The Brew Barons

About

The Brew Barons is a single player open world role playing game. It was developed by Lifetap Studios and was released on March 1, 2024. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

In "The Brew Barons," players must build a brewery, assemble a seaplane, and recruit fellow pilots to overthrow a corrupt pirate organization imposing a brewing monopoly. The game allows players to customize their plane and choose pilots with unique strengths, explore the world for ingredients, craft various brews, and design their own bar to sell creations and gain fame. Special delivery orders from other bars become available as fame increases.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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75%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,017 reviews

gameplay112 positive mentions

grinding68 negative mentions

Unique and charming concept combining flying and brewing mechanics.
Beautiful art style and engaging atmosphere reminiscent of Studio Ghibli's works.
Fun gameplay loop with customization options for planes and brewing.

AI-generated voice acting detracts from immersion and quality of dialogue.
Bugs and clunky UI hinder overall gameplay experience.
Combat mechanics can feel frustrating and unbalanced, especially during boss fights.

gameplay
312 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
54%
10%
The gameplay is a blend of relaxing exploration, crafting, and combat, featuring unique mechanics like water-based weapon reloading and a focus on collecting ingredients for brewing. While the core loop of gathering, crafting, and delivering is enjoyable, some players find it repetitive and lacking depth, with issues such as clunky controls and poorly explained mechanics detracting from the experience. Overall, the game offers a charming aesthetic and fun mechanics, but it could benefit from more content and refinement to fully realize its potential.
- “The brew barons managed to take concepts from games like Stardew Valley, Moonlighter, or Recettear and make you do it all in an airplane: it's all mechanics we have seen in other games, but here they have been combined in a totally unique way, and it turns out this blend is quite enjoyable!”
- “The gameplay is rewarding without being too grindy.”
- “This game is something special, the visuals are stunning, the different planes look amazing, and the core gameplay loop is perfect for that 'winding down after a long day of work' kind of itch.”
- “Sadly, some of its innovations, like the 'you reload your weapons by flying near water for a long while' mechanic, kill the flow of battle, just as the design of the bosses can.”
- “Gameplay is extremely limited due to lack of content; orders themselves are too quick to reappear and while there is time to collect some of the items, it feels like it's this way in order to keep you busy rather than enjoy the game or scenery.”
- “The main mechanic of the game, the flying, feels poorly designed.”
story
259 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
73%
5%
The game's story is generally perceived as shallow and lacking depth, with many players noting that it feels more like a sandbox experience than a structured narrative. While there are interesting character backstories and side missions that add some variety, the overall delivery, often through AI-generated voices, detracts from the emotional engagement. Many reviewers express hope for future updates to enhance the story and character development, as the current content leaves much to be desired.
- “The story is a bit cheesy, but the world is nicely laid out and has potential.”
- “Over the course of the game you learn the peculiar mechanics, explore the storyline, find rare and unique ingredients, scoop up recipes from the ocean and build your thriving business whilst fighting the pirates trying to run a liquor monopoly.”
- “The characters all have different missions that add some variety to the basic gameplay loop, and different traits that make different builds for different missions worthwhile to explore.”
- “The story is badly delivered with the worst writing you've ever seen.”
- “The 'main story' of the game does not exist.”
- “A paragraph of awkward backstory read by an AI is not enough for me to care about the characters or their motivations.”
graphics
200 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
40%
2%
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their beautiful art style, reminiscent of Studio Ghibli and 1930s aesthetics, with many noting the charming and detailed environments, character designs, and overall visual presentation. However, some players have pointed out issues with rendering and shading that can detract from the experience, such as oversaturation and inconsistent lighting. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong point of the game, contributing to a relaxing and immersive atmosphere, despite some technical shortcomings.
- “My jaw dropped the moment I could see the level of detail with the cell-shaded graphics.”
- “This game is never going to age a day and maintain its timelessness owing to its Studio Ghibli-inspired graphics and cell-shaded dynamics.”
- “The game's portrayal of its world is absolutely beautiful, the models in locations, animations of the planes, the art style, there's this sense of Hayao Miyazaki art in it; it's beautiful!”
- “Regardless of your opinion on the many controversies and societal problems surrounding AI, it's just a fact that the AI-generated 'acting' in this game feels like very bad actors phoned in their worst performance, and that the AI (or AI-assisted at least) character portraits have a pretty boring art style, which lacks personality and impact.”
- “-visuals, while the art style and also plane design is great overall, there are some issues (in my opinion) with it. The game often seems somewhat cheap or as if relying on pre-made shaders that really do not serve it well, either oversaturating and blinding you with washed out light effects cranked up to 11 or understating so hard, the nights tend to seem dull and way too bright at the same time. This sadly also hampers the gameplay loop as often times underwater ingredients are almost impossible to spot or so indistinctly rendered/drawn that they outright disappear.”
- “While the graphics are very pretty, I don't feel like they should make my computer get quite so loud either.”
music
88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
42%
3%
The music in the game is widely praised for its ability to enhance the atmosphere, with many reviewers noting its joyfulness and adaptability to gameplay. While some found certain tracks repetitive, the overall soundtrack is described as captivating and fitting, contributing to a relaxing and immersive experience. The combination of beautiful visuals and whimsical music creates a cozy ambiance that resonates with fans of exploration games.
- “The music is great and really leans into the art style; flying around is fun and making your own brews is dope.”
- “The music is a treat (especially the bank music); it's a great game for sitting back and relaxing with most of the time, and the battles are really unique and engaging.”
- “From the moment you start playing, you're immersed in a world of stunning aesthetics, captivating music, and engaging gameplay.”
- “The main flight music theme... it needs to be thrown away.”
- “I had to turn the music off.”
- “Taking to the skies, or to the sea, fishing, the music - it all blends together very well as a vibe or experience, with the exception of the game's performance and some decisions that warrant more desirable outcomes... albeit a team of two, their title definitely had room for improvement before release.”
grinding
70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly when it comes to gathering ingredients for brewing and managing resources. While some appreciate the unique farming mechanics and the casual vibe, many express dissatisfaction with the repetitive nature of tasks, slow travel between islands, and the lack of quality-of-life features like manual saves. Overall, the grinding can feel punishing, especially after losing progress due to crashes or difficult combat encounters.
- “The game feels very grindy when gathering ingredients for the brewery, but I will admit that I like the idea of gathering materials for brewing and selling.”
- “Gathering ingredients can be hit or miss, with those you shoot taking no time at all while those on farms you have to bomb or scythe are pure, tedious frustration.”
- “The flying is tedious, going from island to island is just boring; there are no map markers you can set (that I've been able to find).”
stability
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
95%
The game currently suffers from significant stability issues, with numerous bugs and glitches reported by users, including problems with controller support, visual anomalies, and gameplay interruptions. Many players describe the experience as frustrating and unpolished, likening it to an early access title. Overall, the consensus is that the game is not recommended in its current state due to these persistent stability problems.
- “The game runs smoothly without any bugs.”
- “I haven't encountered any stability issues while playing.”
- “The performance is consistent and reliable throughout.”
- “Unfortunately this game is a buggy, buggy mess in its current launch version.”
- “Tl;dr, you shouldn't buy it right now, it's ok but very buggy at the moment - really feels like early access; after they fix things up and tune it a bit, I might flip my review to recommended as the core game itself is interesting.”
- “This turns what would be a chill, if a little buggy, flight/management game into an exercise in frustration and wasted time.”
atmosphere
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
76%
15%
9%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its relaxing and engaging qualities, enhanced by beautiful graphics and a well-composed soundtrack. Many reviewers liken it to a more mature Nintendo vibe, highlighting the cozy, warm color palette and the immersive experience of flying between islands. Despite some minor flaws, the overall atmosphere contributes significantly to the game's enjoyment, making it a standout feature.
- “The atmosphere is amazing, being able to fly to different islands and spread your influence as an up-and-coming brew master; it's next to none in how it makes you feel.”
- “And oh boy, should I say this game has such a nice and cozy atmosphere with a warm palette of colors and wonderful music!”
- “The art direction and music are on point, contributing to the great atmosphere of the game.”
- “It feels like something Nintendo would make - that kind of atmosphere... well, a bit more mature than that but a kind of happy, family type vibe.”
- “The flight model is simplified but generally correct and most importantly it's consistent with the overall atmosphere of the game.”
- “But the music and atmosphere is very relaxing.”
optimization
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
54%
13%
The game's optimization has received mixed feedback; while some users note that it is well-optimized with a good UI, many express frustration over shaky performance, frequent bugs, and awkward controls that detract from the overall experience. Additionally, the reliance on AI-generated voices and character portraits has been criticized for lacking personality and impact, suggesting that further optimization and refinement are needed to enhance gameplay enjoyment. Overall, while the game has potential, its current performance issues hinder its full appreciation.
- “A game with multiple available flight schemes, a high degree of aircraft customization, and a large, well-designed world; all packed into an immensely optimized and low-storage package.”
- “The game has great UI and is also well optimized.”
- “Definitely worth doing the side missions with the characters you like as that will greatly increase their performance.”
- “Some optimization wouldn't hurt to make the game experience much smoother, and I hope the devs will point their attention to this matter.”
- “Eager to play more, but so far poor optimization doesn't help to enjoy the game at its full.”
- “The shaky performance, frequent bugs, awkward controls, slapdash UI, and most egregiously the blatantly AI-generated voices and portraits prevent me from enjoying the lovely visual style and music.”
emotional
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of "The Brew Barons" is characterized by its wholesome and relaxing atmosphere, reminiscent of classic games and Studio Ghibli vibes. While players appreciate the chill gameplay and fun farming runs, some express disappointment in the lack of emotional depth in the story and RPG elements, feeling that it detracts from immersion. Additionally, there are mentions of an awkward "emotional enforcement" that may not resonate with all players.
- “The game is very wholesome and has a classic feel.”
- “To me, 'The Brew Barons' is a kind of casual, wholesome, nice and relaxing game all in all.”
- “It's definitely a little janky and has a couple of bugs, but if you're into flight sims and wanting a chill, wholesome time with big Porco Rosso / whimsical Studio Ghibli vibes, Brew Barons is absolutely worth it.”
humor
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with players finding amusement in the quirky physics engine and unexpected boss behaviors, though the writing is generally considered bland. Random comments from unseen pedestrians about the player's plane condition add a humorous touch, albeit sometimes excessively. Overall, while the humor can elicit genuine laughter, it often relies on the game's mechanics rather than strong narrative wit.
- “Once you wrap your head around the simulation/physics engine, you're away laughing.”
- “On top of that, sometimes the bosses do not function correctly, die when out of HP, or spawn in funny locations.”
- “I thought the random comments from pedestrians (you can't see) dissing the condition of my plane were funny, but excessive.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers appreciate the game's thoughtful design and development, contrasting it with the prevalent trend of asset flips and cash grabs in the industry. This attention to quality over monetization tactics is seen as a refreshing change.
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Character development in the game is currently perceived as somewhat bland and in need of refinement, though reviewers express optimism that the developers will enhance this aspect in future updates, building on a solid foundation.
- “The game still needs some polishing here and there, and the story as well as character development is a bit bland, but I am really hoping the devs will build upon what they have here: a really solid foundation for things to come.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players highlight the game's excellent customization options, which significantly enhance its replayability. Many anticipate spending long, enjoyable hours engaging in various activities, such as collecting resources to stock their in-game bar.
- “The customization is excellent; I can see the replayability being quite high. I can envision myself having long, relaxing hours in this game just flying around, shooting apple trees to make more cider to stock my bar with.”