Brotato Review

Now and then you’ll stumble across an absolute gem of an indie game with a really low price point and it just seems to be an absolute bargain. Brotato is one of those titles where you can jump in for lower than the cost of a pint of your favourite beer. For those on Xbox, you can jump in for free if you are subscribed to Xbox Game Pass. I’d urge you to at least give it a try and it won’t take much room on that all-important hard drive and if you’re like me, you’ll lose endless hours to it. The game has been kicking around with a stream of positive reviews on Windows PC, mobile devices and Nintendo Switch since 2023, but now it is time for its time to shine on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Playstation 4|5.

Another One-Man Dev Team That Has Achieved Incredible Success!

Brotato is what I’d describe as a mash-up between The Binding Of Isaac and Vampire Survivors which has been cleverly developed by solo dev Thomas Gervraud under the umbrella of one-man studio Blobfish. What has resulted from this project is a massive success and very recently it was announced that over 1 million had downloaded and played since the release on Xbox Game Pass. Not only this, but it has sold over a million copies on Steam as well, at the time of writing it still shows overwhelmingly positive scores. Let’s dive into what makes this incredibly moreish yet addictively frustrating game so exceptional.

Battle Those Hordes Of Critters!

Brotato starts each wave similarly to other games in the genre, slow and steady with the most basic of weaponry to tackle the hordes that are oncoming. The character selection will present the strengths and weaknesses each brotato will have. Some may have quicker speed but a weaker attack whereas others may have better luck and range. The early waves will start and only last a matter of seconds and killing enemies will drop green crystals, collecting these will act as currency between waves.

The gameplay is super simple, navigate around the arena and aim towards the enemies. Once a wave ends you’ll be able to spend your crystals on better weapons, traits, buffs and items. You’ll need to choose wisely here as what you choose will contribute to your strengths but may also cause weaknesses. A table of how strong you are will be displayed on your right. You may decide you want to focus on more HP, armour and range for example but this may impact on how much damage you do, so it can all rest on finding the right balance for those later waves. If you can’t quite afford something, you can lock it between rounds so that you can purchase it later. There is also the option to re-roll items should you choose.

Bosses & Endless Mode!

To achieve success you’ll need to smash through 20 waves and defeat the end boss. There appears to be an achievement on Xbox for every single Brotato completing this feat, good luck! Getting through this will also unlock higher difficulty levels if you wish to punish yourself further. If you’re done with gaining these achievements, however, you can play beyond wave 20 if you want to test your character build and see how far you can go. You choose which path you’d like to take things when wave 20 ends.

It’s A Bit Of  A Looker!

Visually Brotato ticks all the boxes, especially for a game with probably a tight budget with one bloke working away at it. It is surprisingly slick, controls wise it always feels fast and fluid. The character and enemy design is well executed and whilst at times it can seem like enemies are quite repetitive at certain points, it doesn’t matter so much when the gameplay is scratching the itch. If I could fault anything it would be that the size of the arena can be quite restrictive and it becomes ridiculously hard during the greater difficulties. I don’t mind a challenge, but this may put casual players off. The music is on a loop but because it is high-intensity and the adrenaline is pumping, it never feels annoying. As a whole though, really well presented!

Final Thoughts

Brotato is an instant hit on console and a game that I can’t help but dip into constantly for a quick run at the end of a long gaming session. It is one of those games where you’re keeping your eye on the clock and hours feel like minutes with this one. I have smashed easily over 30 hours into this and have still not tired from it. I have invested in this game for my kids just to show support for Thomas, as he deserves the extra revenue.

The main draw is the longevity and replayability is there if you want the hardcore feat of clocking runs with every character, there are lots of them! Would love to see more added in terms of DLC like Vampire Survivors has done, but for the cost of £4.19 even venturing off the Xbox Game Pass subscription, it is worth every single penny! A must-buy and one of the greatest indie titles I’ve ever played.