The Sexy Brutale

 PC
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 94 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 69 out of 94
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 94
  3. Negative: 10 out of 94

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  1. javitoker
    Apr 13, 2017
    9
    Great game, great music, great mechanics, great art... It has an innovative gameplay and makes the mansion feel like a giant puzzle that needs to be solved. Something that surprised me is that its narrative is also surprising, it's not only about saving all that people without a purpose... But yeah, it feels good saving all that people. The only negative point of it is that it's too short,Great game, great music, great mechanics, great art... It has an innovative gameplay and makes the mansion feel like a giant puzzle that needs to be solved. Something that surprised me is that its narrative is also surprising, it's not only about saving all that people without a purpose... But yeah, it feels good saving all that people. The only negative point of it is that it's too short, 5-6 hours, but my money was well spent.… Expand
  2. TitaniumDragon
    Dec 16, 2017
    5
    The Sexy Brutale isn’t sexy, but there’s certainly some brutality in it.

    The Sexy Brutale is a puzzle game in which the player place the role of Lafcario, a guest at the titular Sexy Brutale casino and mansion who is trying to prevent the guests from dying gruesome deaths. The major mechanic of the game is time travel – the player is trapped in a 12 hour long time loop, at the end of    The Sexy Brutale isn’t sexy, but there’s certainly some brutality in it.

    The Sexy Brutale is a puzzle game in which the player place the role of Lafcario, a guest at the titular Sexy Brutale casino and mansion who is trying to prevent the guests from dying gruesome deaths. The major mechanic of the game is time travel – the player is trapped in a 12 hour long time loop, at the end of which all items that the player has picked up during the loop will be reset to their starting locations, and all of the characters will return to their starting locations, in order to run through the loop yet another time. Played from a third-person perspective, the player navigates the mansion, spying on the guests and staff, with the intent of preventing the murders of ten guests by the staff and various other hazards within the mansion. The player must avoid being seen by the guests and staff, and as such, ends up watching people and listening to a lot of conversations by leaning against doors or looking through one-way glass.

    Time travel is key to solving the puzzles; events in the game happen at the rate of 1 hour of in game time equals 1 minute of real life time, and very few events don’t occur in real time. The player walks around the mansion, watching the various staff and guests move around, then makes use of the knowledge they gain by doing so in the next loop to try and solve the various puzzles. Oftentimes, the player will end up having to stalk the guests for a loop, the staff for a loop, and explore the environment for a loop in order to solve the various puzzles. The various characters will often drop clues as to what the player is supposed to be doing, resulting in a lot of characters having a tendency to talk to themselves in order to drop plot information and puzzle hints.

    The mansion contains a large number of examinable objects, each of which pop up flavor text when examined. There are also a number of items found lying around the mansion, all of which are used to solve various puzzles.

    The last major game mechanic is the mask abilities. As the player saves each guest, they gain some ability related to that character, such as keen hearing that allows the player to overhear whispered conversations or the ability to pick locks. These allow the player to gain access to new areas of the mansion.

    While there are ten guests that the player saves, the story is strictly linear; the player must save each guest or pair of guests in turn before moving on to the next. And while the player saves ten guests in total, three of those are actually pairs of people, so there are ultimately seven murder mysteries that the player must solve, though there are a couple other mysteries that the player must go through.

    The mysteries are, on the whole, pretty straightforward, though the game is not always terribly explicit about the solutions; in some of the puzzles, the player is essentially outright told the solution to the puzzle by some character, while in others, the player must piece together a way to stop the death based on various environmental objects that they might find or manipulate in their favor, or defusing potential hazards. The puzzles don’t get particularly more difficult over the course of the game; indeed, a few of the later puzzles feel a lot more straightforward than some of the earlier ones, as the solutions to them are outright told to the player if they listen to the right character. On the other hand, many of the puzzles simply cannot be solved unless you take the time to stalk the right people for essentially the whole loop, which can in some cases lead to following three characters around – and you might not be able to find where said characters start out without resetting the loop several times and hustling around trying to find them.

    However, despite the relative ease of the puzzles, there is somehow a sense of satisfaction in preventing most of the various murders. I certainly wanted to solve the various puzzles in the game, and wanted to unravel the mystery of why the staff were so intent on murdering the guests.

    Unfortunately, while I appreciated many of the individual mysteries and characters as units, it also felt very compartmentalized. The biggest problem was the lack of real interconnection between the various murders; they are all stand-alone events. Of the guests, only two guests who aren’t murdered at the same time (and thus, saved together) ever interact, and while solving one of those murders leads to the tools you need to solve the other one, the two murders are otherwise completely disconnected from each other. As a result, despite you solving the various murders in turn, there’s little sense that they are all part of a greater organic whole. And while you might expect that, at some point, you might need to go through and save all of the guests in a single loop, this never actually happens.    … Expand
  3. Klewer
    Jun 10, 2020
    6
    A great looking game and atmosphere. Enjoyed the premise but the gameplay isn't quite fleshed out enough to keep you enthralled. The story is interesting, but a lot of that only comes together at the end so felt a bit of a drag at times. Still worth a play.
  4. K-lama
    Apr 20, 2017
    10
    Great Game, unique music, great art work, Good narrative and very good script. The characters are quite interesting, the music envolving each scene, the mansion, it's not too long and thats true but you will enjoy it for sure.
    Lovely Game.
  5. Skirlasvoud
    Apr 14, 2017
    9
    There's very little to dislike about this game and a lot to adore, but I'll blurt out the bad first:

    The game has some minor buffering issues. Controller input can be a little wonky, with your character turning around, rather than open a door. Other than that, I was - initially - somewhat disappointed by the puzzles. Going in expecting this to be a puzzle detective, I barely strained a    There's very little to dislike about this game and a lot to adore, but I'll blurt out the bad first:

    The game has some minor buffering issues. Controller input can be a little wonky, with your character turning around, rather than open a door.
    Other than that, I was - initially - somewhat disappointed by the puzzles. Going in expecting this to be a puzzle detective, I barely strained a brain cell for three quarters of it. All the puzzles are obviously telegraphed. Sneak up on the appropriate gaggle of Ne'er-do-wells and they'll handily exposition you the specifications of their circuitous scheme and how to foil it.

    No matter how obvious though, the act of foiling these plans (or not!) managed to remain fun throughout. The game has oodles of style and atmosphere and just watching the life in the mansion tick down is a true joy. Uncovering the details of a plot, sneaking about the mansion, spying and applying your interesting and well implemented skills, gives you a very "Thief"-like feeling of being the voyeur and saboteur to this beautiful, intricate world. It's all there for you to outwit, and be privy to the various overlapping intrigues as they run through each other like ornate clockwork. The urge to undo a tied ribbon, lies mostly in how pretty the bow is. The Sexy Brutale is in that, one hell of a tantalizing knot in artwork, sound and snappy character design.

    Eventually, the intelligence of this game is found instead, in how it kept misdirecting my expectations. There were several moments where I thought I had the Sexy Brutale figured out, only for mounting dread to make me doubt, and then fear another theory.

    In the end, the game has one hell of a mind-boggling plot twist that makes everything feel like it made sense. I'll only say this: The storepage's tag of "mystery/adventure" suits Sexy Brutale best. Buy this game for the mystery, vague as that may sound, and I can promise you the inquisitive will be well rewarded with one hell of a journey.    … Expand
  6. DaveTheJackal
    Apr 20, 2017
    7
    Slick production values, a cutesy gruesome aesthetic, the occasional laugh. i am all for bewildering plots which eventually kinda work out, and when it does eventually work out, the Sexy Brutale's tale is engaging enough, but there may be plenty of bemused wandering around before that, not really knowing what to do, never mind understanding what's going on and, importantly (for me) notSlick production values, a cutesy gruesome aesthetic, the occasional laugh. i am all for bewildering plots which eventually kinda work out, and when it does eventually work out, the Sexy Brutale's tale is engaging enough, but there may be plenty of bemused wandering around before that, not really knowing what to do, never mind understanding what's going on and, importantly (for me) not having fun. Still, it did work out in the end and I liked it overall. The puzzles could really do with more depth.… Expand
  7. czt
    Aug 14, 2017
    0
    Another unity-dinput ignorance case. "Full controller support" is just a lie if dinput controllers not working correctly. (See Layers of Fear, Syberia 3 and Oxenfree as good examples.)
  8. ticroo
    Apr 18, 2017
    0
    Installed the game. Liked the design and aesthetics, but the control scheme is just unforgivable! There's just no excuse for a game made in the second decade of the 21st century not to have a customizable inputs! God forbid if you happen to have an inadequate controller plugged in when launching the game. Some commands become plain non-existent and the game, of course, non-playable. AfterInstalled the game. Liked the design and aesthetics, but the control scheme is just unforgivable! There's just no excuse for a game made in the second decade of the 21st century not to have a customizable inputs! God forbid if you happen to have an inadequate controller plugged in when launching the game. Some commands become plain non-existent and the game, of course, non-playable. After an extensive digging on the Internet I found out that the catch is to unplug the controller before attempting to play the game, and then you may actually use keyboard and mouse and have all of the inputs at hand (although some of them don't make a lot of sense). Well, I, for one, don't wan't to have to unplug my controller in order to play anything. I want to be able to choose whether I wish to use keyboard & mouse or joystick and I want to be able to remap whatever **** of the input setup devs figured would do the trick. And I want it ON SPOT! No third party program, no searching the forums, no waiting for the fixes... These are the controls for the game, for Christ's sake! Waiting for patches and **** Are you kidding me?! The non-functioning game is in the market and it's getting a decent reviews?! Beyond idiotic! All paid critics! I don't give a **** that this is a small company and yadda, yadda, yadda... If you're gonna make the game, do it right or don't do it at all. This non-customizable crap with XBox control layout is just not acceptable anymore (if it ever was, in the first place)! Zero! Move on.… Expand
  9. sh4dow
    Sep 10, 2017
    8
    Maybe it's because I'm not as smart as the average person (even though there's evidence to suggest the opposite) but it took me over 14 hours to finish this game. So I'm not sure where comments like "short" and "only 5 hours" and whatnot are coming from. Of course... I finished it 100%, getting the alternative ending before the regular one. But with an amazing game like this, how could youMaybe it's because I'm not as smart as the average person (even though there's evidence to suggest the opposite) but it took me over 14 hours to finish this game. So I'm not sure where comments like "short" and "only 5 hours" and whatnot are coming from. Of course... I finished it 100%, getting the alternative ending before the regular one. But with an amazing game like this, how could you not? I'm still considering looking around the mansion to listen in on some dialog I may not have read yet.

    The concept is incredibly unique, design fantastic and the gameplay-wise execution almost perfect.

    The flaws are only minor - like not being able to rebind keys and the keyboard/mouse controls being very weird. It shows that the devs don't play much on PC and didn't bother to do research. And maybe one or two puzzles that I felt wasn't well-designed.
    I also would've appreciated more challenge throughout the game. Because until almost the very end, puzzles are mostly straight-forward. Basically just find 1-2 key things, use them and you're done. Although I have to say - on the other hand, I think there was one case where that wasn't enough and I was wondering "So what does the game want me to do?". I guess if they would've done more complex puzzles, one would have to have some sort of "clue progress indicator", especially since the player character moves very slowly and so one would spend ages just wandering around.

    Oh and they have a loading indicator that's not showing initially and it suffered from stuttering on my 7970 Ghz Edition card - which was able to play any game I've thrown at it in recent years buttery smooth. (I don't play big budget games though)
    It seems like they released this game with no thought of support after release. Because the lack of graphics options and keyboard rebinding is a shame. Or maybe they simply haven't earned enough. Which may also in part be due to the tacky title that kept me from trying out the game for quite a while too.    … Expand
  10. curzon_dax
    Apr 24, 2017
    5
    Frankly the game is an anxiety simulator. It starts off with an extreme amount of unexplained story, unexplained gameplay, and unexplained character development. It throws the player immediately into a stopwatch-based countdown that demands certain actions to be done very fast or the entire level resets, it leaves almost no room for careful exploration and to top it off even the dialogueFrankly the game is an anxiety simulator. It starts off with an extreme amount of unexplained story, unexplained gameplay, and unexplained character development. It throws the player immediately into a stopwatch-based countdown that demands certain actions to be done very fast or the entire level resets, it leaves almost no room for careful exploration and to top it off even the dialogue text disappears automatically too fast without a proper chance to read all of it properly (and it doesn't even have voice acting)..

    Frankly, whoever created this game has to get some lessons from established adventure games, because you can not inflict to the player anxiety from the get go without leaving him any chance to explore in peace.

    I'm sure there is a minority that will enjoy this game because all kinds exist, but I'm fairly certain it will not be missed by most people, or at least when you do such an effort at least be top-notch on other venues.    … Expand
  11. psylife
    Nov 28, 2017
    5
    Some good ideas, if nothing truly new or refreshing. The puzzles lack depth and ultimately fail to satisfy. Running around the mansion becomes annoying and repetitive. Like many indie productions unfortunately, this is yet another case of style over substance. It is not a completely bad game, just a mediocre game, with solid mechanics, that never delivers on its potential.
  12. DarkSideMC
    Jun 30, 2017
    10
    I finished the game 2 days ago and the end made me cry, I did not expect the game to have such a profound message about remorse and forgive oneself. Many AAA have to learn from this game.
  13. newrandomage
    May 3, 2017
    8
    The Sexy Brutale is one of the surprised in terms of gaming that this year had to offer, and it is a shame that it has such a misleading and non explicative title, to be honest. The Sexy Brutale is sort of a backwards Cluedo, instead of finding out who is the murderer, the weapon and how he did it you are instead presented with the crime as it happens in real time before you can go back inThe Sexy Brutale is one of the surprised in terms of gaming that this year had to offer, and it is a shame that it has such a misleading and non explicative title, to be honest. The Sexy Brutale is sort of a backwards Cluedo, instead of finding out who is the murderer, the weapon and how he did it you are instead presented with the crime as it happens in real time before you can go back in time and prevent it from happening. And its premise is actually backed up by a good story and a well thought out lore, and it is a shame that I can't explore this further because it would be spoilers, and the kind of spoilers that shouldn't be revealed. Yes, it has its issues and it may feel weird the way that it plays, but The Sexy Brutale is the kind of short experience (5-10 hours depending on how much of the lore you want to find out) that is worth your time. If you are willing to pay 20$ on this kind of game or if you find it on sale, you should buy it. Avoid spoilers at all costs, you will not be disappointed.… Expand
  14. richp
    Apr 24, 2017
    6
    The premise and setting is fantastic, heaps of atmosphere and the story is cleverly told even if it's not that original.

    The biggest weakness is the core gameplay mechanic is woefully underdeveloped. You solve less than a dozen puzzles and they are all very simple with barely a handful of meaningful objects to interact with for each puzzle. It took less than 3 hours to see the    The premise and setting is fantastic, heaps of atmosphere and the story is cleverly told even if it's not that original.

    The biggest weakness is the core gameplay mechanic is woefully underdeveloped. You solve less than a dozen puzzles and they are all very simple with barely a handful of meaningful objects to interact with for each puzzle.

    It took less than 3 hours to see the ending, another hour to round up the missing cards and invitations that add only a little to the story other than a rather slight extra ending.

    I'd love to see the core mechanic fleshed out so there was a bit more game to get my teeth into.    … Expand
  15. ImplayingFlossy
    May 5, 2017
    10
    I have never played any games like this before! It is one of kind!
    It was a bit confusing in the beginning for me. Took me about an hour to figure out what the game actually wants me to do with all the interactions and time loops thing.
    After finished the game (15-hr), I felt my IQ might be increased for a bit and I couldn't stop complimenting how good the the whole gaming experience    I have never played any games like this before! It is one of kind!
    It was a bit confusing in the beginning for me. Took me about an hour to figure out what the game actually wants me to do with all the interactions and time loops thing.

    After finished the game (15-hr), I felt my IQ might be increased for a bit and I couldn't stop complimenting how good the the whole gaming experience was.

    The team who designed this, was truly genius hard workers. You could tell by the perfect fitting cinematic music and perfect logic to explain everything in the end and fantastic graphic/mechanism to keep your interests up every minute in the game.

    To sum up, it was a solid 15 hours that I was highly entertained/amazed by, the twist ending was even a greater highlight for it. Strongly recommend to all my friends if they enjoy more than TPF or FPS games. Seriously, give it a go!    … Expand
  16. El_Manco
    May 20, 2018
    8
    La primera mitad de 2017, tenía como objetivo dos juegos de Tequila Works, Por un lado "RIME" y por el otro "Sexy Brutale". Amigo de los juegos "bonitos" como soy, esperaba con más ganas el primero. Compré los dos prácticamente de salida, y la realidad fue diferente a lo que habría imaginado. Rime, sin ser un mal juego, no acabó de convencerme, mientras que por lo contrario, esaLa primera mitad de 2017, tenía como objetivo dos juegos de Tequila Works, Por un lado "RIME" y por el otro "Sexy Brutale". Amigo de los juegos "bonitos" como soy, esperaba con más ganas el primero. Compré los dos prácticamente de salida, y la realidad fue diferente a lo que habría imaginado. Rime, sin ser un mal juego, no acabó de convencerme, mientras que por lo contrario, esa maravillosa jugabilidad, su original historia, la buena banda sonora... de "Sexy Brutale", me convenció de que estaba ante un buen juego. En el caso de Rime, pese a que todo parecía y parece, hecho para que me gustase muchísimo más, acabó por hacérseme increíblemente largo.… Expand
  17. bancandrei
    May 22, 2020
    5
    Weird look, not that exciting gameplay, not very engaging/stimulating "puzles", but it does have it's strengths. I like how it's paced and also how the ending ties into the mechanics and design.
  18. Jimbob2k666
    Jul 31, 2017
    9
    Gotta LOL at the guy on the front page who gave it a 0 because he has to unplug his controller before launching to use KB&M. How is that a reflection of the game itself? The game is decent, different and plays well. I've not put that much time into it but I wanted to get an early review in to counter ticroo's idiotic nonsense.
  19. PictoPirate
    May 20, 2017
    9
    Beautiful, slick and stylish The Sexy Brutale is a fantastic time travelling puzzler from those fine folks at Tequila Works. The puzzles are fun and interesting, the deaths gruesome but it's the story that is the star of the show here and as you get closer to the secrets at the heart of the mystery you'll find this one impossible to put down.
  20. Mandulum
    Jul 20, 2017
    9
    Five Word Review: Cool groundhog's day puzzle game.
    Favorite Thing: The entire gameplay loop was really fun. Tracking people, finding out how they died and how to stop it was a blast.
    Least Favorite Thing: The movement speed. When you want to go to the other side of the building it's so very slow. Date Completed: 2017-07-15 Playtime: ~ 7.5h Enjoyment: 9/10 Recommendation:    Five Word Review: Cool groundhog's day puzzle game.
    Favorite Thing: The entire gameplay loop was really fun. Tracking people, finding out how they died and how to stop it was a blast.
    Least Favorite Thing: The movement speed. When you want to go to the other side of the building it's so very slow.

    Date Completed: 2017-07-15
    Playtime: ~ 7.5h
    Enjoyment: 9/10
    Recommendation: Definitely. There's a ton in here to enjoy.    … Expand
  21. RagingPoet
    Nov 11, 2018
    8
    The Sexy Brutale is a very unusual adventure game with unique game mechanics, interesting story and amazing sound/music.
    Main drawback is its very low difficulty, especially the first two "missions" that are almost insultingly easy. And backtracking can be a bit annoying at times, but overall The Sexy Brutale is a great game, definitely worth playing for any adventure fan.
  22. oluckydayo
    Apr 2, 2019
    10
    One of the best PC gaming experiences I've had in the past couple of years. Beautifully written, great soundtrack, and game play that hearkens back to the type of experience I knew and loved when I was growing up playing adventure and puzzle games when I was growing up in the 80s-90s.

    The puzzles progress and grow to tell an engaging story, and there's a degree of freedom allowed in    One of the best PC gaming experiences I've had in the past couple of years. Beautifully written, great soundtrack, and game play that hearkens back to the type of experience I knew and loved when I was growing up playing adventure and puzzle games when I was growing up in the 80s-90s.

    The puzzles progress and grow to tell an engaging story, and there's a degree of freedom allowed in exploring and collecting hidden items on your own (although you are forced to complete the mysteries in a predetermined order).

    For a puzzle game, it's not extremely difficult, but it makes you think enough to keep you wanting more. The art style and soundtrack are highlights, and I've listened to the music many times since finishing. Highly recommended, and I'm hoping for a sequel someday.    … Expand
  23. Avey123Avey
    Mar 19, 2023
    6
    Super charming little game. The presentation here is great and the story definitely surprises with how deep and subversive it is. Sadly the only thing holding it back is the mostly simplistic puzzles

Awards & Rankings

40
#40 Best PC Game of 2017
99
#99 Most Discussed PC Game of 2017
58
#58 Most Shared PC Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 28
  3. Negative: 0 out of 28
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jul 24, 2017
    80
    Time-shifting in a fascinating environment of a slightly fantasy world makes The Sexy Brutale a detective story for demanding players that they will remember for a long time. [Issue#274]
  2. CD-Action
    Jun 30, 2017
    75
    An adventure unlike any other I’ve experienced, brimming with creativity of former Lionhead employees. [07/2017, p.46]
  3. Games.cz
    Jun 27, 2017
    80
    An extravagant puzzle adventure combines gambling, carnival and detective story. From all this came an irresistible game full of tension, logical thinking and time shifting. A must-have for anyone who do not mind using a brain while playing.
    Read full review
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