth dimension with information technology and volition likely play it again. All the same, if you're interested in something more challenging and intense, or merely want something with better presentation, Strange Brigade isn't the title for you. Instead, I would recommend checking out the Left 4 Dead-inspired Earthfall.