Brigador: Up-Armored Edition

So, I just noticed it says .3 hours on record. Well, thats funny. I'm a trucker and have played this to death offline. So, that said, just get it. If you look at it, and the modkit and you think hmm, "that looks cool", just know you're selling it short, it is top 10 for me. Only thing I can think to make it on another level is adding some Z depth layers to take it to another level literally. Otherwise, its just fantastic, gritty, dark and a little bit messed up in the head. 10/10

YOU NEED TO USE MOUSE AND KEYBOARD IF YOU WANT TO BEAT THE FINAL F* LEVELS IN A REASONABLE WAY

What is this game?

Arcade game: no, though it is set up to be one. During a mission you get dollars, these could be points, except for the fact that it is not saved, so no top scores, and no bonuses for speed, which will be necessary for this system to work to avoid a boring trip throughout the level destroying every destructible.

Top down shooter: no. the isometric view makes this difficult. And some enemies are quite annoying to hit like hovercraft. And, ideally in one of these games, if things are getting chaotic, and the explosions and stuff happening is distracting, or obscuring your craft, preventing proper movement, that is where in a top-down shooter that I really like, Teleglitch, you would be dead in about two seconds. But in this game most of the vehicles can just shrug this off presuming you don't do it too much. This game is more about managing resources rather than avoiding being hit.

Simulation: not even close. Though there are elements that go in this direction like hull facing affecting damage though.

I think Brigador is some awkward in between. To illustrate this I will use unpopular games I like(sorry). In Touhou, you have resources, but you don't use any of them if you play well, the view is not isometric, but top down to enhance readability. The problem with Brigador is, even if you are hit, as long as you aren't hit too much and get health and ammo pickups, a combination of luck, good aim, and aggressiveness, you will not lose any resources. However in an encounter that doesn't go well, you could fail the mission there. I don't like this in between because for me I feel like I am fine playing unless I mess up. I am not rewarded for perfect play, just good enough play that I don't lose resources. I'd rather have an entire health bar and ammunition regenerate, but by honest suggestion is to have none of it regenerate, so every time you get hit or miss a shot it counts like in Teleglitch. Or alternatively, it can go in a simulation direction, by changing the damage system to be more realistic, and removing in mission ammo restocking, etc.

100MBs:
I have heard that there is a mod, called brigardcore from a fried of mine, and once I tried to install it, I got a failure because the mod by itself went above the memory limit of the game. To use it at all, the mod author said I would have to remove vehicles from the mod, this is due to my operating system and/or hardware. Most likely if the reader were to install on their machine it would work. This 100MB limit is unfortunate, more unfortunate that there are an unnecessary number of units and weapons in the base game that is eating up those precious 100 megs. I have a dislike of bloat. I don't like the content bloats that have plagued modern Minecraft, and many other games. There is a weight to every added thing in a game, and it better be worth it.

spoilers for lore entries

The only other thing I have to say is there is a failure to give most of the briggadors motivations. I appreciate the lore in this game but as the player character I should at least understand the motivation of the character I am playing as to give context to the actions I do in game. It is something extremely basic, but missed. And before anyone says because they are well paid, consider what they are paid to do and the likelyhood of success. Being outnumbered 100 to 1 will not make for a long life, and they don't get paid if they don't finish their zones. And even if they do live, they will live the rest of their days off planet. So, I have trouble understanding the possible motivations of these people besides they are all a special kind of insane.

this game is really frosting awesome and great, I really love it and still play it for hours

im a big stompy guy with a meat gun, whatchu gonna do about it

this game feels like when one of those flash games you play as a kid that you played 15 years ago in the best way possible

Do it...

I am ready for deployment to the inner sphere. Please deposit cbills in my mercenary account in case I become deceased.

We will defeat the clan invasion and uphold shalun law. Remember, an open mind is like a fortress with its gates unbarred.

Do a war crime: The Video Game.
Commit yourself to one of the tightest playing and best presented digital violations of the sanctity of human life and the safety of non-combatants as you play as a collection of mercenary scum in a host of armoured vehicles.

You are mercenary scum hired to obliterate local forces and demolish local infrastructure for your contractor.
In the wake of the political assassination of their leader, Solo Nobre is in a state ripe for a monster like you to take advantage of for profit.

Enjoy a wonderful soundscape of synth tunes and surprising tactical depth in moment to moment gameplay.
Go to sleep trying not to picture an ocean of yellow raincoats.

thank you mandy for showing me the lgiht

Amazing combat game backed up by a killer original score and unbelievably in-depth and fascinating lore. Scratches that military sci-fi itch in me so well.

Play the Freelance mode. In my opinion the Campaign is best for just learning the game; do the campaign if you like but the meat of the game to me is the Freelance mode. Smaller, weaker vehicles (powersuits, light tanks, the Tuk-Tuk, etc.) obviously have less durability and smaller weapon mounts, but offer much greater payout at the end of runs to reward their use. Similarly, pilots that have higher difficulties usually have greater payouts at the end of their runs. Use this to find your level of comfort and challenge.

Whatever you do, don't play it like a twin-stick shooter. In the settings change the Tank & Mech Movement to Relative, do the same with Agravs if you prefer to. This game is not "point in a direction and shoot," you must take into account fire arcs - some vehicles, namely mechs, will have to aim closer or further to hit targets that are lower to the ground, or to fire over obstacles. It has a mild difficulty curve in learning this and properly practicing it.

Enjoy the beautiful visuals, the wonderfully-written lore, and the killer soundtrack as you lay waste to Solo Nobre with a massive variety of vehicles and weaponry.

.

Damn I wish I knew wtf was exploding and killing me over and over on certain maps, what structures are can be nebulous at best and completely unknowable other times.

Great gameplay, detailed 2D graphics and the best soundtrack I've ever heard in a video game.

If you like Synth, absolutely one of the best video game soundtracks out right now. Gameplay just works.. Its hard to explain it seems simple on the surface but if you're a big mech fan this game just hits all the right notes. Very excited for Brigador Killers this year.

The game so damn good I bought it the next day after pirating it

the soundtrack goes crazy

Remote worker here, decided to get this on a whim after hearing the dev call it out during a Ben Schwartz show. After the first few minutes, I found it's an easy game to play off screen when working on re-editing the same excel sheet for the 30th time. Fun gameplay, could use some love in the UI department on the offchance it finds some new life down the road.

All in all, though, very captivating gameplay and a light load on the ole work lappy.

21 Open Tabs/10

I bulldozed a children's playground and got paid $200 for it.

A game built with a clear vision: Fun.
Gritty, dark, funny, terrible. Brigador is mercinary mech mayhem and damn, is it worth a shot!

Is fun. A sandbox game. Has a bit a story too. But who cares. Good game.

Welcome Brigador

Absorbing mech gameplay in a cyberpunk setting that gripps you and just won't let you!

Not until you get all those diamonds from completing missions with different loadouts.

This helped me get through early covid. The graphics are kind of reminiscent of those 90s jungle strike \ desert strike games. Kind of a sandbox of city destruction. A good time, and very replayable.

gg

This game is so goddamn fun. Save for that lousy troubador poop-cycle, just about every vehicle in the game can be played with great satisfaction. What a marvel.

A nice change of pace in a mech game, slower more methodical plodding that doesn't feel too slow and still rewards you for being quick and accurate with your arsenal. Speaking of which they sound fantastic, the huge chain guns ripping through the air, enormous beams that scream, and mortars that boom when they level a city block. I love the heavy chain gun. The glowing tracers chasing tiny targets lighting up the entirely destructible environment is just *chefs kiss*. Good game, you should play it.

Absolutely one of the best indie mech games out there. No other game has sucked me into its world quite like this. 100% recommend picking up the audio book too.

10/10, would ensure Solo Nobre falls again.

This game is great, the amount of writing and lore that goes into like what basically a tuk tuk with a 20mm autocannon on it is amazing. I can't wait for brigador killers, must have game if you love isometric shooters.

its very very good and, o my god the artstyle is veryyyyyy good. Brigador killers looks great as well i really cant wait, keep it up!.

The Monahan boys act like filthy scum, so you're well advised not to buy their products.

The one boy posted hateful empty headed garbage online for years and was found out.
Once found out he didn't have the balls to stand for what he spewed.
He folded like the loser he wants to be, cried and begged for forgiveness from the woke mob.
Guess what, the mob knows no mercy, but everyone knows the boy's boneless composition now.

The other boy apparently suffers from leftist echo chamber cancel culture mentality:
Recently I sent him a friend request on steam in order to tell him something about his game.
He instantly blocked me for no reason, never talked one word to me.
So i called him out for this on his game's steam forum, simply pointing out the fact, basically inviting him to correct this behavior.
Rather than getting back to me he even deleted the forum post.

That's the trash tier quality these two clowns display by their actions.
Clearly, their daddy should have beaten his brats way harder.

Other than that, the game Brigador:
It's playable, very militaristic, decent gun play, various vehicles, lots of maps which all play pretty similar though.
The quality of the underlying engine is pretty garbage, which you realize even more so if you read a bit what they post about their dev process on the sequel and what trivialities they're struggling with there.
Clearly, they're not very good coders.
Beyond that, Brigador has a weirdly forcefully depressed setting, largely overrated soundtrack (few tracks are decent but really nothing special) and fittingly weird art style.
Character artworks, lore and even the depiction of violence in this game seem just weird as well.
It's almost as if the art director behind this game got dropped on his head as a kid and some things in there ain't functioning very well anymore.

Anyway, quite a bit variety due to many different weapons and vehicles can make the game worthwhile for some time, but better don't give these shameless people any more money.

"This game is so niche and edgy, I luv it!" Jango's Times

"It's definitely not everyones cup of tea, definitely..." IGJango

Imagine John Carpenter has a fever dream of a videogame, and it's getting executed by maniacs obsessed with attention to detail and nerdy atmospherical cyberpunk lore. BRIGADOR... sounds spanish, probably because they intended to call it matador in the first place, whatever, it's brutal in different ways and even the user friendly setting for movement across the dystopian suburban and urban areas of this horrific future seems to be not userfriendly at all, at least I had my problems navigating some of the many vehicles in this game in the first hours. Whatsoever after getting used to the different vehicle types and their pros & cons, the different weapon combinations and specials this thing has to offer, I really started enjoying this. Since it's repetetive gameloop you won't binge this but it's perfect for 1 or 2 hours of pure destruction. If you like the 70/80s, isometric games kinda twinstickshooterlike, hard but rewarding controlls and some fresh air although this game has some amiga vibes to it you'd might like it.
There's really just that: hard to learn & hard to master gameplay with tons of customization/combination possibilities (on vehicles and weaponry) and a samish gameloop on "different" missions to pick up in "different" maps ..
no story, no cutscenes.. lore can be unlocked and consumed via textpages.. obviously this game is more about destroying and vibing :)

06/10

this game is fantastic. would also recommend buying the soundtrack. audiobook is a maybe- if you like military sf and enjoyed playing through the campaign, it's worth picking up.

Very fun, love the aesthetic

Brigador is an amazing synthwave album in game form. Awesome visuals, and lots of replayablity as there are tons of different playstyles, vehicles, and weapons to try out. The lore is also well written and a joy to read. Strong recommend.

Campaign is pretty short but it sort of feels like the tutorial more than a true campaign. Theres a lot of lore and reading to do here. Its fun it looks good and you feel like you are in a real mech.

Easy recommend for mech enjoyers and people who like isometric action.
Art is excellent. Music is fantastic. Writing is a very entertaining mix of anecdotal world building and detached corporate assignments. Gameplay is fun tank action with a nice tactical edge. Altogether it's a game well worth experiencing.

Grimdark 80's sci-fi shooter. I loved Crusader & Syndicate, and this channels the same vibe and level of challenge.

You can utterly level entire cities in all sorts of crazy mechs.

It's an isometric mech-and-tank-and hovercraft murder simulator with a surprisingly robust munitions system (which can simulate things like overpenetration on light armor). It's quite a lot of fun and has fantastic writing (imagine, if you would, a nuanced version of the standard evil megacorp colony plot), but I can't help but feel like there's a lack of mechanical variation even with the varied loadouts (maybe it's that the objectives are all kinda similar). I'm very much hoping that Brigador Killers, when it comes, will rectify this. As it stands, however, this might be the most fun you'll have blowing things up in 2.5D for the time being.

Oh, and the soundtrack consists entirely of exceptionally good outrun music. Worth picking it up for that alone.

Fun as hell.

BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD, SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE

Good

Cool game. Really liked the aesthetic, level of destruction, and build variety. Soundtrack was cool, too. This game oozes replayability in its campaign and operations mode, so I could definitely see myself revisiting it in the future. Also, I really wish the narrative had a little more substance. Last levels in the game made me want to rip my hair out for practically no pay off other than a few achievements.

If I had to give it a number it'd probably be like an 8/10.

Hell of a game for wasting time! Brigador is a fun 2.5D game that lets you destroy almost everything, with mechs, tanks, or agrav vehicles. Although it has no cutscenes, movies, or anything, it has amazing and well-written lore that can make an English professor shed a tear and impress the most veteran of writers. The soundtrack is such a vibe, and I listen to it during my free time. I highly recommend this game for anyone wanting to have some good times destroying things and vibing!

awesome

One sunny afternoon, after buying Brigador, I've put 'Eternal Flame' by Bangles on repeat and played this game for 4-5 hours straight until completion. It was truly a wonderful way to spend my day.

Unfortunately my aunt was a bit troubled by my autism and politely asked me if "that would be enough of Eternal Flame playing non stop?".

5/5 fun lil game

The soundtrack GOES

Love this game. I was looking for a fun mech game to play and ended up playing this which has a diverse range of vehicles and weapons to mess around with. I ended up hooked on it and over the course of a week completed the whole game achievements and all. If your looking for a fun isometric game with good replay-ability then this is a must have plus it works on the steam deck. Allot of heart went into making this and ill be keeping an eye of this dev team.

Spacers? Corvids? Loyalists? Great Leader? I don't know about any of that, I'm just a humble tank driver trying to feed his plants. Water and potting soil's expensive these days and let me tell ya the pays fine as mama's Aqua Fresca. Some folks will tell ya tanks are old news and that hover craft and mechs are the new hotness, but personally my rotary mortar and machine gun say 50 pesos is 50 pesos. All in all great vacation spot. Just pop in your favorite mixtape or playlist or hell even enjoy the in game music and let your inner capellan take hold. Be sure to give the cancer gun a try its a blast. Some folks will tell ya to not bother with every civilian ya see their only 50 pesos...well i got plants to feed and 50 pesos is 50 pesos. 10/10 twin stick and tank controls are a blast.