BRUTAL JOHN 2

About

BRUTAL JOHN 2 is a single player shooter game with a violence theme. It was developed by OldSchool Laws Team and was released on July 22, 2025. It received very positive reviews from players.

Roadmap About the GameThose who control crypto-mining — control the world. And only two real men can stop this madness — BRUTAL JOHN and BRUTAL DOG. Experience BRUTAL JOHN 2, a mind-blowing fusion of the best old-school FPS shooters, like Duke Nukem, Serious Sam, Doom, and Half-Life. Immerse yourself in a heart-stopping, ultraviolent gaming experience that's sure to get your adrenalin…

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94%

Audience ScoreBased on 220 reviews

humor52 positive mentions

grinding4 negative mentions

Fun and fast-paced boomer shooter with satisfying and punchy gunplay reminiscent of classic 90s shooters like Duke Nukem and Serious Sam.
Packed with lots of humor, cheesy one-liners, and numerous clever easter eggs and references to classic games and popular content creators, adding charm and replayability.
Well-polished gameplay and level design featuring diverse, interactive, and visually distinctive stages, with destructible environments and entertaining mini-games.

Some gameplay elements need balancing, such as scarce ammo especially at higher difficulties, awkward weapon mod usefulness, and the shotgun being overpowered at close range but weak mid-range.
Voice acting quality is inconsistent and some accents may not be to everyone’s taste; humor is hit-or-miss and may feel overly silly or unpolished for some players.
Vehicle controls feel clunky and unintuitive, and occasional performance issues like frame drops and bugs (e.g., hitbox problems and stuck NPCs) hamper the experience.

humor
53 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
98%
2%
The humor in the game is a fun, often silly throwback to late 90s shooters like Duke Nukem and Serious Sam, filled with cheesy, absurd dialogue, accents, and numerous Easter eggs that many players find hilarious and charming. However, the comedic style is hit or miss—while some praise its self-aware, over-the-top tone and references, others feel it falls short of delivering consistently clever or genuinely funny writing. Overall, it delivers a nostalgic, playful experience with humor that strongly appeals to fans of old-school, macho FPS games.
- “The tone, story, and cutscenes combined with the cherry on top that is the cast's accents make everything hilarious, and I very rarely laugh at any media.”
- “The whole game is filled with lines like that, it's freaking brilliant, I keep laughing all the way through, I can't believe the humor is actually good, it's self-aware in a way that lets the developers be quite silly.”
- “Amazing Duke Nukem 3D parody with a lot of hilarious cutscenes, easter eggs, references and jokes.”
- “It tries very hard to ape Duke Nukem but instead you get an ugly, janky, and unapologetically unfunny boomer shooter.”
gameplay
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
39%
8%
The gameplay is fast-paced, smooth, and enjoyable, blending inspirations from Serious Sam and Duke Nukem with solid controls, varied weapons, and engaging level design. While some feel it lacks shooter innovation, the unique humor, diverse environments, and mechanics like bullet time add depth and replayability. Minor issues include driving mechanics and occasional pacing, but overall, the gameplay is praised for being fun, polished, and satisfying.
- “The gameplay is really good with inspiration; level design has great variety with locations and set pieces like going from a train to deserts, even jumping on cars on a highway and going to space and wreaking havoc. The movement is really solid and the controls take some getting used to. The weapons are the shining point with how varied they are—from dual pistols, double barrel shotgun, unique heavy-duty assault rifles, rocket launcher, and dual grenade launchers to a railgun. The alt fire modes really get you out of jams and are consistently fun to use.”
- “The gameplay itself is not really like Duke Nukem 3D; it's more like Serious Sam, much more straightforward, faster paced, with a lot of enemies and tons of weapons.”
- “The moment-to-moment gameplay feels a little more like Serious Sam than Duke Nukem, but that's a good thing.”
- “Its a parody/not serious game I get that, but the gameplay?”
- “Also, the driving mechanics are not fun, especially backing up and then going forward again, there's a delay in the camera tracking your car.”
- “You get roughly under 4 hours of gameplay, 11 missions with secrets in them and 3 difficulties: easy, normal and hard.”
story
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
72%
14%
The story is intentionally silly and nonsensical, filled with over-the-top humor, numerous references to classic games, and a deliberately low-budget, retro aesthetic. While the narrative lacks depth and serious character development, its absurdity and charm provide an entertaining backdrop that complements the game's fast-paced, chaotic action. Overall, the story is appreciated more for its humor and nostalgic style than for any traditional storytelling qualities.
- “The tone, story, and cutscenes combined with the cherry on top that is the cast's accents make everything hilarious, and I very rarely laugh at any media.”
- “Movement is great (especially when the developer removes the needless walk or hold shift to run, seriously the run mobility is perfect that walking is not needed, good stuff), visuals are good and the story while nonsensical is charming in a broken English 80's Russian straight-to-VHS Rambo rip-off, love it.”
- “Absurd dialogue and story that had me laughing the whole time.”
- “So many references to other games (beyond the glorious Duke Nukem 3D, I look at you Doom, Half-Life, Quake...) and an unserious story.”
- “I do have some complaints here and there - story is bad, humor is even worse (Serious Sam 2 level), level design is all over the place.”
- “The writing (story/dialogue) feels overly silly, and the voice acting is subpar, with Eastern European accents coming across as cheap.”
graphics
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
47%
16%
The game features a retro, cartoonish art style reminiscent of classic boomer shooters like Serious Sam and Half-Life, with colorful, pixelated visuals that emphasize charm and humor over modern polish. While some find the graphics intentionally stiff or outdated, many appreciate the nostalgic aesthetic, interactive levels, and varied, visually pleasing environments that complement the fast-paced gameplay and over-the-top tone. Overall, the graphics deliver a stylish, old-school vibe that suits the game's quirky, fun design.
- “The world needs more Duke likes; highly interactive levels loaded with secrets, colorful old school graphics, and cheesy adult humor with a bit of testosterone thrown in.”
- “These levels are varied, cartoonish, aesthetically-pleasing eye candy and a blast to explore.”
- “Graphic: I like chonky, pixelated style - cute, maps are good with some good influence: Half-Life, Blood, Deus Ex/Cyberpunk. I like train level, city, highway (Matrix influence I think).”
- “I'm sure this will come off as petty but man this game is ugly; in no way did they capture the aesthetic I think they were going for.”
- “Despite the outdated visuals and the typical early access issues, it kicks ass!”
- “Decent enough Half-Life-era graphics mixed with big guns, ridiculous story and setting, intentionally terrible cutscenes and dialogue, and some cool levels make Brutal John 2 an enjoyable experience all around.”
music
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
23%
18%
The game's music is widely praised for its energetic, synthwave-inspired soundtrack that complements the fast-paced, old-school shooter gameplay. While some note occasional repetition and quiet cutscenes, the dynamic and varied tracks enhance the overall experience and inject humor and charm into the game.
- “Great music, punchy gameplay, hilariously stupid and funny humour!”
- “Kick-ass soundtrack too, I especially like some of the synthwave tracks in the game.”
- “The music is dynamic with the action coupled with some really good sound effects for the shooting.”
- “Music is weird because it's borderline non-existent for cutscenes. Although one of the last updates may have fixed this, I also appreciate it because it gives the strangely performed dialogue a more 'The Room' kind of feel, which I love.”
- “In-game music is varied, but some levels reuse previous levels' tunes. Outside of the nostalgia farming and two boss fight levels, the music score is one of my only gripes.”
- “In-game music is varied, but some levels reuse previous levels' tunes. Outside of the nostalgia farming and two boss fight levels, the music score is one of my only gripes.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Optimization in the game is inconsistent, with occasional FPS drops and some performance issues even on high-end hardware, leading to awkward controls and a less challenging experience. While gameplay is generally smooth, performance can be unstable during combat, suggesting the need for further improvements.
- “From performance to gameplay, everything was top notch!”
- “Performance can be a bit janky, with fps drops here and there, but nothing game-breaking.”
- “Great game, iffy performance at times and I'm running a 4070 Super.”
- “The flaw is the optimization in Unreal Engine affecting the stable FPS, I can’t use the D-pad when I’m in the menu and it feels awkward to use the joystick.”
- “Performance can be a bit janky, with FPS drops here and there, but nothing game-breaking.”
- “Wait a bit more until performance is improved.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in this game can feel tedious and slow, especially on harder difficulties where resource management and enemy waves become challenging. However, the addictive mechanics of farming cash and defeating crypto machines provide a compelling reward loop that balances the grind's repetitiveness.
- “I found normal to be a bit tedious later on because enemies tended to take a lot of damage and deal a lot of damage as well. Hard mode became very slow because you have to be very mindful of ammo and enemy placement, in situations where the game just keeps throwing enemies at you.”
- “Nostalgia and dopamine aura farming is both a major feature and a problem in the game.”
- “Picking up cash and destroying crypto farming machines are addicting, highlighting the grinding mechanics.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Users note that the game lacks microtransactions, which some find refreshing, though a few mention the sniper rifle's slower pace may not suit those accustomed to faster PvP games. Overall, the monetization approach is minimal or absent.
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is minimal, as the game focuses on delivering a fun, fast-paced boomer shooter experience rather than a deep story or complex character arcs.
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is dynamic and engaging, with diverse levels that keep the experience fresh. It features well-crafted weapons, numerous secrets, and interactive objects that contribute to entertaining cutscenes and humorous moments.
- “The weapons feel great, and the atmosphere of the levels is quite different from one another, which keeps things fresh. There are also many cool secrets and interactive objects in the levels that have entertaining cutscenes or funny moments attached to them.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers substantial replayability thanks to its engaging gameplay and concise, enjoyable cutscenes, encouraging players to revisit it multiple times.
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game "Brutal John 2" evokes strong emotions through its heartfelt and detailed tribute to Duke Nukem, featuring affectionate references that resonate with fans of the character.
- “Brutal John 2 is a heartfelt, detailed, and affectionate tribute to Duke Nukem—with clear nods to the character in several moments.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game shows some stability issues, particularly with bugs that affect gameplay. Notably, using the Steam overlay during cutscenes causes the game to freeze, requiring players to skip the cutscene to continue.
- “I have found some bugs and I hope these are patched up fast, but using the Steam overlay during a cutscene completely freezes the cutscene and you'll have to skip it in order to progress.”