Xbox Series X Review Code Provided by Ukiyo Publishing
Ukiyo Publishing and Overhype Studios have officially released their ported version of Battle Brothers to all-new console systems! The game is now available to play on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. It was previously released for Nintendo Switch consoles on March 11th, 2020, and PC on April 27th, 2015.
During your playthrough, you’ll be scrimping, saving, adventuring, avenging, and crying… a lot. To say the game is hard is an understatement. Everyone loves a good challenge, but does this have to be so difficult?
Story
Starting out in Battle Brothers, you’ll be in charge of a medieval mercenary company striving to earn the respect and renown as the most reliable and powerful swords for hire in all the land! As the head of your band of ragtag misfits from all walks of life, you must oversee the growth and success of your group.
There are basically two starting story scenarios. One is the “tutorial” option where you’re left in charge after the death of your fearless leader. The other main story is that you and a handful of other poor sellswords have managed to save enough money to start your own small mercenary group, of which you must survive and thrive.
Both scenarios have you doing essentially the same thing, starting with next to nothing and working small merc jobs to give you enough resources to arm, feed, and cloth your men. Maybe, if you are lucky, you’ll grow your brothers-in-arms into a legendary mercenary band that will be remembered for generations!
Gameplay
Designed as a turn-based tactical RPG, you’ll decide where your group goes, whom to hire (or fight), which contracts to accept, and how to train and equip troops. Using a procedurally generated open world campaign map, you’re provided a strategic adventure that will last dozens of hours. Furthermore, there’s a deep tactical combat experience within that will frequently slay your best warriors.
This title has you roaming and fighting in a fantastical land filled with enemies of all kinds, including goblins, orcs, brigands, and the undead to name a few. The map is truly open-world, allowing you to roam through villages and cities, as well as explore dangerous crypts, lairs, forts, and other dangerous locations. The maps are randomized and change each time you play, giving you a true sense of discovery and adventure.
Gameplay can get a bit tedious at times. You will spend a lot of time in menus trying to swap out gear, repair things, level up your mercenaries, read through dialogue, and more. As such, progress can feel quite slow, especially once you factor in that the majority of the game is spent in battles, using the in-depth turn-based combat system.
Video and Audio
The graphics and audio work though both leave something to be desired. Understanding this is a small indie developer team, I don’t have expectations that this will compete with AAA graphics by any means. However, there are some issues I hope they’ll address in the future. Not game-breaking by any means, but definitely detrimental to the core experience.
The instrumental music was fine and fitting at first, but after numerous hours in-game I can say that it got very old. I eventually turned off the music and played my own in the background instead. I found the soundtracks from Game of Thrones seasons and the Lord of the Rings movies to be fitting substitutes! Switching off the title’s music is easy enough and thankfully gives you reprieve from the rather repetitious tunes.
The graphical presentation is a larger area of concern since it can’t easily be fixed or changed. I felt the overall combat and character graphics were a step backward from the game’s original design when it was first released on PC. The character models look like shrunken puppets and overall have a silly look and vibe to them. Battle Brothers is well-written and far more serious than the cheesy images portray. I believe the artwork is a disservice to the depth and level of gameplay and immersiveness the developers strive to achieve.
Replayability
Having randomized maps every playthrough really allows you to experience the game in all-new ways each time you start over. As an incredibly in-depth strategic RPG, there are various ways you can play each time to ensure you don’t get bored or feel like you’ve been there before. Not to mention, this will take a very long time to complete! I’ve put in dozens of hours and feel like I’m nowhere near completion. I’ve even started over several times, learning from past mistakes in each attempt. The replayability of this title is high, and certainly worth the investment if you enjoy the core gameplay.
What Could Be Better
Though far from perfect, this one has something really special at its core. I love the setting and the fantastic script. I think with some changes, over time this can really become a memorable title in your tactical RPG collection.
Navigating the menus, which is essential in this game, can be a bit burdensome and tedious on consoles. I’d love to see updates that allow for easier and faster maneuvering. The menu and information pop-ups can get in the way and be a real pain to open or close with a console controller. For example, when trying to level up a character you will regularly misclick on the edit player name option, forcing you to back out and try again. They are incredibly close together and with a controller, it is hard to land in the right spot!
I know the developers have gone through different iterations of graphics but I don’t believe they’ve settled on the right look and feel. The core of Battle Brothers is far more serious and gritty than the aesthetics and artwork let on. When you’re trying to immersive yourself in a fight for survival in a harsh medieval world, you don’t want to stare at cartoony puppet figures for hours at a time.
I mentioned previously that the music got old relatively fast. I think the game would really benefit from added soundtracks to help keep it fresh after dozens of hours of play. There’s no need to replace the musical score, but rather I’d love to see more added elements. Bard music, anyone!?
Finally, the tutorial sucks and could really use better initial instructions. I’m all for hard games but not knowing what the hell you’re doing can be unnecessarily frustrating. A welcome addition would be a more comprehensive early walkthrough that shows you what you’re doing and explains things along the way. I didn’t feel the tutorial campaign did anything materially different or better to introduce me to the main campaign.
Verdict
At its core, Battle Brothers is incredibly hard and meant to throw you into the trenches and tough life of a medieval mercenary. The title excels in bringing you well-written and enjoyable gameplay, even if a bit rough in its presentation and navigation.
Overall this feels like it’s only a facelift away from being a classic must-play title for turn-based tactical RPG fans. Make no mistake though, some of these issues prevent you from being able to dive in and immerse yourself completely. The silly art style, virtually non-existent tutorial, and cumbersome navigation get in the way of greatness!
Want to check it out for yourself? Battle Brothers is now available to purchase on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam. If you want to see more, be sure to check out the gameplay trailer too!
