Starting out in Strange Brigade you’re offered a choice of four characters, each with their own signature weapon – though this can be changed if you so choose – and a special power to call on. We opted for Lancastrian Gracie because representation of the UK’s north in video games is important – and it’s funny how much a Lancashire accent can add to a game.
Your special powers – in our case, a lightening attack that would daisy chain between the dozens of attacking enemies – aren’t your main attacks, with that coming down to good old-fashioned gunplay. While initially feeling a bit loose, we soon settled into a rhythm of blasting away at minions and beasties alike as they encroached in our personal space.
Ammunition is plentiful, but at the same time it is something that needs to be paid attention to, and we were relegated to using our sidearm at some points after taking an eye off the ammo counter. It’s a pleasant mix of brain-off shooting and actually having to pay attention, and – it’s a fair assumption to make – things are sure to get more hectic and challenging as the game progresses, requiring more forethought and attention paid to succeed.
It’s not just bog standard blasting sticks either, as Strange Brigade features some fitting supernatural (or just ‘unrealistic’) upgrade elements. These can be fitted to your weapons as you choose and afford buffs such as improved power or reload speed, as well as the more exotic improvements like adding fire or ice elements to your shots to help tackle the encroaching masses. It makes sure there’s a level of persistence to the game as you improve and customise your arsenal, unlocking and improving weapons as you progress and choosing a way to deal with the legions of undead that suits you personally.
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Of course, you’re collecting all of these guns and powers – as well as their upgrades – for a reason, and that reason is: shooting things. Lots of things. Swarms of things. So many things it’s impossible to keep count of how many things you’ve already shot. Mummies and other supernatural beasts emerge (or appear), and in the most part run at you, waiting to be shot in what remains of their face with the guns you’ve lovingly done up or the powers you’ve carefully improved. And crikey, do you have to use them a lot – it seems ‘overwhelm’ is the default setting, and Strange Brigade has no qualms about making you feel uncomfortable through sheer weight of numbers alone.
We say ‘in the most part run at you’ because while the majority of enemies you face are mindless drones, there are more than enough other types popping up with different attacks, requiring different strategies – and need you to be alert at all times. The hordes are just a distraction, there to keep you busy while other enemies fire at you from a distance, or quickly move into melee range and take a swipe at you.
It’s simple, but it works well – while Rebellion obviously has previous in the ‘panicked multiplayer’ subgenre, with Zombie Army Trilogy, we’d also like to reference Overcooked here as a good parallel: things become hectic, you start to get stressed, you raise your voice a bit, before you know it everyone’s bellowing instructions at each other while somehow still having a good time.
Mixing up the shooting – especially if you journey off the beaten path – you’ll find some mild puzzling elements to get stuck into. We would think this turns into some less-mild puzzling as the game progresses, but what we saw in our hands-on amounted to shooting things to drop them onto switches and open gates. Not taxing, but involving more thought than you might expect, and definitely the kind of thing some players might overlook.
And there’s a sense of humour permeating through all of this – while some descriptions of mummies and hauntings and tombs might make you think of stern-faced horror, Strange Brigade instead opts for a much lighter touch to everything. This is resolutely in the realms of a comic book, 1930s Boy’s Own story – think Indiana Jones and you’re on the right path.
Hammering home this point is Strange Brigade’s narrator, whose introductions both set the scene and throw in a few little comical pokes for good effect – and whose interjections mid-game do a good job of raising a smile as you play, as well as actually helping you understand what’s going on. It’s Bastion’s narrator, but with a spiffy old-style English accent, pretty much.
The sense of humour acts as one piece in the puzzle – it feels a lot like Strange Brigade is greater than the sum of its parts. Any of these sections or subsections alone would be fine, okay, ultimately ignorable – but put the satisfying shooting with the four-player element with the hordes of (not zombies) mummies with the lighthearted voiceover with the upgradeable powers and you’ve got a full, fun package.
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