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Strange Brigade

Strange Brigade is as packed with colonial British charm as its crypts and tombs are with the undead.
Strange Brigade Game Cover
77%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
grinding, monetization
84% User Score Based on 5,024 reviews
Critic Score 60%Based on 10 reviews

Platforms

Nintendo SwitchXbox Series X|SPCPlaystation 5CloudPlaystation 4Xbox OneXboxNVIDIA GeForce NOWWindowsPlayStation
Strange Brigade Game Cover

About

Strange Brigade is a single player and multiplayer shooter game with a mystery theme. It was developed by Rebellion and was released on August 27, 2018. It received neutral reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

The Strange Brigade Deluxe Edition includes the base game and Season Pass, granting access to additional campaign missions, playable characters, weapon packs, and more. In this 1930's-era adventure, players join the Strange Brigade to battle the undead army of Seteki, the resurrected Witch Queen, across diverse Egyptian locations. Solve puzzles, discover treasure, and experience thrilling third-person action.

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84%
Audience ScoreBased on 5,024 reviews
story236 positive mentions
grinding44 negative mentions

  • Fun and engaging gameplay, especially in co-op mode with friends.
  • Charming 1930s setting with humorous narration that adds to the experience.
  • Variety of puzzles and collectibles that encourage exploration and teamwork.
  • Repetitive gameplay and enemy types can lead to boredom over time.
  • Lack of meaningful progression and character development.
  • Technical issues such as clunky controls and hit detection problems.
  • story
    818 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of "Strange Brigade" is generally perceived as light and somewhat shallow, serving primarily as a backdrop for the gameplay rather than a compelling narrative. Set in 1930s Egypt, players embark on a quest to thwart the evil queen Seteki, with missions that often feel repetitive and linear, lacking significant character development or depth. While the humorous narration and quirky characters add charm, many players find the overall plot forgettable and not a major draw of the game, suggesting it is best enjoyed in a cooperative setting rather than for its story alone.

    • “The game's charming and witty narrative, delivered by a dynamic narrator, adds a unique and entertaining layer to the experience, making each mission feel like a chapter in an old-school pulp adventure.”
    • “The story is lighthearted fun.”
    • “The story, which could have added some depth to the gameplay, is pretty shallow and fails to captivate.”
    • “There’s little in the way of character development or branching story choices; everything plays out in a linear, episodic format.”
    • “The plot is pretty simple and light-hearted, but what I really liked was its presentation.”
  • gameplay
    717 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay in "Strange Brigade" is characterized by a blend of cooperative shooting mechanics and puzzle-solving elements, offering a straightforward yet enjoyable experience, particularly in multiplayer settings. While the game features a variety of weapons and character abilities, many players note that the gameplay can become repetitive over time, with similar mission structures and enemy types. Overall, it provides a fun, casual experience with engaging visuals and humorous narration, though it lacks depth and complexity compared to more competitive shooters.

    • “The gameplay is enjoyable, especially the battles against strange enemies and the simple puzzles that break up the action.”
    • “Gameplay-wise, Strange Brigade is straightforward but deeply satisfying.”
    • “The dynamic action, humorous tone, and variety of enemies make the gameplay enjoyable and exciting.”
    • “The gameplay is repetitive and boring.”
    • “Gameplay gets dull.”
    • “The gameplay loop stays the same and is super boring.”
  • graphics
    546 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics in "Strange Brigade" are widely praised for their beauty and attention to detail, effectively capturing the game's 1930s pulp adventure aesthetic. Many players appreciate the game's vibrant visuals and smooth performance, even on lower-end hardware, although some report minor technical issues like frame rate inconsistencies. Overall, the game's art direction and graphical fidelity contribute significantly to its immersive experience, making it a standout feature despite some critiques of gameplay repetitiveness.

    • “The graphics seem gorgeous in every mission/level at max details and the hardware requirements are low to enjoy good looking graphics.”
    • “The graphics are beautiful and it runs really smoothly on my GTX 1660 with all settings on ultra (100-140 fps).”
    • “With gorgeous graphics and voice-overs straight from a 1920s movie, this title does not disappoint.”
    • “Terrible in all aspects except graphics.”
    • “The graphics and gameplay are very pretty and smooth, but the game lacks any challenge for anyone with a tiny amount of skill or brain.”
    • “The game has game-breaking graphic bugs, which will make graphics a horrible mess of flashing multicolored triangles after 5 minutes to sometimes even 2 hours of playing.”
  • humor
    389 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is predominantly characterized by its witty British narration, which adds a light-hearted and cheeky tone to the gameplay. Players appreciate the humorous commentary and clever quips that enhance the experience, although opinions vary on its consistency and appeal, with some finding it amusing while others consider it repetitive or annoying. Overall, the game successfully blends action, exploration, and humor, making it a fun co-op experience, especially when played with friends.

    • “The characters themselves are walking archetypes—square-jawed heroes, occult experts, daring rogues—but they’re delivered with enough humor and energy to feel like a loving homage rather than lazy stereotypes.”
    • “It’s the kind of game that feels like a well-written British comedy mixed with thrilling action and a sprinkling of cheeky humor.”
    • “The narrator’s commentary, delivered in a classic British style, adds a humorous and nostalgic touch, setting the tone for the adventure.”
    • “It's not funny.”
    • “The commentary never stops and it's not funny.”
    • “The narrator is a funny but cringey individual who will always narrate whatever happens to your characters, as well as make specific remarks to non-story actions such as dodging, reloading, or solving something, which was pretty cool.”
  • replayability
    140 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with some players finding it enjoyable due to various modes like horde and score attack, as well as the option to play with different characters and collect hidden items. However, many reviews highlight a lack of substantial replay value, citing linear gameplay and limited content as drawbacks, making it more appealing for casual play rather than extended sessions. Overall, while there are elements that can enhance replayability, such as multiplayer dynamics and collectibles, the consensus leans towards it being modest at best.

    • “There's a horde mode and score attack challenges for replayability, and Rebellion released several DLC packs adding new missions, characters, and weapons.”
    • “Like most Rebellion games, the campaign is rather short, only taking a few hours to complete, but this one has a lot of replayability.”
    • “The game's replayability and cooperative dynamics provide plenty of reasons to embark on this supernatural journey.”
    • “There is not enough content or replayability to justify the full price tag.”
    • “The replayability falls short as everything is straightforward, no prestige nor leveling system.”
    • “As much fun as the game can be for a group of friends, as others mentioned, replayability is low once you completed a level.”
  • optimization
    99 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's optimization is highly praised, with many users reporting smooth performance, excellent frame rates, and minimal issues across a range of hardware. While some players experienced overheating or performance drops on specific setups, the majority found it to be exceptionally well-optimized, particularly with Vulkan support, allowing for beautiful graphics without significant lag or stuttering. Despite a few criticisms regarding specific hardware compatibility, the consensus is that the game runs flawlessly and is one of the best-optimized titles available.

    • “Performance was incredibly smooth and almost never dropped a frame or stuttered throughout my run.”
    • “Beautiful and well optimized graphics, never a moment of lag with all settings at maximum.”
    • “The game is absolutely beautiful and is very well optimized.”
    • “But holy shit it's so badly optimized it makes my computer scream like a jet engine off the main menu.”
    • “Extremely poorly optimized, extremely dull combat, bad controls, daft enemies, awful 'puzzles', it's like someone wanted to make a boring generic game, well, they succeeded.”
    • “With Rebellion's track record, it is obvious that they half-assed some aspects and over-optimized some aspects of the environment, and it pulls you out of the immersion.”
  • atmosphere
    74 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its vibrant recreation of 1950s adventure serials, featuring beautiful graphics, detailed environments, and engaging voice acting that enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate the immersive and charming atmosphere, which balances humor and action, making exploration enjoyable and captivating. The attention to detail in lighting, architecture, and sound design contributes to a rich, atmospheric experience that stands out in the genre.

    • “The environments are filled with detailed architecture and atmospheric lighting, which adds to the immersive experience of exploring ancient ruins and battling supernatural forces.”
    • “The attention to detail in the environments and atmospheric effects is breathtaking.”
    • “Rebellion's done a fantastic job with the atmosphere and the lore of the game, definitely an IP with some legs that would be fun to explore deeper and with other settings.”
    • “The weapons have no weight and the atmosphere is not there for me.”
    • “Atmosphere was never scary or tense.”
    • “The humor and atmosphere set this game above its peers.”
  • grinding
    56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The reviews indicate that grinding in the game can be a mixed experience, often described as tedious and repetitive, especially when playing solo. Many players find the need for extensive grinding to unlock content or achieve 100% completion frustrating, while others suggest that the game is more enjoyable in co-op mode, which can alleviate some of the grind. Overall, the grinding aspect is seen as a significant drawback, with some players feeling it detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.

    • “Not too grindy to get a 100% achievement completion either.”
    • “Game is otherwise plain and simple, not grindy at all and just lets you enjoy experimenting with different weapons and abilities and gives you the satisfaction of causing a little mayhem and destruction with bombs and traps.”
    • “It's good fun, not grindy, a great game to pick up and play for an hour or two; I haven't touched on the multiplayer yet, but for me, it was worth it for sure.”
    • “No need to have a game that needs hours upon hours of grinding to get through to some endgame.”
    • “Gameplay sucks, story is really lacking, characters have no character and next to no progression makes this game incredibly boring and tedious to play.”
    • “It feels like nothing more than a loot grinding game, for the sake of loot grinding.”
  • music
    46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the immersive soundtrack that complements the game's adventurous aesthetic, others find it distracting and suggest turning it off to focus on gameplay cues. Many agree that the music fits the setting well, evoking a sense of exploration, but some feel it lacks distinctiveness and can be overshadowed by sound effects. Overall, the soundtrack is generally considered good, enhancing the experience without being overly remarkable.

    • “The soundtrack, full of brass and adventure motifs, perfectly matches the old-school pulp aesthetic.”
    • “The stunning visuals and immersive soundtrack create an unforgettable experience.”
    • “The music somewhat reminds me of a movie soundtrack, because it invokes a feeling of exploration, with its strong percussion elements and quick tempo.”
    • “While I suggest picking your own game settings, I highly recommend turning off the music while playing this game to not miss out on key sounds during gameplay leading to mission cues and loot sounds.”
    • “I know some of you love soundtracks, but I found them distracting me from immersing into Egypt’s environment.”
    • “The sound of all the guns, background music, and zombies is so compressed and overwhelming that when I take my headphones off after playing for about 3 hours, I feel a wave of relief wash over me.”
  • stability
    38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's stability is generally praised, with many players reporting smooth performance and minimal glitches, particularly in Vulkan mode. However, some users noted occasional bugs and stuttering, especially in DirectX 12 mode, indicating that while the game is well-optimized for most setups, there are still some inconsistencies. Despite these issues, the majority of reviews highlight a polished experience with high frame rates and good graphics.

    • “Game runs great at 1440p maxed settings on a 144hz monitor, and although my PC is fairly well specced as of 2023, you can't say that about many games these days.”
    • “It's also bug free and feels like a complete experience that the devs put the right amount of time and effort into without having unrealistic expectations or plans to milk it for every penny through a hundred DLCs.”
    • “This game looks great, runs great, and plays great.”
    • “The game stutters and stammers like a jittery flapper at a speakeasy, with glitches and bugs galore.”
    • “Overall, it's pretty terrible, rushed with little testing, leaving you with a somewhat buggy and tedious game with unimaginative bosses.”
    • “Some freezes during the game.”
  • monetization
    15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization aspect of the game has received largely negative feedback, with many players perceiving it as a "cash grab" due to the presence of ads for DLC and a corporate feel that detracts from the experience. While there are no microtransactions, the reliance on reused assets and a lack of genuine engagement has left players feeling disillusioned, suggesting that a more authentic approach could improve future iterations.

    • “Plays out like a third-person shooter with no ads, even for snipers.”
    • “No microtransactions.”
    • “If the current iteration didn’t feel like a cash grab, my friends would’ve bought the DLCs like I did, but they are wary now.”
    • “Strange Brigade was clearly a cash grab attempt at making some money from reused assets that clearly failed.”
    • “To me, this is just a pointless cash grab.”
  • emotional
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is largely criticized, with reviewers noting one-dimensional characters, lackluster dialogue, and a shallow plot that fails to foster any meaningful connection. While some players appreciated moments of cooperative play, the overall experience left many feeling disengaged and emotionally drained, overshadowing the game's mechanics and action.

    • “Literally, the announcer made me feel absolute dread the first time he opened his mouth.”
    • “I did have one match where without communicating at all the lobby had an unspoken rule of trying to make sure everyone had an even chance at opening chests, which was a nice, wholesome moment but was all from the result of a mind-boggling decision on the game's part.”
    • “It's hard to explain, but the game made me feel... tired (the closest emotion I can pin to it). Don't get me wrong, the mechanics and physics are A+, so good on them there, but the gameplay and puzzles left me wanting to play Call of Duty Zombies or something like that instead.”
    • “The story narration in the pre-mission cutscenes is boring, and the narrator during the game is quite annoying.”
    • “The emotional depth of the characters feels shallow and unengaging.”
    • “I found it hard to connect with the story, as the emotional moments felt forced and unconvincing.”
  • character development
    11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development in the game is largely criticized for being minimal and linear, with a predictable plot and few meaningful interactions. While the character designs are praised for their detail and aesthetic appeal, the overall lack of depth in character progression and story engagement detracts from the experience. Despite its shortcomings in narrative, the game compensates with enjoyable cooperative gameplay and visually appealing environments.

    • “The character designs are detailed and very good looking.”
    • “Great character design.”
    • “Diablo III had intricate character development and an addictive factor in terms of scaled progression.”
    • “There’s little in the way of character development or branching story choices; everything plays out in a linear, episodic format.”
    • “The story is rather lackluster to be honest, and there is little to no character development or interactions.”
    • “The game's story is somewhat shallow, with a predictable plot and minimal character development; the gameplay can become repetitive over time, as the objectives and enemy encounters lack variety.”
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11h Median play time
14h Average play time
8-20h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 45 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Strange Brigade is a shooter game with mystery theme.

Strange Brigade is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5 and others.

On average players spend around 14 hours playing Strange Brigade.

Strange Brigade was released on August 27, 2018.

Strange Brigade was developed by Rebellion.

Strange Brigade has received neutral reviews from players and neutral reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Strange Brigade is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

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