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
wolfo
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