Graduate Games Blog

I rented and beat Brutal Legend this weekend.  I wanted to love it, but I kept playing because I liked the story not because the gameplay held my interest.  The game does a nice job of evolving while you play but each new gameplay style never really comes together.  When you start Brutal Legend, you’ll be playing a simplistic hack-n-slash type beatemup game.  It’s ok and there’s some new moves that come along, but in my opinion it is the weakest gameplay wise – you pretty much just mash buttons.  Then there’s the guitar solo super moves – I really liked these minigames that task you with pressing the correct button to the musical timing.  I found the car combat type gameplay the strongest, but the hack-n-slash eventually evolves into a semi-strategic war game with your different metal-inspired troops facing off in stage battles which was decent too.  The main quest did a great job diversifying each mission, but I found myself most entertained when watching the cutscenes and listening to the dialogue.

The game is way way too short and it’s really a shame that this Double Fine Production is bound to outsell their superior first effort Psychonauts.  Brutal Legend does have fantastic writing and an interesting world…I just wish the game focused more on creating a fun sandbox around it. I may try an online stage battle or some of the side missions before I return it.  It was fun while it lasted.