Strange Brigade

 PlayStation 4
User Score
5.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 57 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 57
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 57
  3. Negative: 15 out of 57
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. bersi84
    Mar 30, 2020
    7
    This game was quite fun I have to say. It reminded me of Indiana Jones meets Zombies. The game runs smooth on PS4 Pro with SSD, no huge loading times of fps drops at all. The atmosphere and narrative of this game is really good, I would rate it at 8.5/10 and it here comes the BUT.

    The game throws away lots of potential by limiting weapon arsenal a lot and the character decision does not    This game was quite fun I have to say. It reminded me of Indiana Jones meets Zombies. The game runs smooth on PS4 Pro with SSD, no huge loading times of fps drops at all. The atmosphere and narrative of this game is really good, I would rate it at 8.5/10 and it here comes the BUT.

    The game throws away lots of potential by limiting weapon arsenal a lot and the character decision does not mean a lot or is explained a lot. There could ve been huge potential but it was wasted away. Also the boss designs are horrible, at least when you try to play this on console. The hitmarkers are tiny and are combined with timers or horde attacks, in my opinion a huge mistake and horrible for many players. The boss encounters are still fun but then very repetitive. The world design is lovely. The puzzles are simply, entertaining and yet repetitive again.

    It all boils down to a game with great narrative and fun being mediocred by some bad game design decisions. I would still recommend it at a decent sale because it is definitely fun and in some cases even surprisingly outstanding. If you can, get it on PC, if you are on console get your best aim ready.    … Expand
  2. Spectergadget
    Sep 17, 2018
    6
    This review is based solely on a single player campaign mode, so bare that in mind as I can see that playing this in co-op would have its benefits. Also I've yet to complete the game (for reasons that will become apparent).
    As a fan of Rebellion games particularly the sniper elite series I was looking forward to this Strange Brigade, although a departure in style for the developer the    This review is based solely on a single player campaign mode, so bare that in mind as I can see that playing this in co-op would have its benefits. Also I've yet to complete the game (for reasons that will become apparent).
    As a fan of Rebellion games particularly the sniper elite series I was looking forward to this Strange Brigade, although a departure in style for the developer the premise to this game has Its got tons of potential.
    I'll start with the negative: The game-play mechanics are not the best, aiming for example can be tricky especially as the enemies tend to duck and bob as they shamble towards you, even with the aim assist on it makes little difference. Although there is fun to be had here, setting up a trap to destroy a load of enemies the game soon gets repetitive, every so often you'll get locked in an arena type area to face off against wave after wave of enemies. There is little in the way of variety, and sadly there's no way of playing to your favoured style (no stealth option for example) its all guns and bombs blazing or nothing. One more particularly annoying aspect is he clunky controls especially the melee attack which often fails to connect. Finally the lack of health potions is extremely frustrating, I have spent most of this game playing on very low health with little chance of surviving the level, I feel the balance of this game is a bit off, at least in single player mode.

    On the positive side: The graphics are ok, the game's narrator is excellent, funny and perfect for the
    feel of the game. The puzzles can be fun and the game rewards you for exploration of every nook and cranny.
    I accept this game was designed primarily to be played in co-op, and the single player mode wasn't as well thought out as it could have been, as a result this game can get too frustrating to fully enjoy, and sadly there are no difficulty settings to play with if you get a bit stuck.

    Like I said this game as a lot of potential and maybe in co-op its more balanced , but sadly for me this game ultimately disappoints.    … Expand
  3. GrumpyReviewer
    Sep 24, 2018
    7
    This game is pretty neat and I hope it gets some love and support. I have already put 20 hours and don't feel like putting it down soon - even with all these major releases happening (like Spider-Man and Tomb Raider).

    Strange Brigade surprised me. I thought it would get repetitive and boring (it can be repetitive, sure), but it's always a lot of fun to return to a map (alone, with    This game is pretty neat and I hope it gets some love and support. I have already put 20 hours and don't feel like putting it down soon - even with all these major releases happening (like Spider-Man and Tomb Raider).

    Strange Brigade surprised me. I thought it would get repetitive and boring (it can be repetitive, sure), but it's always a lot of fun to return to a map (alone, with friends or with strangers online) to try to find more collectibles and just have some quick, casual fun.

    The graphics are surprisingly good, the sound is great (I absolutely adore the narrator) and the guns and bombs feels tight and fun to play with; with an expected collection of molotov cocktails, grenades, pistols, shotguns, machine guns and rifles.

    But there are flaws, I won't lie. The cast of characters have no development - almost no development at least - and pretty much feel the same. Tried them all and did not feel any difference to be honest.

    Also, this game was made to play with friends, since it can get pretty crazy sometimes - also to help with puzzles. But, at least for me, I played with strangers online since none of my friends are playing SB right now. And there is a problem with this online matchmaking. See, the game has voice chat, ok, but most of the people don't use it - even in games where this is a must, like Overwatch or Rainbow Six. Imagine if people will turn their voice chats on for Strange Brigade? No, they won't.

    So, it's odd to play with 3 other strangers who seem to have their own agenda... I want to take my time, check the puzzles, find collectibles, while others just want to rush through it. I seriously think the game needs a simple 'emoticon/words wheel', we could use to say "Over here", "Help", and even "Hello", "Thanks", "Nice", "Bye". Just to make things more amicable. Right now, it's go in and go out. And hope people manage to do something together. I did not enjoy the multiplayer experience for this reason... and most of the time, I returned to the maps alone to search for content and to explore.

    The game is also pretty bare bones right now. You beat the campaign in a few hours, then there is horde mode and time attack. By then, all weapons are unlocked and fully upgraded. I think they intend to bring more content - since there is a season pass available - but for the price of 30+ dollars it's a pass from me right now. Maybe in the future.

    But the game is fun. Really.    … Expand
  4. colinsmall34
    Oct 25, 2018
    5
    I loved all the sniper elite games, and I really enjoyed zombie army trilogy. That's why I decided to give this game a go, despite the mixed reviews. In the UK this game costs almost 50 GBP, that's around 65 USD. I feel like it was a bit of a waste of money to be honest. I gave the game a chance for a couple of hours over a couple of nights, but it was just too easy, even on the hardestI loved all the sniper elite games, and I really enjoyed zombie army trilogy. That's why I decided to give this game a go, despite the mixed reviews. In the UK this game costs almost 50 GBP, that's around 65 USD. I feel like it was a bit of a waste of money to be honest. I gave the game a chance for a couple of hours over a couple of nights, but it was just too easy, even on the hardest difficulty setting, and the storyline just didn't inspire at all. Its odd that the game should be underchallenging, as sniper elite games were always pretty hard even on the normal difficulty setting. I played the solo campaign, so maybe the game is more fun in multiplayer. In any case, if you really must buy this game then wait until it's at rock bottom price.… Expand
  5. SuperkenGaming
    Jun 19, 2021
    7
    Strange Brigade
    Not strange enough
    Strange Brigade is a coop 3rd person shooter, imagine indian jones meets tomb raider, metts uncharted, but with none of the crazy moments to keep you pulled into its 6 and a half hour journey… you choose one of 4 charcters to go through this campaing either solo or with friend.. I played solo.. and this game is super challenging if you do so.. not dark    Strange Brigade
    Not strange enough
    Strange Brigade is a coop 3rd person shooter, imagine indian jones meets tomb raider, metts uncharted, but with none of the crazy moments to keep you pulled into its 6 and a half hour journey…
    you choose one of 4 charcters to go through this campaing either solo or with friend.. I played solo.. and this game is super challenging if you do so.. not dark souls level, but you really have to carfully pick and choose battles, here youll be running around these little maps, shhoting the undead in your way, and solving super simple puzzles.. that’s it.. that’s the game.. its super hcarming with its chaacters and narration, but otherwise this is a world you’ve seen dozens of times.. its easy to get bored with how repetitive and unenjoyable it actually is to get through if youre playing by yourself… maps here feel like overwhelming mazed despite being fairly linear.. so why not just make then linear in the way a division or outriders is… I for one am not a fan of feeling overhwlmed in games, and strange pregade constantly made me feel this way… youre basically running around trying to find puzzle, solve, it, or clear a room to move on.. where the fun comes in.. at leastp laying solo is when you find these special crates oyu ca buy epic weapons from and just clean house,.. this is when strange brigade is at its best.. when I was having an absolute blast… otherwise if youre playing solo, there isn’t much fun to be had here…there is no amazing story or crazy moments during the campaign that begs you to push through.. this feels like a game where you have a bunch of dumb fun with friends, shoot some undead while a 1930s voiceover narrates everything going on.. and for that reason I can appreciate what this game is and what it sets out to do….
    its just a shame its hard to enjoy playing alone..
    Bring some friends though, and Strange Brigade can be a blast
    I give Strange Brigade
    a 7/10    … Expand
  6. MetaRogue
    Jul 26, 2021
    5
    For me, Strange Brigade's appeal lived and died within the span of a single afternoon. After nearly 3 hours of playing the game, I simply refused to waste any more time with it. It's rare for me to play a game for such a brief amount of time and not give it the benefit of the doubt or a second chance at least. The truth of the matter is that Strange Brigade's flaws far outweigh it'sFor me, Strange Brigade's appeal lived and died within the span of a single afternoon. After nearly 3 hours of playing the game, I simply refused to waste any more time with it. It's rare for me to play a game for such a brief amount of time and not give it the benefit of the doubt or a second chance at least. The truth of the matter is that Strange Brigade's flaws far outweigh it's strengths.

    Strange Brigade's story is set during the 1930's and follows the eponymous 'Strange Brigade' as they attempt to stop an ancient evil. While the premise may seem adequate, the actual execution of the narrative is where everything falls apart. Without any prior introduction to who the characters were or what the Strange Brigade is and why it exists, the story wastes no time in getting underway, but at the expense of allowing the player to comprehend the basic aspects of the game's narratives in terms of character origins, relationships, and other meaningful elements that provide depth from a storytelling perspective. What compounds this problematic format is that the story bounces from one scenario to the next with no meaningful connections. Furthermore, none of the characters have any emotional depth - they're simply just caricatures with no personality whatsoever.

    At a glance you'd be mistaken for saying that Strange Brigade's combat is competent - this couldn't be further from the truth. Aiming your weapon of choice feels ok, but when fired they sound and feel less powerful than they should. When it comes to enemy variety, Strange Brigade meets the bare minimum. The way in which Strange Brigade implements it's difficulty curve is by simply increasing the number of enemies on your screen with each subsequent encounter, opting for quantity over quality. I quickly found this design tactic to be boring instead of challenging.

    I encountered more flaws in Strange Brigade that caused further frustration. One flaw in particular related to when I aimed my weapon at enemies, specifically when they got too close to me. Even though my target reticule was aimed squarely at the approaching enemy, my shots would miss them entirely - in laymen's terms I would shoot over their shoulders as they lumbered towards me. This annoyed me because there would be moments when I would think that I was aiming my weapon correctly only to waste ammo before taking damage. These moments felt cheap and frustrating because they could've prevented if this particular gameplay flaw had been corrected.

    Another problem I encountered with weapon aiming was during moments when I would aim at a rapidly approaching or close proximity enemy. For some reason every time I aimed at an enemy who was directly in front of me, my character would inexplicably take a step forward toward them, thus causing the previously mentioned problem of shooting over their shoulders or past them. This happened nearly every time to the point where I handed the controller to someone else to prove if this was an actual design flaw or if it was just me. It turned out that I was right because the other person had the same problem as well.

    Besides the design flaws, Strange Brigade struggles to maintain player's interest. While the moment to moment combat may be passable, there's nothing much to incentivise to taking on waves and waves of enemies. There's no XP gained from killing enemies and the puzzles in the game can sometimes be baffling with how their logic works. What's even worse is that there are some puzzles that require you to restart the entire level if you fail them (and this is quite easy to do).

    Another dumb design choice is that you can only carry one healing potion. This is frustrating if you're playing solo because the number of enemies doesn't change. So even if you save up that potion and spot another lying on the ground you won't be able to stockpile them up for later.

    On top of this, the game has yet another dumb design choice. When running low on health you can use your potion to heal yourself OR you can use it to revive yourself at the nearest sarcophagus. Forgive me for saying this, but this gameplay mechanic is simply stupid because of the aforementioned inability to stockpile potions, meaning that you can only revive yourself once unless you can obtain another potion. And just to be clear, don't even bother trying to backtrack to find that potion that you walked past in a previously explored room because Strange Brigade DOESN'T allow backtracking - once you've moved beyond a certain checkpoint, previously explored rooms become inaccessible. I know - fun, right?

    There are weapon mods that can alter your weapons behaviour, but buyer beware because these mods are permanently destroyed if you want to 'swap' mods, forcing you to grind previously completed levels if you want to reobtain a previously collected mod that you liked.

    In summation, Strange Brigade is a game that doesn't deserve to be as clever as it thinks it is.    … Expand
  7. Patajullo
    Jul 31, 2020
    7
    No lo llegue a jugar coop, que seguro que gana mucho, pero sin ser un joya ni tener el mas mínimo alarde u innovación me entretuvo de forma simple y efectiva que es algo de agradecer.
  8. Perfectcrafter
    Jun 16, 2020
    5
    Ein sehr mittelmäßiges Spiel das nur durch sein Seeting etwas an Charme rausholt. ES ist zu repetetiv und die Grafik auf Ps3 Basis.
  9. andrefonseca
    Jul 22, 2020
    5
    Very nice UHD textures, controls are perfect and camera is wonderful. Also, Strange Brigade is very economic on its variety, there is any btw, all chapters seems the same. Also, there is no rain, no snow, no metal, no sea, BUT they charge you for all they don't.
  10. Canezach
    Nov 23, 2020
    5
    It's an OK game that is much better played co-op with a friend. The announcer is great and has some really funny comments. The campaign is fun, but there's really no replay value. I spend 90% of my time on Horde and this is where you see a huge amount of flaws. Gunplay is mediocre at best. If an enemy gets within 5' of you, your gun, even a shotgun, is useless because it's like hitIt's an OK game that is much better played co-op with a friend. The announcer is great and has some really funny comments. The campaign is fun, but there's really no replay value. I spend 90% of my time on Horde and this is where you see a huge amount of flaws. Gunplay is mediocre at best. If an enemy gets within 5' of you, your gun, even a shotgun, is useless because it's like hit registration is incapable of picking up close quarters shots. You also encounter a lot of cheap bullsh*t enemies who can close within that 5', like ghouls, or do insane ranges damage, like the fire breathers. The main "bosses" are giant swordsmen or bulls and each has their own cheap BS. The swordsmen can throw a different enemy at you that explodes on contact, but it has the radius of a small nuke, so you'll still take damage if it gets thrown anywhere near you. The bulls can somehow turn 90° without slowing down and sometimes when you roll to dodge them, they apparently weren't done charging you, so your roll just means you'll get hit with massive damage. The roll animation also takes a while and leaves you vulnerable for a second. When you're surrounded by mobs and you roll to dodge, you end up getting hit because there's a delay. Overall it's an OK game that you should try if you can find it for $15 or less. I wouldn't pay more for it.… Expand
  11. airpsyhit
    Nov 16, 2021
    6
    The game is strange, as is its name. Weak action, poor gameplay, the plot is practically absent. The whole point of the game is to shoot skeletons, mummified creatures and other undead. And of course it is very similar to other games from the developer Rebellion, such as the Zombie Army series.
  12. oliodyssey
    Aug 7, 2021
    6
    To give it a 6 Because I really enjoyed this game but it was in my opinion, a few elements. Like the ability to climb, and many of the areas felt the same. Its missing a bit if gore which I always like. Other than that it's a banger. Check out Sniper Elite 4 and Zombie Army 4 if you like this. Rebellion do great with there bullet Ballistics. Although not so noticed in this title. GREAT Game.

Awards & Rankings

96
#96 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2018
47
#47 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 36 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 36
  3. Negative: 1 out of 36
  1. Gameblog.fr
    Oct 2, 2018
    60
    If Strange Brigade has the good idea to offer an original set and tone in the kind of cooperative shooter, it does so either too late or too bad, but in any case, it does not fully convince. Especially against the competition already in place.
    Read full review
  2. GamePro Germany
    Sep 23, 2018
    82
    Entertaining co-op shooter, brightened up with puzzles, that shows its top form with several players.
    Read full review
  3. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Sep 22, 2018
    80
    A great campaign (with Score Attack mode for extra replayability), and an evergreen Horde mode. Fun when played with friends, with strangers, and when played alone? How strange. [Issue#154, p.88]
See all critic reviews »