Introduction

In the vast ocean of video games, some titles are buoyant, floating confidently on the surface, while others sink straight to the bottom like a lead balloon. Brawl, formerly known as Basement Crawl, is tragically one of those lead balloons. Released by Bloober Team, you might think they’d keep their heads down after the backlash from critics regarding Basement Crawl. Spoiler alert: they didn’t.

Gameplay

Brawl attempts to channel classic games like Bomberman and Spy vs. Spy but ends up more like a sad parody of those greats. The premise hinges on players darting through maze-like arenas, laying traps for their opponents, which sounds entertaining until you realize there's not much strategy involved—it's mostly button mashing and frantically running around hoping to avoid getting bludgeoned by an explosive bear trap or worse, a clown with an identity crisis. With support for local and online multiplayer, you can team up with your friends to beat each other senseless, which is either therapeutic or a recipe for lifelong grudges. The characters on offer are unique in that they aren’t unique at all. You start off with four characters, one of which is a clown. Yes, a clown. The first instinct is to laugh, but after fumbling around with the gameplay, those laughs turn to sobs. If there’s an absence of depth in each character’s skillset, there’s an even bigger absence when it comes to the modes provided—just two modes separated by a yawning chasm of boredom. If you were hoping for character development or dynamic gameplay, settle in for a whole lot of nothing instead. One significant claim that Bloober Team made was that Brawl would be free of luck, focusing entirely on player skill. Unfortunately, that's a mighty ambitious mission when the skill ceiling feels lower than a puddle after a rainy day. As a consolation prize, the enemy AI is gloriously incompetent, leading to moments that bring out more laughter from infuriating mistakes rather than challenging gameplay. Remember that sense of accomplishment you feel after winning a round? In Brawl, it’s more about gratefulness that it ended.

Graphics

Graphically, Brawl is like that kid who always wore hand-me-downs to school: slightly shabby and woefully behind the trends. Picture pixel graphics so bland they're practically translucent, sprinkled with clashing colors that make your eyes hurt. The art direction appears to borrow from a 1990s fever dream right out of an old school game development class—received one too many ‘needs improvement’ stickers. The animations could use a little more spice too; once the novelty of the character designs wears off, you’ll quickly realize there’s only so much you can do with clown-like characters tumbling through cramped mazes. Backdrops scream lackluster, and while dynamic camera angles are indeed a feature, calling them dynamic would imply they’re interesting, which they are not. Worse yet, the game occasionally suffers from stuttering framerates, which is like adding insult to injury; imagine tripping and faceplanting over your shoelaces while trying to dance.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, Brawl attempts to deliver a competitive maze experience but lands flat on its face, much like its predecessor, Basement Crawl. It suffers from an identity crisis, trying to be a blend of hardcore skill-based mayhem, yet ironically needs player skill to be engaging, something it lacks. With a Metacritic score of 27, the proverbial bottom of the barrel, it's safe to say very few players will find a reason to indulge in this botched remake. If you happen upon a copy in a bargain bin, consider this your sign to skip it. Brawl may become a nasty footnote in game history or a particularly fun talking point at gaming parties—if you ever find yourself in need of a laugh at someone else’s poor life choices. Unless, of course, you’re looking to foster a love-hate relationship with your gaming experience; in that case, welcome aboard!

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