I’ve had friends who say “Bro” a lot, and I’ve always felt uncomfortable saying “Super Mario Bros.” It is just a phrase that feels uncomfortable in my mouth, like the phrases “chaises lounge,” “boy” or “girl,” and “I think the tory manifesto isn’t as bad this time around.”

So, Broforce is one of those exceptions to the rule of not feeling uncomfortable saying the first bit, and it is all done to the aesthetic. Broforce is what would happen if I was allowed to make games. As I said in the video review, it is never settling for a moment, and when it does take one, it is to be tangential. Think Hotline Miami through the eyes of Michael Bay; very 80s, very explosive, and every bit as stupid as one of his films. To some, that might sound like I’m being negative, I’m not.

You play as one of the titular Bros, going into pixelated pretenses of Vietnam, Cambodia, and other places America enjoyed setting war films. However, your Bros aren’t just anyone, there is Bro in Black, Bro Hard, Indiana Brones, the Brominator, and Brochete, to name a few. Yes, even Spy Kids has some amazing action heroes that men send blood away from their brains for. As you might have guessed, the others are your standard action heroes: Agent J from Men in Black, John McClane from that Christmas movie Die Hard, some Lara Croft knock-off called Indiana Jones, and David Cage’s most convincing android in The Terminator.

This is where reviewing Free Lives’ first major game almost falls apart, because it is a game that almost defies explanation. It is just the word “explosions!” shouted at you through Bart Simpson’s megaphone contraption, knocking every other explanation for a loop The word stupid comes to mind, to which it might be best to note, why yes, it is much like Hotline Miami also published by Devolver Digital. How did you know?

It’s also quite an infuriating game as more and more just gets added into the mix. For example, just a few levels in there is a level that is being carpet-bombed by Bullet Bill’s cousins, with a predefined line of where the shells are going to travel that you can see. However, for the life of me, I can’t just focus on them coming in where I am, and the several other explosions happening on screen from me shooting and killing every terrorist on the planet. It feels wrong to say there is too much going on, but sometimes the brain of a man can have too many explosions going on at once.

As much as that might be a criticism, it is exactly why I love it. It is stupidly action-heavy and is ridiculous in every explosion-filled moment. That said, playing with a controller isn’t always advisable, as my neighbors found out when I was swearing quite loudly at the early hours in the morning after falling on spikes for the six-millionth time. Precision isn’t the best word I’d use for those moments, not one bit. While I’m on it, the respawn times are my most irrational annoyance of the whole game.

Yes, the gameplay is very Hotline Miami yet with a side of explosion manor, but resetting doesn’t take the time necessary to find a transphobic tweet on Joanne Rowling’s Twitter account. So, it is slow then? Yes. Introducing new characters with the announcer and those few moments to reset are dragging down the pace of a game that is meant to be that pure stupidity I mentioned. Taking those moments, though they may only be brief, is a sign of two things: I’m impatient, and video games have sped up quite a lot in several respects and I can’t stand games that do things slowly anymore. This is why I don’t like JRPGs or Red Dead Redemption 2, everything is so ponderous.

Ultimately, at its core, Broforce is brilliance. Wrapped in the Team America: World Police theme and having some wonderfully tangential moments with many many references filling out the world, it is simply a game you should be playing. Play it while dancing on the merry grave of every terrorist and satan you come across with even more explosions and gunfire than an NRA member’s baptism. It is excellent fun let down slightly by taking an extra few seconds than it maybe should to respawn.

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Broforce

$14.99

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• Explosions.
• Every Bro and Bro-ett.
• Stupid, unrelenting fun.
• Multiplayer high fives.

Cons

• A lack of precision when ultimately needed.
• Resetting after death can break flow.