A Brilliant Beat 'Em Up Blend!
Brok - The Brawl Bar is an entertaining game that is perfect to pick up and play. It's got the thrill and excitement of a beat 'em up packed into a variety of challenges, ones that can be played alone, or with up to four players.
Initially you play as Brok, the titular character, and are introduced to the bar, which serves as a hub area. Here Brok can switch between detective and fighting modes, talk to characters, examine objects, and access modes and extra features. These include daily challenges, survival, an arcade game and even a custom creator setting! There are also numerous achievements to unlock, collectables, and an art gallery.
After the introduction, you are able to begin the main mode where the aim is to complete challenges with specific goals; for example, you might need to win a battle while protecting your ally, collect a large number of items within a time limit, or defeat several enemies at the same time. There are 60 main challenges in total, plus some unlockable bonus ones. All can be completed at any difficulty level, and it can be changed at any time.
In this game, Brok mainly utillizes his own boxer moveset, and there are many attacks and techniques at his disposal. You can perform combos, parry, and use stage weapons or items to aid you in overcoming your opponents. Throughout each mode and multiplayer, there are also five other characters available to play as, all featuring unique characteristics and movesets.
Creative Mode is a lot of fun, and the interface is easy to use. Characters, backgrounds, items, damage, scaling and much much more can be customised and adjusted. Any created challenges can be played and shared with others too. The fact that you can add your own custom characters is an awesome bonus. I've yet to try making my own, but the included ones are a great showcase of what can be done.
For those familiar with BROK the InvestiGator, the additional story found in The Brawl Bar is self contained, yet adds and is connected to elements of the original game of the series. If you enjoy the world and characters of Brok, you will certainly love the large amount of new characters and the setting introduced here. That being said, the story is also enjoyable for someone who is unfamiliar with Brok the Investigator as well. Other highlights are the full voice acting, wonderfully animated characters and portraits, and a great synth based soundtrack.