Battle Brothers

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.

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.

Battle Brothers feels like a really natural fit on the Switch. The open-world nature of the game is one that is easy to get lost in and therefore having the ability to take it on the go is a fantastic attribute. As good as that is, the clunkiness of some of the controls on the console will take a bit of getting used to. However, the fact is there is not really any other title like this on the console with such a uniquely procedural role-playing feel. Making the player care about characters is one of the hardest tricks in gaming and Battle Brothers delivers this, with the sense of loss after a tough battle being really palpable.

Battle Brothers also arrives on consoles, for now exclusively on Nintendo Switch: the analysis of the port.

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.

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.

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.

The main game mechanic, with emphasis on combat and management rather than on plot, is definitely a point in its favour, as is its wide and varied game world. Where Battle Brothers falls short of expectations lies mostly on how the game was adapted, namely its control system, which is difficult to get used to on the Switch. Its difficulty level also feels unbalanced at moments, and its player interface feels like it doesn't fit with the game. Players able to look beyond these shortcomings will find a great tactical RPG challenge, but others will feel put off by those elements where Battle Brothers fails to deliver a consistent experience.

Battle Brothers has remarkable freedom that’s rare to see in the RPG genre. It truly feels like your decisions and actions have weight and that the responsibility for your band of warriors rests in your hands – quite literally on the Switch. That’s backed up by a deep turn based battle system that’s deceptively strategic. Unusually long load times and a frustratingly steep learning curve, compounded by a lack of an adequate tutorial, means that some players will bounce right off this game however, never getting to experience its best aspects.