14 DAY TRIAL // Our Incoming 2015 series focuses on the most important game launches of the next 12 months, and next up we talk about one of the most anticipated indie titles of the year – Broforce – developed by Free Lives and published by Devolver Digital.
What we know
Broforce is currently available via the Steam Early Access program on the popular digital distribution service. The title is a side-scrolling shooter platformer, in which players control different "bros" modeled after famous action movie heroes.
From Rambo, to the Terminator, Universal Soldier, Blade, or MacGuyver, the roster is fantastic and each has his or her own special abilities. You get a random one every time you spawn, so while it may lead to having the less than optimal tools for the job, it's still quite enjoyable and makes the game feel fresh.
The levels are also pretty varied, requiring not just great shooting skills but also solid platforming abilities. Luckily, your bros can climb vertical walls using their knives. This makes it a bit easy to get out of holes or sections you shot through the earth.
Enemies are varied, ranging from regular soldiers, to suicide bombers, vicious dogs, and plenty of crazy vehicles or monsters.
While Broforce can be played alone, it's much better when playing with a friend or up to three others, as the chaotic action amplifies and things become a blast, both figuratively and literally when you're all throwing grenades all over the place.
Why it matters
Retro puzzle platformers are a dime a dozen, especially those with pixelated artwork, but Broforce shines through its Expendables-like theme (Free Lives released the free-to-play Expendabros to tie into the Expendables 3 last year).
The game is fun and mindless and embraces that completely, so expect plenty of great things when Broforce actually exits the Early Access program.
The game, unfortunately, still doesn't have a concrete release schedule as Free Lives originally wanted to roll it out in 2014 but started adding new features and bros, based on the feedback from Early Access customers, and still doesn't have a plan for a new launch.
Still, you can expect Broforce to launch on PC sometime this year, and probably on new consoles in the future.
