Broforce was my first impulse purchase when I got into PC gaming last summer and I don't regret it at all.
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Broforce is not the most sophisticated game. A story is non-existent and there's not much motivation beyond rescue the hostages and kill the bad guys. But that's not much of a negative at all, because the gameplay blows away any wishes for a story or deeper motives. Broforce set out to be an ode to 80's and 90's action movies, the Expendables in video game form, and it succeeds on every possible level.
The biggest selling point is the characters, all pixel-art parodies of 80's and 90's action movie heroes. Rambo, Commando, Walker Texas Ranger, Snake Plissken, John McClane, The Terminator, Judge Dredd, and more are available to play as and each with their own unique weapon and secondary explosive. You start each level off as a random hero and can switch to another by rescuing hostages, similar to the weapon swapping mechanic in Super Crate Box.
Each level is a fully destructible playground filled with explosive barrels, propane canisters, and many many enemies ranging from simple goons to suicide bombers to guard dogs and mini-gun wielding mini-bosses. The stylized graphics are nicely detailed, with blood, dirt, smoke, and fire flying with every explosion. The destructible environments adds an layer of depth, allowing you to tunnel beneath enemies to flank them or collapse the ground under their feet or crush them beneath trucks and heavy debris. All those tricks and fast reflexes will be needed because the game is not easy. You die in one hit.
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Those impressions are months old, but remain as true as ever. Broforce is hard, it's chaotic, it's challenging, it's fun as hell. You feel like a badass, but you also havve to plan your attack because you can die so fast. A lot of times, rushing in will get you killed, while it would be better to flank from above or blow the ground away from below.
Since I wrote that, new heroes have been added, from Neo to Machete. New bosses and challenging new enemies and mini-bosses to fight. New levels and mechanics. The editor has been improved and expanded. Unlike the majority of betas, this feels like a finished games that gets big content updates rather than a skeleton of a game missing critical features like some Early Access games.
So the bottom line: Broforce is an absolute blast and you should play it if you like fast arcade action with highly destructive environments and the chance to play as your favorite action heroes.
