Brews & Bastards Guest Review by Celt Brenny

The following review for Brews & Bastards, is a guest review by Celt Brenny. At Complete Xbox, we always welcome your views, and we love to share and promote them within the wider gaming community.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you mixed a Twin Stick shooter and a night out at the local pub, Brews & Bastards has your answer. This chaotic adventure brings 4-player local co-op mayhem to the table, serving up a wild blend of frantic combat, brews, and slapstick humor that any Brit can appreciate.

The plot is as tongue-in-cheek as the name suggests: the magical Brewstone has been stolen, and with it, the world’s booze supply. That’s all the ammunition you need to dive in, hunt down the thief, and crack open a few brews and let the world have it.

At its core, Brews & Bastards is about blasting enemies and surviving the onslaught, but it has mechanics that keep it interesting each playthrough. Every kill drops ingredients, the in-game currency used to purchase items with the Bartender who serves up a variety of Brews and Artifacts to aid you in your journey.

Brews are abilities of varying rarity and elemental that can completely change the game in a chug! Allowing you to temporally possess powers such as Fire, Cyro and Damage multipliers it allows you to mix your drinks and get out of tough spots (Drink responsibly!) Artifacts however are passive abilities that can be used to buff your character with different things like Attack Speed and Damage, Range of Attacks and Max Health increases.

Like most shooters there are opportunities in the dungeons to encounter certain rooms to make choices that aid your adventure. Firstly, is the Wine Shrine that allows you to swap anything in your possession for another item if you are lucky to own what they are asking for. Secondly is the Cocktail Mixer that buffs your Brews and Artifacts if you have caused enough chaos and have the ingredients to make things ‘Top Shelf’ for massive results

Twin stick shooters are usually just about causing chaos, but the combat rooms are very clever, open and have plenty traps and timed dashes to make sure you are on your toes. This is very reminiscent of Orcs Must Die forcing you to stay mobile and think strategically as enemies pile on. As the game progresses, enemies become tougher and even gain resistances, ensuring things don’t get stale.

And then there are the boss fights. Brews & Bastards doesn’t settle for the usual “bullet sponge” fare. One standout moment has you literally playing beer pong against a boss while dodging enemies and projectiles. As you progress the bosses end up being some sort of pub-based sport as an objective. It’s ridiculous, clever, and exactly the kind of over-the-top fun the game thrives on.

With 4 characters all with their own unique playstyle and abilities the linear story is very repayable, and I will be looking to finish this off with other characters and a mode that will launch soon that uses random generated dungeons that will make replaying this game fun and endless.

Visually, the game leans into a quirky pub-fantasy aesthetic. The soundtrack hits hard with bass-heavy tracks that match the chaotic energy, though after extended sessions it starts to feel repetitive, but it does the job very well fitting the theme and putting pressure on you as enemies and glass shatter around you.