Broforce is a game that is almost impossible to understand without playing the game for yourself. The game thrusts players into jungle settings and other areas far away from civilization with the primary goal always being to raise the American flag at the nearest checkpoint and clear out all of the bad guys in the name of freedom to liberate each level before flying away on a rope ladder hanging out of a helicopter. Broforce is terribly cheesy, but in a good way. The ridiculousness of the characters teaming together in the game mixed with the constant barrage of Murica puns is plenty enough to keep you laughing throughout the ten levels available to play in the game in its early form.
Easily the most enjoyable aspect of Broforce is the diverse cast of characters. Mr. T, Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Will Smith and other actors and their most famous action film characters are portrayed in the game, and even better is that each character comes with a different type of attack and special attack to make each feel different from the next. Gameplay in Broforce is constantly evolving, since each death forces players to switch out with a new bro to continue playing, and not all characters come equipped with guns to start off. There are some bros to rescue for extra lives and additional special ammo pick ups in each level that give players more powerful weapons such as airstrikes, remote controlled missiles and napalm bombs to blast away enemies in true side scrolling shooter fashion, but characters have better controls and abilities in the game that increases movement and mobility to climb walls and perform other maneuvers even when the way forward seems blocked off.
Despite just releasing for Early Access, Broforce still packs a good amount of content to make it worth paying the $15 now before playing the full game later. The ten levels featured in the game are varied enough and include a couple of boss battles while teasing some content that is yet to come with future updates. Each playthrough of the game will likely only last about 30 minutes for now, but the game is still addictive enough to be fully enjoyable for multiple playthroughs in one sitting. In addition to the ten levels included in the early build, players will also find a level editor to create their own maps full of enemies, traps and other rough terrain for players to navigate, though this section of the game also hasn't reached its most brotastic form yet either.
Broforce is currently in its alpha build, so the game isn't without some problems. The online portion of the game is easily the most buggy, as it was very difficult to actually get in matches with other players and actually have the camera follow your character around matches or have spawns act as they should. Hosting a game alleviates the problem but can be frustrating for many players that join your session as well. There are three other modes to play in Broforce (Race Mode, Explosion Run and Deathmatch), but they are only currently available to play offline in the game's current form, which is another disappointing feature, or lack thereof, in the game.
Broforce is a lot of fun and well worth checking out for fans of arcade side scrolling shooter games. The game includes a plethora of action film stars and has enough diversity to keep the action always exciting even with a limited amount of levels currently available in the game. Players can look forward to plenty of additional characters, levels and worlds that will be accessible from the overworld map in the game, and Free Lives is also looking to polish up the game's graphics and sound design before final release this Summer. If you're a fan of action flicks or classic arcade and retro shooters, grab a bro and check out Broforce on Steam Early Access today!
Broforce is now available in Early Access exclusively on Steam. Broforce is not yet rated. For more information on the game, check out the official Broforce website.
Game Features:
- Online Multiplayer 1-4
- Early Access on Steam
- Starring Your Favorite Action Film Bros
- Fully Destructible Environments
- Includes Level Editor
Game Information:
Developer: Free Lives
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Platforms: PC (previewed) & Mac
Release Date: April 7, 2014 (Full Release: Summer 2014)