Brok is an innovative adventure mixed with beat 'em up and RPG elements. In a grim world where animals have replaced mankind, what kind of detective will you be?
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Mixing beat-em-up action with classic adventure gameplay, this indie adventure proved to be a delightful surprise. It features a well-developed world and an excellent cast of characters – and it’s all completely voice-acted, enhancing the drama and storytelling across the adventure.
Full Review: https://neoncloudff.wordpress.com/2022/10/01/now-playing-september-2022-edition/
Full Review: https://neoncloudff.wordpress.com/2022/10/01/now-playing-september-2022-edition/
Sights & Sounds
- Nice comic book visuals and character designs that wouldn't look out of place on a 90s Saturday morning cartoon lineup
- The music is pretty good. I got distracted with the menu screen pulled up and was pleasantly surprised by the bass in the song. Not sure I was a big fan of the credits song
- The (English) voice acting was a little uneven. Some performances were really great--particularly Brok's VA--but others were a considerable step down from that
Story & Vibes
- Given the title, I went in expecting a possibly noir-ish detective story with plenty of investigating and plot twists. There was certainly no shortage of twists, but I was in no way expecting the political or sci-fi elements. I don't want to spoil much because it's more fun to be surprised by just how complex the thematic space gets in a game about a cartoon detective alligator
- In addition to the surprisingly rich narrative tapestry, there's plenty of emotional, philosophical, and moral detail woven in. The relationship between Brok and Graff was very well-written, and it was interesting to see how player decisions affected the outcome
- Some of those emotional elements do land as a little corny, unfortunately. They're so sincere that I didn't mind much, though
- That said, Shay felt like a massively underexplored character. There's supposed to be a lot of history between she and Brok, but she shows up so little in spite of her narrative importance that I found myself more confused by her character than anything
Playability & Replayability
- Like it says in all of the promo material, it's a point-and-click with beat-em-up elements. Both are pretty standard faire for both genres. I did like how the brawler portions broke up gameplay of the predominant adventure gameplay, but they did feel mechanically thin. They could have used some combos, abilities, items, skills, specials, or something to justify their presence in the game beyond being a simple change of pace
- Choices absolutely do matter in this game. There's a bunch of endings, and your actions can affect the one you see in unexpected ways. The collectables and endings tracking tools were really thoughtful touches that make exploring more rewarding and easier to manage
- The game is honestly worth multiple playthroughs, at least until you make it to the canonical ending. It's not necessarily the best ending (it mostly just seems to set up a sequel), unfortunately. Some of the other endings feel more satisfying. Others are absolutely bonkers
Overall Impressions & Performance
- This game subverted a most of the expectations I had going in, particularly with respect to the plot and themes. I really was not expecting so much depth. The beat-em-up sections were a little bit of a let down, though
- Some clunky translation work here and there, but I can forgive that
- As you'd probably expect from a game like this, performance isn't a huge concern. It ran exceptionally on the Steam Deck, and the standard controls were perfect
Final Verdict
- 7.5/10. It's a high-quality point-and-click detective adventure with a lot of clever narrative ideas. The beat-em-up parts felt a little extraneous, but ultimately don't detract from the enjoyability
- Nice comic book visuals and character designs that wouldn't look out of place on a 90s Saturday morning cartoon lineup
- The music is pretty good. I got distracted with the menu screen pulled up and was pleasantly surprised by the bass in the song. Not sure I was a big fan of the credits song
- The (English) voice acting was a little uneven. Some performances were really great--particularly Brok's VA--but others were a considerable step down from that
Story & Vibes
- Given the title, I went in expecting a possibly noir-ish detective story with plenty of investigating and plot twists. There was certainly no shortage of twists, but I was in no way expecting the political or sci-fi elements. I don't want to spoil much because it's more fun to be surprised by just how complex the thematic space gets in a game about a cartoon detective alligator
- In addition to the surprisingly rich narrative tapestry, there's plenty of emotional, philosophical, and moral detail woven in. The relationship between Brok and Graff was very well-written, and it was interesting to see how player decisions affected the outcome
- Some of those emotional elements do land as a little corny, unfortunately. They're so sincere that I didn't mind much, though
- That said, Shay felt like a massively underexplored character. There's supposed to be a lot of history between she and Brok, but she shows up so little in spite of her narrative importance that I found myself more confused by her character than anything
Playability & Replayability
- Like it says in all of the promo material, it's a point-and-click with beat-em-up elements. Both are pretty standard faire for both genres. I did like how the brawler portions broke up gameplay of the predominant adventure gameplay, but they did feel mechanically thin. They could have used some combos, abilities, items, skills, specials, or something to justify their presence in the game beyond being a simple change of pace
- Choices absolutely do matter in this game. There's a bunch of endings, and your actions can affect the one you see in unexpected ways. The collectables and endings tracking tools were really thoughtful touches that make exploring more rewarding and easier to manage
- The game is honestly worth multiple playthroughs, at least until you make it to the canonical ending. It's not necessarily the best ending (it mostly just seems to set up a sequel), unfortunately. Some of the other endings feel more satisfying. Others are absolutely bonkers
Overall Impressions & Performance
- This game subverted a most of the expectations I had going in, particularly with respect to the plot and themes. I really was not expecting so much depth. The beat-em-up sections were a little bit of a let down, though
- Some clunky translation work here and there, but I can forgive that
- As you'd probably expect from a game like this, performance isn't a huge concern. It ran exceptionally on the Steam Deck, and the standard controls were perfect
Final Verdict
- 7.5/10. It's a high-quality point-and-click detective adventure with a lot of clever narrative ideas. The beat-em-up parts felt a little extraneous, but ultimately don't detract from the enjoyability
Beat em up and point and click actually work together. The art, voice acting and gameplay are brilliant. The Beat em up difficulty is fair and fun. But what bugs me is the puzzles esp . Those are not well crafted. Good puzzles should be challenging and come with clues that trigger players’ interest and give them a sense of achievement. Games like Nine Witches: Family Disruption and Norco nail it! But in Brok, clues present themselves too obvious and not in an appropriate order. The sequences of puzzles also fail to make sense. For example, . Too many layers of puzzles while giving players no clues about the sequences of each one. If I do not talk to the npc twice, I will be forever stuck there. Puzzles should be well designed and reasonably challenging instead of letting players rely on clue tickets.
I love everything about the game but the prison puzzles really put a bad taste in my mouth. It’s a 10, but with these puzzles, I give it 7.
I love everything about the game but the prison puzzles really put a bad taste in my mouth. It’s a 10, but with these puzzles, I give it 7.
Sabe quando falam que o pato sabe fazer de tudo, mas não faz nada muito bem? O grande jacaré detetive de BROK the InvestiGator provavelmente está na mesma categoria. É louvável a proposta em misturar dois gêneros de jogos tão diferentes dentro de uma única narrativa, mas é fácil perceber logo no começo os problemas da execução dessa diferente fusão. Se você gosta de tramas mais dramáticas em cenários cyberpunk e já está acostumado com jogos de aventura, a aventura em direção aos domos vai ser bem legal pra você! Mas se você está procurando algo mais leve, boas porradinhas ou um gênero novo surgindo, esse jacaré não é pra você...
mais: https://cosmonerd.com.br/games/critica-games/brok-the-investigator-critica
mais: https://cosmonerd.com.br/games/critica-games/brok-the-investigator-critica
Sadly this will be one of those genuinely really good Indie games that'll be obscured by more popular titles. but regardless i'll still recommend this game to those who'd like to give this one a shot!
Solid Narrative with good gameplay and presentation makes this a pleasant surprise of a game this year has to offer.
thus far i've finished a few of the 11 in total endings this game has to offer (with some being quite surprising in a fun way) and i'll be check those out later on. a MASSIVE step up compared to CowCat's less than stellar Demetrios (don't worry. he knows about it)
Solid Narrative with good gameplay and presentation makes this a pleasant surprise of a game this year has to offer.
thus far i've finished a few of the 11 in total endings this game has to offer (with some being quite surprising in a fun way) and i'll be check those out later on. a MASSIVE step up compared to CowCat's less than stellar Demetrios (don't worry. he knows about it)
The protagonist is hot.