Brutal Orchestra is a very clean take on the deckbuilding roguelike genre. And yes, I consider it a deckbuilder. Your party members are your cards in this game.
I'll keep this review relatively short, because I think that it is probably best for you to just play the game for itself. Brutal Orchestra has a unique aesthetic that only really compares to Binding of Isaac and LISA. The pixel art is great, the music is interesting, and the gameplay is captivating. It also has a nice little story that develops as you progress, and I think that it says what it wants to say well.
My only big gripe with this game is that it does not give me a good enough reason to replay it over and over. And that is a matter of personal taste, I suppose. It does give completionists plenty to work with since there is a bevy of characters and items for you to unlock if you so choose.
The problem is, however, that the two characters that join your party in the tutorial are more than enough to beat the game with. Seriously, Hans and Boyle are ridiculously strong, and the balance of the game in general is kind of wonky. I would say that unless there is a secret super hard mode or something, Brutal Orchestra is far too easy. And if I'm saying that, then people who play more hardcore deckbuilders like Slay the Spire will definitely say that as well. I've played it for 15 hours or so and I feel like I've already done everything besides the extremely time-consuming "Beat the game with X character" achievements. I don't think there are any more content expansions that I can unlock, and I'm not interested in grinding runs just to see all of the items and characters.
That being said, I believe that anyone who is remotely interested in strategic planning (and can stomach the gruesome character designs) will get a good 10-20 hours out of Brutal Orchestra. It really is well designed. I just wish it had a more meaningful, more in-depth meta-progression scale like Binding of Isaac does. Without it, I don't think I will touch it again for a while.
I'll keep this review relatively short, because I think that it is probably best for you to just play the game for itself. Brutal Orchestra has a unique aesthetic that only really compares to Binding of Isaac and LISA. The pixel art is great, the music is interesting, and the gameplay is captivating. It also has a nice little story that develops as you progress, and I think that it says what it wants to say well.
My only big gripe with this game is that it does not give me a good enough reason to replay it over and over. And that is a matter of personal taste, I suppose. It does give completionists plenty to work with since there is a bevy of characters and items for you to unlock if you so choose.
The problem is, however, that the two characters that join your party in the tutorial are more than enough to beat the game with. Seriously, Hans and Boyle are ridiculously strong, and the balance of the game in general is kind of wonky. I would say that unless there is a secret super hard mode or something, Brutal Orchestra is far too easy. And if I'm saying that, then people who play more hardcore deckbuilders like Slay the Spire will definitely say that as well. I've played it for 15 hours or so and I feel like I've already done everything besides the extremely time-consuming "Beat the game with X character" achievements. I don't think there are any more content expansions that I can unlock, and I'm not interested in grinding runs just to see all of the items and characters.
That being said, I believe that anyone who is remotely interested in strategic planning (and can stomach the gruesome character designs) will get a good 10-20 hours out of Brutal Orchestra. It really is well designed. I just wish it had a more meaningful, more in-depth meta-progression scale like Binding of Isaac does. Without it, I don't think I will touch it again for a while.