NO HEINOUS HORDE OF THE DIABOLICAL DEAD CAN STAND BEFORE...THE STRANGE BRIGADE!
Played this with my Sunday night group, which made for the ideal experience. Strange Brigade is clearly going for a Left 4 Dead-type thing, being a cooperative shooter where you're gunning down legions of the dead through a multi-level campaign. Really all I need to be happy with my Sunday Night group is a Left 4 Dead-like game that is not Left 4 Dead - like I've said before, I'm a bit burned out on L4D2 - and this game is good for that.
The main hook of Strange Brigade is its Adventure Serial theming, which is terrific fun. You have a narrator constantly cheering and cautioning THE STRANGE BRIGADE on their adventure, which adds a ton to the experience. It is at the cost of the characters themselves having any banter, but I'm willing to make the trade. Anyway, it made it easy for the developers to add and account for multiple playable characters, and you're clearly playing who you're playing for their style more than anything, so... not a big loss.
For the record, I played DLC character Anjali Khan myself. I don't think I've seen Indian royalty as a playable character outside of this? Certainly not in something not set in India. Very fun high concept, and indicative of the types of characters playable in this.
The other main draw for Strange Brigade are its puzzles. The best analogy that comes to mind are those optional tombs in the Survivor Tomb Raider games - along but slightly removed from the beaten path, not necessary but a highly encouraged part of the experience. These are a'ight. If you're specifically looking for an arcadey experience with these sorts of co-op shooters, this probably detracts from it, but it's easy enough to skip all the optional stuff. Anyway, I think the offer is fun, and the puzzles are generally straightforward enough that a quartet of players can ratio-locute 'em out without dragging down the forward momentum too much.
I will say that the game does not lend itself to replay as well as most co-op shooters I've played. Since it's all narrative-driven and all encounters are scripted, there is little variety for the players to have on repeat runs, save whether they go for the puzzles. Sort-of makes me better appreciate the system in place with Special Infected in Left 4 Dead, or how other games have similar analogues - since the game randomizes its mini-bosses, the actual experience of each map varies by consequence. There just doesn't seem to be room for that sort of variety here. But if you're just interested in clearing the campaign, it's not a concern.
...I'll also admit that the particulars of the game haven't really stuck with me, beyond its high-concept and theming. Heck, I played DLC campaign "The Thrice-Damned", but I don't remember it well enough to justify a separate rating. I do think it's strong enough to warrant the playthrough - there isn't any issue like what Back 4 Blood has, where the disparate systems (good as they are) fail to gel together. But I recommend it without really expecting it to be someone's favorite. Still, a good time while it lasts.
Played this with my Sunday night group, which made for the ideal experience. Strange Brigade is clearly going for a Left 4 Dead-type thing, being a cooperative shooter where you're gunning down legions of the dead through a multi-level campaign. Really all I need to be happy with my Sunday Night group is a Left 4 Dead-like game that is not Left 4 Dead - like I've said before, I'm a bit burned out on L4D2 - and this game is good for that.
The main hook of Strange Brigade is its Adventure Serial theming, which is terrific fun. You have a narrator constantly cheering and cautioning THE STRANGE BRIGADE on their adventure, which adds a ton to the experience. It is at the cost of the characters themselves having any banter, but I'm willing to make the trade. Anyway, it made it easy for the developers to add and account for multiple playable characters, and you're clearly playing who you're playing for their style more than anything, so... not a big loss.
For the record, I played DLC character Anjali Khan myself. I don't think I've seen Indian royalty as a playable character outside of this? Certainly not in something not set in India. Very fun high concept, and indicative of the types of characters playable in this.
The other main draw for Strange Brigade are its puzzles. The best analogy that comes to mind are those optional tombs in the Survivor Tomb Raider games - along but slightly removed from the beaten path, not necessary but a highly encouraged part of the experience. These are a'ight. If you're specifically looking for an arcadey experience with these sorts of co-op shooters, this probably detracts from it, but it's easy enough to skip all the optional stuff. Anyway, I think the offer is fun, and the puzzles are generally straightforward enough that a quartet of players can ratio-locute 'em out without dragging down the forward momentum too much.
I will say that the game does not lend itself to replay as well as most co-op shooters I've played. Since it's all narrative-driven and all encounters are scripted, there is little variety for the players to have on repeat runs, save whether they go for the puzzles. Sort-of makes me better appreciate the system in place with Special Infected in Left 4 Dead, or how other games have similar analogues - since the game randomizes its mini-bosses, the actual experience of each map varies by consequence. There just doesn't seem to be room for that sort of variety here. But if you're just interested in clearing the campaign, it's not a concern.
...I'll also admit that the particulars of the game haven't really stuck with me, beyond its high-concept and theming. Heck, I played DLC campaign "The Thrice-Damned", but I don't remember it well enough to justify a separate rating. I do think it's strong enough to warrant the playthrough - there isn't any issue like what Back 4 Blood has, where the disparate systems (good as they are) fail to gel together. But I recommend it without really expecting it to be someone's favorite. Still, a good time while it lasts.