Brotherhood United Review

Growing up you are surrounded by lots of things that you become part of as you get older. You understand the importance of being part of a team, whether that’s in the office, on the pitch or even with your mates. Being in a team with your mates is more like acting as part of a gang. Gangs generally get a bad name but gang means a group, a group who has some kind of cause, whether good or bad, but as part of the gang you work towards it. Brotherhood United is effectively a gang warfare film in its simplest form.

United begins with you being inducted into the Brotherhood, a sort of cheesy biker looking gang. After the initiation you are with your Brotherhood friends when suddenly they get kidnapped and you are the newest member have to fight your way through hundreds of enemies to rescue them. The intro to Brotherhood United is quite a bloody affair on the starting screen, it doesn’t maintain that stance as you play, but just be aware if there are any kids in the room with you. Brotherhood United is a 2D platformer that acts like a classic runner gunner. In Brotherhood United you make your way through the levels usually left to right and have to kill the enemies whilst you find your Brotherhood friends tied up in all sorts of places. You don’t need to kill all the enemies or rescue all your Brotherhood pals to finish a level though.

Brotherhood United is another classic example of a homage a simpler time, it’s indie retro references are plain to see and Brotherhood United also plays like an arcade game. You start off in Brotherhood United with a pistol, as you progress you will come across plenty of weaponry to help you proceed. You can also find bombs and throw them, but they are finite in supply. You have a health bar that can be replenished, Brotherhood United is quite an easy game so it’ll be rare that you’ll need to pick up many of the health power-ups. Brotherhood United contains simpler mechanics, you can only shoot in eight directions, most of the time you’ll be shooting forward but it’s easy enough to shoot diagonally. If you die too many times, then you will need to restart the stage from the beginning.

Whilst there is a lot of shooting and running in Brotherhood United, there’s also a fair degree of platforming. Unfortunately for Brotherhood United this is probably it’s worst part, it contains the kinds of jumping mechanics that frustrate more than they challenge. You come across several Brotherhood members on your travels, just remember to be near them, to save them, sometimes you can shoot the rope that’s holding them back, but you still need to be close to them so they understand they can now escape. Enemies are pretty easy to beat, even the bosses can be beaten without too much of a hindrance. Thankfully, there is co-op in Brotherhood United, this definitely adds more replayability and makes the experience more fun with a friend.

Graphically Brotherhood United is not pretty on the eye, the pixelated characters are not great to look at. The usual locations make an appearance in Brotherhood United such as the cave level or the town stage. The enemies are quite varied, but they won’t win any awards for presentation. All your Brotherhood brethren, look the same which is a shame, not much variation in their presentation. The backgrounds are pretty basic, scenes that seem to repeat within a level as you move forward. Musically Brotherhood United goes with the classic chip tune soundtrack, each level has its own so it never grates. Sound effects are loud and bold, they come across really well in Brotherhood United.

Brotherhood United is a charmingly fun little title held back by limited mechanics and graphics which are a tad painful to look at. The running and gunning aspects of Brotherhood United work well, but the platforming leaves a fair bit to be desired for. If you’re looking to kill a couple of hours by yourself or with a friend then Brotherhood United offers some enjoyment but it’s not a game you’ll go back to once you’ve saved The Brotherhood.

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Playstation 4 code was provided to Bonus Stage for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to press@4gn.co.uk.