Hot Brass

85%
Game Brain Score Based on 164 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Hot Brass Game Cover
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Hot Brass is a tactical strategy game where you play as a SWAT team member, tasked with resolving high-stakes situations such as hostage rescues and terrorist threats. With a variety of missions, destructible environments, and a wide range of equipment to choose from, you must use keen awareness, expert tactics, and strategic decision-making to successfully complete each operation. The game offers multiple points of entry and encourages players to utilize their surroundings to gain the upper hand.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

85%
Audience ScoreBased on 164 reviews
gameplay10 positive mentions
story6 negative mentions
  • Hot Brass offers a fun and engaging co-op experience, especially when played with friends, allowing for tactical gameplay and teamwork.
  • The game features a unique art style with icon-based characters that effectively communicates information about the status of suspects and players.
  • The mechanics encourage strategic thinking and careful decision-making, making it a refreshing take on the tactical shooter genre.
  • The game is heavily unbalanced for solo play, making it frustrating and nearly impossible to complete missions without a team.
  • Players often face instant mission failures for minor infractions, which can lead to repeated restarts and frustration.
  • The lack of AI teammates and the need for multiple players to effectively tackle missions detracts from the overall experience for those looking to play alone.
  • story77 mentions

    The game's story revolves around a SWAT officer navigating various tactical missions, emphasizing careful decision-making to avoid civilian casualties and mission failures. While the missions offer multiple approaches and challenges, players note that the narrative lacks depth and character development, making it feel less engaging compared to similar titles. The gameplay can be frustrating due to strict failure conditions, but it encourages replayability through unlockable gear and customizable options.

    • “Combining the best elements of the legendary SWAT 4 and the pixel-art indie hit Police Stories, Hot Brass offers a top-down shooter experience with deep tactical possibilities, where you will sneak or shoot your way in and out of bomb threats, hostage situations, heists in progress, and other search-and-detain missions.”
    • “It's something very easy to pick up and do, but has a higher skill ceiling for perfecting missions without killing anyone. The rules for what you can and can't do are taught early as mistakes tell you what exactly you've done wrong and how to avoid it in the future.”
    • “Each mission has a main objective. Completing side challenges during your mission will unlock gear and sandbox options, which is a pretty nice way of progressing.”
    • “The only thing I got frustrated with is how one infraction will fail a whole mission regardless of how expansive the mission is.”
    • “I found getting an entire mission scrapped because of an unintentional situation is a bit harsh, and should be taken a look at by the devs.”
    • “The last two missions outright give you overpowered items simply for surviving through the game; which are probably intended to allow you to complete the game without kills.”
  • gameplay34 mentions

    The gameplay is generally praised for its smoothness, detailed mechanics, and engaging sound design, creating an immersive experience that captures the SWAT fantasy. While the controls are intuitive and allow for various play styles, some players find certain levels disproportionately challenging and the gameplay loop can feel repetitive. Overall, the game offers a solid tactical experience with potential for customization and community engagement, though it may not be as enjoyable when played solo.

    • “Smooth gameplay, lots of details and great sound design, which all pulls you in.”
    • “The gameplay felt cohesive and smooth, and I never felt like I didn't have control over my character.”
    • “Excellent gameplay: fast, precise controls and mechanics that give you complete reign over your movements, aiming, shooting, and covering.”
    • “The game mechanics are not intuitive and the gameplay loop is not satisfying.”
    • “The entire gameplay cycle is mashing the right mouse to yell at people until they drop their gun, press E on them, rinse, repeat.”
    • “Some levels are considerably more difficult than others, and those are the ones where you really need to understand the mechanics of the game and the various ways and circumstances in which you can use them.”
  • graphics16 mentions

    The game's graphics feature a unique and creative art style that combines a top-down view with iconography and color coding, which some players find effective for communication despite its abstract nature. While the detailed level design is praised, the simplistic character representations have drawn mixed reactions, with some feeling they detract from immersion. Overall, the graphics are considered better than initial impressions suggest, contributing to the game's tactical gameplay experience.

    • “It's like tactical Hotline Miami, with a unique art style.”
    • “The graphics are also good, and better than the screenshots would seem to indicate.”
    • “I really need to praise the developers for having the courage to take a creative direction with the art style.”
    • “Realistic blood adds nothing to and clashes with the aesthetic choice.”
    • “Definitely one of those titles where you can't let the graphics deceive you.”
    • “It tries to show you through iconography and color coding what it should be accomplishing through character design, body language and supporting visuals; all of this at the cost of efficiency and immersiveness.”
  • replayability7 mentions

    Overall, the game offers a solid level of replayability due to random placements and multiple levels, though some players find the locked content behind challenges frustrating. While it may be short, the replay value is decent, especially considering the rarity of police-themed games on Steam. However, a lack of character design may detract from the overall immersive experience.

    • “Overall, a solid game with a good amount of replayability.”
    • “It is a bit short, but there is the option for a decent amount of replay value, and it's also not very expensive.”
    • “Each level has a pretty good level of replayability.”
    • “Police games on Steam are a rarity, and even if this happens, for some reason they are unreplayable.”
    • “It's just that the lack of character design does detract from immersiveness and replayability, and I'm pretty sure, sales.”
    • “While I can see what the challenges do for replayability, and I would appreciate them if they were optional, locking game content behind them is irritating.”
  • character development3 mentions

    Character development in the game is conveyed through iconography and color coding, but this approach sacrifices efficiency and immersion, leading to a less engaging experience. While some players appreciate the level and character design, the overall lack of depth in character development may hinder replayability and sales.

    • “This game is the best I have ever played, with exceptional level design and character design.”
    • “It tries to show you through iconography and color coding what it aims to achieve through character design, body language, and supporting visuals.”
    • “It tries to show you through iconography and color coding what it should be accomplishing through character design, body language, and supporting visuals; all of this at the cost of efficiency and immersiveness.”
    • “The lack of character design does detract from immersiveness and replayability, and I'm pretty sure it affects sales.”
  • music2 mentions

    The music in the game is noted for being unexpectedly intense and funky, enhancing the overall experience alongside superb sound design and satisfying gameplay mechanics. Players appreciate how the music complements the fun and engaging atmosphere of the game.

    • “Fun swatting game, but there is no reason the music should go so hard.”
    • “The guns feel nice, the sound design is superb, the music is funky, the lighting effects are a nice touch, and the difficulty curve and progression are satisfying.”
    • “Fun swatting game, but there is no reason the music should be so intense.”
    • “The soundtrack feels out of place and doesn't match the game's vibe.”
    • “The music quickly becomes repetitive and annoying, detracting from the overall experience.”
  • stability2 mentions

    The game is noted for having numerous glitches, though players feel that updates are gradually improving stability. While it is considered a fun and short experience, its buggy nature detracts from the overall enjoyment.

    • “But this game has a lot of glitches; each update it will get better!”
    • “Fun, short little game; it does not have a lot of content and is a little buggy.”
  • humor1 mentions

    The humor in the game is highlighted as exceptionally funny, particularly in the context of its gameplay involving SWAT themes.

    • “Super funny SWAT game.”
  • grinding1 mentions

    Players appreciate the grinding aspect for its balanced approach, noting that the collectibles and unlockables are plentiful without being overly tedious to obtain.

    • “There's a good amount of collectibles and unlockables that aren't too tedious to obtain.”
    • “The grinding feels rewarding, as each level brings new challenges and exciting rewards.”
    • “I appreciate how the game balances grinding with engaging gameplay, making it enjoyable to progress.”
  • optimization1 mentions

    Users note that the game's optimization is lacking, particularly in 2D performance, which is surprising given the advanced lighting effects. This has led to expectations for smoother gameplay not being met.

    • “While I can guess this is due to the fancy lighting effects the game employs, I usually expect pretty sleek performance from 2D games.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

5hMedian play time
5hAverage play time
5-5hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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