Battle Brothers

 Switch
Battle Brothers Image
Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 13 Ratings

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  • Summary: Battle Brothers is a turn based tactical RPG which has you leading a mercenary company in a gritty, low-power, medieval fantasy world. You decide where to go, whom to hire or to fight, what contracts to take and how to train and equip your men in a procedurally generated open world campaign.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Softpedia
    Mar 22, 2021
    85
    Newcomers to the franchise will find Battle Brothers very hard to pick up, especially due to the lack of a proper tutorial. I do love those games that don't hold your hand, but I think Battle Brothers is in a league of its own and some more complex aspects should be made more clear. Although the learning curve is quite steep, once you get the hang of it, Battle Brothers is actually a very enjoyable experience. I strongly recommend those looking for a challenging turn-based RPG to give Battle Brothers a try, not just for the complexity of building the perfect company of brothers, but also for its stunning soundtrack and art style.
  2. NintendoWorldReport
    Mar 17, 2021
    85
    Battle Brothers has exhibited a clear vision in what it wants to be: a painfully grueling and dark world with a system of commerce that’s equally punishing. This is a system where crowns make the world go round and everything is replaceable, for a price. The breadth of dialogue, world-building paragraphs, and light agency in storytelling let you build the world according to what you hear. It’s a world I want to dive into again and again, even if I know this incarnation will be just as taxing.
  3. Pure Nintendo
    Apr 2, 2021
    80
    A turn-based tactical RPG set in a medieval fantasy map, Battle Brothers isn’t the most original premise, but it is well executed and easy to get hooked on.
  4. GAMES.CH
    Apr 16, 2021
    79
    Battle Brothers is a dense and realistic tactical roleplaying game that offers almost endless replay value with randomly generated campaigns. Leading your band of mercenaries into battle may not be visually impressive, but the depth of combat and the degree of customization makes this an incredibly addictive game to play on the go. The switch may just be the perfect platform for a title like this that always lures players with the next reward around the corner.
  5. Digitally Downloaded
    Mar 17, 2021
    70
    You've just got to persevere with Battle Brothers to really appreciate it, and it really is the epitome of the saying "it's a marathon, rather than a sprint". Once you've overcome the horrible excuse for a "tutorial" and onboarding process, you've then got to deal with some really repetitive quest design and an astronomically unforgivable difficulty curve. But, slowly, the game starts to open up, and before you know it, you realise that you're really enjoying this thing. It's expansive, it's complex, it's nuanced and it puts complete control over the story and quest in your hands. It's everything good about Mount & Blade, but in a more compact, turn-based format. It's no wonder the game has become a beloved hit on Steam, with fans pouring hundreds - if not thousands - of hours into it. It's not quite the same experience on Switch, and yet I can't see a scenario where I tear myself away from it, now I've pushed through its various walls. A truly fascinating example of a game that's just worth the effort.
  6. Screen Rant
    Mar 11, 2021
    70
    Battle Brothers on Nintendo Switch is a tricky game. The base Battle Brothers experience and its DLC is as excellent and engaging as it was on the PC years ago. It remains one of the most interesting and replayable tactical wargames and management sims in recent-ish memory, but even though the unfortunate issues that come from porting Battle Brothers to the Switch are solvable, they must be taken into consideration before anyone makes a purchase.
  7. COGconnected
    Mar 31, 2021
    56
    So I turned off my Switch and booted up my PC. I started a new game of Battle Brothers on that. And you know what? It’s as good as it ever was. A truly superlative strategy game made better with mods. I could not recommend Battle Brothers enough, but do yourself a favor and avoid the Nintendo Switch version. You’ll avoid one tragic end to meet a much more satisfactory one.

See all 11 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Tradnux
    Feb 7, 2023
    10
    This game just became one of my top favorite turn based strategy games ever.

    Graphics: Initially I couldn't pick this game up because I    This game just became one of my top favorite turn based strategy games ever.

    Graphics:
    Initially I couldn't pick this game up because I thought the art style was too simple even for games in its genre, but I was wrong, I never thought I would grow and appreciate the art style, it's just unique and brilliant, does not in any way take away the glory that is the gameplay.

    Gameplay:
    Turn based Strategy/Tactics is my favorite genre, and this game pretty much have a solid battle system gameplay that earns top spot to my top games. The difficulty is high and provides high challenge to thinking players.    … Expand
  2. pirluit
    Mar 30, 2021
    10
    An awesome game!!! I don't really believe that the user average score is under 8. It is true that the scheme control could be better. I'm sureAn awesome game!!! I don't really believe that the user average score is under 8. It is true that the scheme control could be better. I'm sure that the commitment developers will fix it. The fps drop in world map is not a problematic issue in this kind of game. But on the other hand the game mechanic is the most rewarding and challenging that I've ever seen in a tactical battle turn based and I have seen a lot. It has a deep learning curve and RNG but you can manage it and it's so fun and inmersive. I have played 60 hours in two weeks playing on Switch and I am a busy father. The first three runs been crushing and the fourth enjoying more than playing FTL, X-COM, Into the Breach, Disgaea, Dungeon of the Endless or whatever good tactical game I've ever played. Be prepared for the initial frustration. Read the wiki and steam guides and love your brothers till they die.… Expand
  4. pythonPie
    Mar 25, 2021
    9
    Great game, but much better on PC (mainly because controlls is designed for mouse).
  5. novembr
    Apr 11, 2021
    9
    So this game is pretty great, to just get to the point. Think turn-based Mount & Blade with a bit of fantasy thrown in (but not much). It's aSo this game is pretty great, to just get to the point. Think turn-based Mount & Blade with a bit of fantasy thrown in (but not much). It's a pretty brutal game, too, though it has varying difficulty settings (it'll still kick you in the ass regardless). There's plenty of reviews for this game for PC so I'll just go over the issues the Switch version has:

    - The control scheme isn't the best in some parts of the game, namely combat, but for a turn-based game it isn't a dealbreaker. Still, some improvements could be made.
    - There's a nice option to turn off/on tool tips, but I'd love it if when activating it would immediately display the tooltip for whatever my cursor is on (it does this for "highlighted" UI elements, but not for the cursor). Right now I have to move the cursor off and then back on to see the tool tip for whatever element I need info for, unless I leave it on all the time, which is undesirable since the tool tip windows get in the way other things on screen. Not a huge deal but really annoying.

    Not so much problems, but a personal wishlist:
    - I'd prefer an option to scale the UI and text (the PC version has this), but I think every Switch game should have that.
    - Lack of in-game achievements. Yes this is primarily a problem with Nintendo refusing to implement a trophy system, but it's nice when devs pick up that slack.

    The price on Switch for the full package is fairly steep for a 2D indie title, but also no different than its PC counterpart, so there's no "Switch tax" here, at least. I'd say if you're a fan of the genre, however, the price is worth it.

    Honestly if these issues get ironed out I'd bump this up to a straight 10.

    Update: Pathfinding and map fps/stutter problem has been alleviated in recent patches (1.5). Score bump.    … Expand
  6. Megadeath83
    Mar 15, 2021
    8
    The game is huge with all the DLC content available and will keep you playing for hours. There are a few small issues, the controls need a bitThe game is huge with all the DLC content available and will keep you playing for hours. There are a few small issues, the controls need a bit of tweaking and when zooming out there is a bit of slowdown, but these are small issues that don't have a huge impact on the overall experience.… Expand
  7. Ughduty
    Jan 25, 2022
    8
    Update January 2022:
    Most issues are solved. The game is now good to play and a lot of fun.
    Old: In a nutshell the control scheme is    Update January 2022:
    Most issues are solved. The game is now good to play and a lot of fun.

    Old:
    In a nutshell the control scheme is rubbish, the performance lacks and the path-finding ai does weird things.

    UPDATE 25 March 2021 - Patch 1.4:
    Unfortunately the promised changes to the control scheme were not implemented with patch 1.4. The performance issues weren’t fixed either.

    Original Review:
    Overall the most dissatisfying and problematic about the Switch version of Battle Brothers is the control scheme. Other than that I experienced performance issues when zooming out on the world map and occasionally had bad pathfinding ai leading to my party leaving the streets by them self's and for no reason wander off into the wilds what leads to babysitting every step of their movement.

    The game still is fun to play but the issues described do drag the overall fun down significantly!

    Following more details about the control scheme issues:
    ==============================================================
    Following a list of the controls I have the most pressing issues with and what the issues are. The higher up the issue is listed the higher is the priority:

    1. Left right keys on D-Pad selecting attacks in battle
    - The first click on whatever of the two buttons will not select the first attack but the second or last attack but should select the first attack.
    - After selecting an attack the mouse cursor stays on the attack button but should stay where it was when the user pressed the D-Pad button. The way it is now the player has constantly to move the cursor back to where the opponents pawns are to issue the attack. This way is very tedious on the Switch because mouse control simulation in general is rather clunky!
    - In general the D-Pad Buttons are not suited very well for controls you need as often as the ones for selecting the attack. Better suited would be the shoulder buttons L & R for example.

    2. Left Stick press to activate/deactivate the tooltips
    - This button is uncomfortable to press if you need it often and one does so in Battle Brothers on the Nintendo Switch because screen estate is so small that if you have the tooltips enabled they often make the overview especially in battle rather difficult. Therefore I tend to activate them only for a second when hovering over something I need more detailed information about. A better suited button for this would for example be the left trigger. And best would be if the tooltip would then only be shown as long as the button is pressed.

    3. Controls in recruitment dialog
    - After selecting a possible recruit on the left and then selecting anything on the right one can't easily switch back to the character on the left which results in a lot of scrolling and switching and scrolling. Making recruitment very tedious.

    Besides that I realized a small and purely aesthetic issue when having the party screen open. The heads of the statues on the left and right of the dialog box have their heads cut off.    … Expand
  8. CoffeeNMelange
    Aug 25, 2021
    8
    In brief summary, this is a game where you command a mercenary company in a gritty, low-power medieval setting. You hire new recruits from aIn brief summary, this is a game where you command a mercenary company in a gritty, low-power medieval setting. You hire new recruits from a variety of different backgrounds, and often they'll be of a "lowborn" status, like a farmhand or graverobber, especially in the beginning, and hope they survive in this world where anything you fight can pose a real threat if you're not careful. Eventually, your company might go to battle with 12-16 recruits, depending on your origin. There are some pretty robust customization options and the weapon diversity is great. When one of your recruits dies, they're gone (unless you save scum) and that can be a real emotional roller coaster. Each play-through, the map is randomly generated (though you can input a seed if you'd like) and when you're not actively in a battle, you roll around the world map between towns, engaging in contracts and possibly hauling trade goods between towns.

    This is a pretty amazing game for people who enjoy tactical, turn-based combat in a gritty medieval setting. The fights themselves can be *really* hard. While it may seem punishing and frustrating at first, there's a lot of subtle mechanics at play to learn and grow into, which I personally enjoy in a game. There's a massive amount of content when factoring in the (very reasonably priced, IMO) DLCs, and my favorite addition is the Origins in the Warriors of the North DLC.

    The only issues I have with this game are technical details associated with the port. The initial load time for the game is quite long, for seemingly no good reason. The controls could have been done a lot better. As it is, the control stick basically functions as a "mouse" in the game, which is mostly fine, but has some really annoying characteristics like when selecting skills in battle. Zooming out on the world map causes some noticeable frame drops. None of it is game breaking per se, but it does feel like the team behind the port were satisfied with doing the bare minimum, and months after release, haven't meaningfully addressed any of these issues despite saying they would on the game's subreddit. And that's a shame because while I can look past these issues as mere inconveniences, it may really turn off a lot of folks who otherwise would really enjoy this game. That said, it's still playable and I'd recommend it if you like difficult strategy games.    … Expand

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