Developer: Rekka Games
Publisher: Team17
Platform: Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Tested on: PC
Bravery and Greed – Review
Recently it seems that the Rogue-lite genre has become really popular among developers and these developers all try to add some unique elements to the genre. This is why games such as The Unliving, Legends of Kingdom Rush, and Orbital Bullet all scored pretty well last year and have granted us hours of enjoyment. Now one of our favorite publishers, Team17, comes up with a Rogue-lite adventure that can be enjoyed alone or with up to three friends. So, grab your weapons, call up a few friends and go on an adventure together in Bravery and Greed.
Story
In most rogue-lite titles you won’t find that much story value and this is also the case for Bravery and Greed. When starting up the game, you are greeted with a cinematic where four heroes are sitting together, enjoying dinner. Suddenly the rogue calls the attention of the group to announce that he heard a story about a long-lost Dwarves’ treasure. “There is a secret cave behind the waterfall to the northeast, inside there is an ancient Dwarven Portal, which leads to where the Dwarves kept their Gold. No one has used it for centuries as the runes are missing to open the portal”. Now the group is eager to retrieve the four runes scattered around the continent to open the Dwarven Portal that will take them to the Dwarven Sky Fortress. As there is so much gold to be found there, it will be enough to make everyone richer than kings. This part concludes the intro and warms you up for your travels to come, and once you reach the Dwarven Sky Fortress you will see the true nature of your adventurer.
Graphics
Bravery and Greed is a visual masterpiece. The whole game is presented in 2D, with retro-inspired pixilated graphics that will hit a soft spot for every nostalgia nerd out there. The side-scrolling pixelated characters, locations, and enemies have been enhanced to look great on modern screens, just like we saw recently with the Wonder Boy Collection. The animations of the characters are really fluid and battles are of epic proportions thanks to the various moves that have you fly around the screen. The action is always really explosive, with enemies flying all over the place after successful combos. As you explore the five dungeons in total you will be met with unique locations that host different unique enemies, traps, and loot.
Sound
Just like the graphics, a lot of effort has been put into the overall sound design. Each map has different background music which makes sure each map feels unique. The game’s sound effects are also on point, and the sound of your attacks packs a proper oomph. Sadly, the small story segment at the start of the game has no voice acting. This would have added a bit of charm to the mix.
Gameplay
Bravery and Greed is a rogue-lite co-op action game that boasts a range of fun gameplay elements, easy controls, and a fun story to keep the players engaged. At the start of the game, you have four different modes at your disposal: ‘adventure’, ‘horde mode’, ‘PVP’, and ‘team PVP’. In team PVP and PVP, you’ll fight against your friends locally or against some strangers online to see who is the best brawler. The final mode is horde mode and as the name implies, it is you against an endless wave of attackers. In this mode, you (and some friends) will duke it out against an endless wave of enemies until nobody is left standing, and the person with the highest score at the end wins.
In adventure mode, you pick one of the four unique heroes and you have the option to either go alone or bring up to three friends with you, locally or online. Each hero has unique weapons, stats, and moves, so you can play around with the different characters to find out which is your favorite one. To make the gameplay more interesting, you can always use game-altering modifiers. These modifiers are in the form of tarot cards and they will influence different elements of your game. Those who make the run harder will reward you with more gold, and this gold is ultimately used to unlock more items for your next runs. These items can range from other cards to findable items or even followers. Once you have chosen your character and the game modifiers, you are ready to head out on an adventure.
On your first run, you follow a linear path to visit the four dungeons and if you are not successful during that run you can always freely select between the levels that you have already cleared on your next run. During this initial run, it is advisable to complete the tutorial to get used to the controls. While the game offers a pretty easy control scheme for the keyboard, it is advised to connect a controller and play it this way.
In your arsenal, you have your basic combo attack for close engagements and if the enemy is a bit further away then you can reach them with your ranged attack. For your ranged attacks you have a quick directional attack and one that you charge up and aim at the enemy. Lastly, you can find a magic wand that grants you an area-of-effect spell. The wand needs recharging unlike your other moves but can really help clear out many enemies or help penetrate strong defenses.
What gives the game a high replayability like many other rogue-likes is that dungeons are randomly generated and this has an impact on your overall clear time. Some dungeons can be extremely long and complicated, while others are more linear and quicker to complete. At the end of each dungeon is a boss protecting the Rune of their dungeon. To reach these bosses you’ll have to find a hidden key somewhere to open the door that leads to their lair. During your exploits, you will come across many enemies that will drop random treasure in the form of gold, gear, and food. In the dungeons, you can encounter caged prisoners. If you decide to be a good samaritan and help them out, they will be loyal and follow you during your adventures as long as they don’t end up dying. These followers will then aid you in combat.
In each dungeon, you will find altars where you can pray to a deity to receive new perks. In total there are four gods and each god has their own respectable altar as they give different bonuses. In these caves, you can also find a neutral altar. When you encounter a neutral altar you can pledge to one of the four gods and this will get you better bonuses from that specific god until the end of the run. Once you have pledged to a deity via the neutral altar you won’t be able to worship others, yet when you visit their altar you will gain a temporary buff that lasts until the end of the dungeon (and not the end of the run). Perks are distributed at random and when a reoccurrence happens you will get the option to upgrade your current perk to a stronger version of it.
Death is not the end in Bravery and Greed, as at the end of each run, you will convert your acquired gold into treasure chests. Once opened, these treasure chests will give you new gear and items that can be found in your future runs, just like in The Unliving. This means that the more you play, the more gear you will be able to find, and this in terms makes the runs even more fun.
Conclusion
Bravery and Greed is yet another amazing title published by Team17. This retro-inspired rogue-lite game will keep you entertained for hours on end, be it alone or with friends. The game is a visual masterpiece and thanks to the music you will enjoy raiding every dungeon to gather gold for better gear in the future. If the adventure mode becomes a bit boring after a while, or you want to change up your game, then you can always fight with your friends in PVP or take on an endless horde of monsters in horde mode. If you’re a fan of rogue-lite games, we can wholeheartedly recommend this one.
Bravery and Greed – Review,
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[…] has been no shortage of good rogue-lite games over the last few years. Titles like Bravery and Greed, Arcadegeddon, or Corpse Keeper have kept us entertained for many hours. Of course, a steady stream […]