Originally published July 2016

Broforce is a game for people who like three things: Action movies, puns, and the Metal Slug video games. I happen to like all three of those things and the game always appealed to me, but for one reason or another, I just rarely picked them up. However, I ended up receiving Broforce as an awesome gift from an awesome friend, whom I'll refer to as Real Dude-Master. Thus, I decided to just give it a quick try and to review it once I got back from my various trips.

I certainly didn't expect to beat the game in a short time or to like it as much as I did. I was so sucked into the game, that I wasn't able to put it down until I finally beat it a few days later. Broforce is a fast, fun, and funny romp through 50 levels of exploding pixelated action with the chance to play as some of your favorite action heroes from movies as you take on evil terrorists and rescue POWs. I played through the game's campaign in a short amount of time, but the campaign is by no means short. There was just an addictive quality to the fast-paced level design and action that made me want to keep playing after each level until I suddenly found myself at the end of the game.

Pros

• Fast-paced with quick reload times make the game addictive like Super Meat Boy

• Variety and creativity to the heroes and enemies

• Over-the-top delivery adds to the humor and excitement

• Tons of modes and replayability with player-created levels and 4-player co-op

• Cool art and distinct style

• Provides a challenge

Cons

• Has some trouble starting up and has performance hiccups; not optimized

• If you've played Metal Slug, this won't give you much you haven't seen before

Additional Thoughts

Broforce wears its inspiration on its sleeve. It is a clear homage to big-name action movies and to the Metal Slug video game series. If you've never played Metal Slug or heard of it, it wouldn't be a bad thing to have Broforce serve as an introduction to the game series.

Like Metal Slug, Broforce is a 2-dimensional sidescroller shooter that requires precision timing and fast reflexes to stay alive as you run through the level, obliterate enemies, and rescue POWs. You shoot dudes with your gun. You can only take one hit before you die. There are various pieces of the environment with which you can interact, including a tank of sorts. And there are some massive, over-the-top boss battles. The difference between the two is mostly in the look, the level destructibility, and the character choices.

Metal Slug is an SNK arcade game with 2D sprites, which have always looked good. They're well-animated and have a number of different details and qualities that add character to a game series that has been around forever. Broforce does not strive to match the fidelity of its inspiration. Instead, it sticks mostly to just the pixelated, low-rez look. This serves a purpose, however, as much more of the environment in the level is destructible, allowing for you to tunnel your way through areas by simply shooting through the environment to the end of a level, should the combat prove too difficult.

Since so much of the environment is destructible, there tend to be constant explosions happening around you. Many of the enemies react to these explosions or the first they start and run in terror or start firing off all their guns. As you might imagine, the chaos that can take place on-screen would be difficult to follow if the frame rate couldn't keep up. The low-rez appearance allows the game to have this type of gameplay without compromising the performance, so I never noticed any significant slowdown in the action.

I wouldn't even consider the pixelated look a downside anyway. There's a fair amount of style and flair to Broforce in its look. From the ridiculousness of the character designs to the way the enemies all scream with high-pitched yelps when a grenade falls at their feet, Broforce is constantly pushing out its personality. Each time a new Broforce hero is unlocked or a new enemy type is discovered, you're treated to a high-definition drawing of the character and their punny name to remind you how silly, but cool, the game is.

While Metal Slug has only a few selectable characters you can play, Broforce has over 20. However, when you play Broforce, you don't get to choose your character. Instead, you unlock them by rescuing prisoners of war. Each time you rescue a POW, you switch your character to one that you've unlocked. Which one you switch to is completely random each time and not always helpful considering each character has a particular ability set tied to them.

With the numerous characters the game has available, you can also play with 3 other players at a time to add to the chaos on screen. Broforce has a strong multiplayer component with the ability to play specifically with friends or to just allow players to jump in and jump out of your run. There's also a level creation platform in the game where players can create their own levels and upload them for you to play. This is a feature that has certainly become more the standard when it comes to these types of indie games, but it nonetheless adds some significant value to the game. Considering the nature of Broforce, having player-designed levels is a fantastic idea and I've already tried some instant classics myself.

TL;DR (Conclusion)

Broforce is an addictive indie game that is akin to Metal Slug and Super Meat Boy. It's fast, and occasionally tough, but exciting and chaotic in the classic arcade shooter style. Broforce brings a ton of personality with its ridiculous puns and character designs, as well as with just the little touches to the abilities of the characters or enemy AI. I had a lot of fun playing it and would easily recommend it to anyone who misses the experience of playing games like Contra on the couch with your friends.