BROK the InvestiGator by developer and
publisher Cowcat
Games—PC (Steam) review written by Susan N.
with a copy provided by the publisher.
Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
I admit BROK the InvestiGator was not on
my radar until a certain situation came to light. After that, I looked into the
game and made the decision to grab it. I'm glad I did because it's an amazing
title with only one downfall that bothered me. Here's the review!
Gameplay
BROK the InvestiGator is a cross between
a puzzle game and a beat-em-up game. It has a lot of nuanced elements that make
it a fabulous title. You can switch Brok between combat mode and regular story
mode at will. Throughout the game, players are greeted with amusing dialogue,
plenty of intrigue, combat, and a couple of little minigames. What's great
about each of these elements is the fact that none of them overstay their
welcome. But, in order to explain how those roll into a nice love letter to
gamers from the 90s (a la old school TMNT - the seaweed one, not the fighting
game one. Yes there were two games...). This will be broken down into four
parts: story, character switching, investigation, and combat.
Story
The first thing to cover is the story of
this game. You play Brok a private investigator who is down on his luck. He
lives in the poor area aptly named the Slums with his son-in-law Graff. In this
universe, there are only two classes of citizens: slummers and drummers. One of
the obvious differences between the two classes - other than social standing -
is that slummers live outside the dome where the area is dilapidated and
polluted. The living conditions are awful enough that people need to take a
daily toxout pill so they don't die from the pollution. It gives a rather
poignant impression of what Earth could become... (More on this later)
Anyways, the overall story follows Brok
for the most part. However, due to the character switching between Brok and
Graff, story situations can change. Based on how Brok handles key situations
with his son-in-law throughout his investigations, players can receive several
different endings. Now, the story itself is well done in that each character is
fleshed out incredibly well. In fact, it is a perfectly balanced game in terms
of the investigations, the combat encounters, and the dialogue.
Character Switching
Throughout the game, players can switch
between Brok and Graff as mentioned. I believe the reason for this is to show
different character perspectives and how people are affected by actions. This
method of storytelling is one of the points that makes it more effective than
other narratives that focus on one character. Plus, if players are stuck on
something, they can just switch characters for a change of pace. But, be
careful! Switching to Graff will send you back to school at one point! I
totally wanted to relive some of those anxiety-inducing moments. *Not*
Depending on how you act when you are
Brok or Graff, it will affect the relationship between the two. Plus, those
actions will change how successful you'll be in the end. It's quite interesting
and brilliantly done.
Investigation
One of the first missions you take as
Brok has an obvious solution, but that doesn't stop you from needing the
evidence to solve it. This requires you to talk to people, find physical
evidence, and confront the right suspect. Unlike other investigation games
which focus heavily on information gathering, Brok adds variety in its puzzle
solutions like confronting the Squealers or traversing timed mazes. There are
even clues that can only be collected through brute force. At one point, Brok
punches a wall to find a weight. Also, one fateful jump caused the floor to
crack which decreased Brok's health. That said, no two puzzles are the same.
Depending on which part of the
investigation you are on, you either need to hunt for additional information or
you are conducting a final confrontation with your suspect. With the clues
collected, players get to pair clues together to reach a logical solution. Most
of those interrogations aren't timed with the exception of one. If Brok makes
too many incorrect choices then he fails. Still, the investigation portion can
be challenging at times but not impossible. If you find you're stuck, the game
has collectible 'ads' which can be found on each screen. These act as an
in-game hint system. In my opinion, it was a nice change.
Combat
For the combat in Brok the InvestiGator,
I like that it is both not sophisticated and the difficulty wildly varies. Due
to the style of the game, the combat doesn't need to be complicated to work
well. I even like that on level up, players can choose to increase their
health, damage, or special attack. In fact, there is a way to go through the
game without getting into combat (aside from the introductory part). That said,
the combat on the keyboard is awful. It is much better on a controller. Players
can use a couple of combo attacks but it's definitely no esports-level of
fighting game. In my opinion, take the combat with a grain of salt.
If I had any real criticism about the
combat, it would be about one fight that takes place near the hacker's place.
It could be a combination of skill level and the way this fight is initiated,
but I failed several times. Maybe I am terrible at certain fights or game
styles, but that one was brutal. Players can't even go back to power up some
more. Be mindful of this.
Graphics and UI
The graphics style and UI design in Brok
the InvestiGator are quite nice. It's done in such a way that it isn't
difficult to tell what areas need focus. On the controller and keyboard, there
is a way to see the interactable areas. This is helpful when a player is stuck.
Clues sometimes hide in obvious places and the ads are sneaky ninjas. Brok
reminds me of some old 90's games that I remember fondly, even with its art
style, references, and wittiness.
With the UI, each ability and option is
displayed obviously without taking up too much screen real estate. Not only are
players about to change keybindings, but they can access their inventory, the
hints system, and a list of combat buttons. In fact, because of the game
design, there is no need to clutter the screen with windows and buttons. This
is definitely a feature I enjoy about the game.
Voice Acting
Despite the fact that Cowcat Games is a
small indie studio with only a couple of titles published under them, they have
a stellar
cast of voice actors. Among them are Bryan J. Olson, Michael Kovach,
and Daisy Guevara. Each of the three voice actors has a good number of credits
to their names. For example, Bryan J. Olson who voices Brok has worked on
Endless Space 2, Paper Mario: The Origami King, and Mortal Shell. Michael
Kovach is more likely known through Cris Tales than some of his other credits,
but he has many beginning as early as 2014. Finally, Daisy Guevara who voices
Shay has many credits such as Smite and Yugioh Rush Duel: Dawn of the Battle
Royale. What's great is that each of these voice actors fit their characters
impressively well. There wasn't a single voice that felt out of place.
Additional Thoughts
One thing I wanted to mention about Brok
the InvestiGator is how well it mirrors several aspects of the real world. It
tackles subjects like computer dominance, competence, and compassion. Right
from the beginning of the game, players are faced with paying bills, saving a
homeless person, and doing what they can to survive. The world is separated
between the poor or disadvantaged people and the wealthy or educated ones. And
it does so by showing what happens as a result of actions or inaction taken by
the player. Each encounter will modify people's relationships with Brok, and while
it's not at the level of Detroit Become Human with tons of possible endings, it
still has several potential endings. I love how well the game brought forward
real issues without going overboard. Because of this, and many other reasons, I
have a high rating for the title.
Summary and Rating
After finishing the game at least once, I
found that I absolutely enjoyed my experience with the game. It has an awesome
art style, a good mixture of combat and investigation, and fantastic voice
acting. Even though there was one particular fight that just *sucked* for me,
it doesn't contribute to the one thing that bothered me about the game. And
that one thing was the ending for two separate reasons. Unlike the rest of the
game which has a sporadic spread of cutscenes, the ending section felt more
like an info-dumping movie. Everything else was so good yet we were given a
giant detailed dump that dropped my hype a notch. I wish this wasn't done
because I hated it.
The second part about the ending had to
do with the type of ending. Without being too specific about what happened, I
get that Shay needed to have a justification to be part of the story but
honestly, it could have been something else instead of *THAT*. I could prattle
on about different things that could have explained what happened without
resorting to that specific plot device. Besides, stories that fall back on it
often lead to complications in sequel games. That said, I still loved the whole
game.
Summary
Brok the InvestiGator is a wonderful
point and click game with beat-em-up elements that I absolutely adore. Aside
from some minor issues with combat and the ending sequence, this game is truly
one of my favorites of 2022. In fact, this family friendly game kept me engaged
throughout my whole playthrough enough to put it at the top. Brok is definitely
a contender for game of the year and I give it a high 9 out of 10!
Score: 9
/ 10
