There’s no skirting around it: Brotato is clearly inspired by the hit auto-shooter Vampire Survivors, tasking you to survive 20 waves of enemies while shrewdly investing in perks and upgrades. There’s no need to decree blatant plagiarism here though, as Brotato is so refined and well balanced – as well as being rich with content – that it comes close to setting the genre standard. Certainly, any developer looking to improve upon Vampire Survivors would do well to use Brotato as a blueprint.
This is a game that gets a lot right, mostly by a deep understanding of what makes auto-shooters addictive, fair, and compelling. First, there’s the basics. Movement feels swift and responsive, while enemy waves feel manageable even on harder difficulties. The action here is also easy to read, with projectiles being chunky and highlighted in red while charging enemies give a few seconds warning. Health packs, doled out via sprouting trees, appear often too – and this alone helps the difficulty level to feel fair, never punishing heavily for the occasional slip-up.
It’s the amount of content that impresses the most. Specifically, the vast and constantly expanding character pool. You’re presented with a handful of pale-skinned brotatos to begin with, each with varying stats. Due to their egg-shaped appearance, I imagined them as Dizzy’s extended family. Their stats vary so wildly that each bro feels unique, to the point where runs will pan out in weird and wonderful ways. One ‘tato, for instance, has permanent double XP but items cost double. Then there’s the old bro who battles the slug-like enemies in a smaller battlefield but is remarkably slow. By choosing perks that increase speed, their shortcomings can be nullified, leaving just his boons. This is a tactic that can be applied to dozens of characters, so pays to ponder which stats to improve.
The perks and upgrades and well balanced, helping to create some eccentric bros. Or builds, if you prefer. You can become a life force stealing lynch, sapping health from every enemy killed. Or you can increase damage by 100% to take out even tougher enemies with one hit. Seeing these best-laid plans to come fruition is very rewarding, and there’s nothing in the way of huge difficulty spikes from one wave to the next to catch you off guard. You do have to pay attention to perks though, as some may spawn more enemies or harder foes if you opt for them. There’s a good variety of upgrades, with turrets that can be added to the battlefield, along with more trees, and so forth. Increase the luck stat and you may acquire something that exceeds all expectations.
Then there’s the matter of the weapons. Brotato mixes fantasy with reality, featuring an arsenal comprising shotguns, pistols, magic wands, flaming fists, swords, and dozens of others. Six weapons can be carried at once, both melee and ranged, and most can be upgraded between waves. There’s even a breakdown of how much damage each weapon performed during the last battle – handy when it comes to swapping equipment. Going back to the character selection for a moment, it’s possible to try your hand with a bro that carries 12 weapons but has weaker damage stats for every weapon equipped. Alternatively, another has a mini-gun as default.
There are other things easy to appreciate on top of all the positives mentioned so far, including the briskness of the waves, how frequently bros level up, and the sneaky ability to reroll and gain even more upgrades with leftover cash from past waves. Most downsides relate to the general presentation – and even then, most can be easily overlooked considering the £4.99 (approx.) price tag. That’s to say, the small assortment of muddy field backdrops isn’t much to look at. It also lacks the lore and bestiary from Vampire Survivors, leaving you to fill in the blanks yourself.
I would also say there’s less scope for tactics and strategies than in Vampire Survivors. The small, non-looping, arenas leave you to either retreat to corners, manoeuvre in circles, or shimmy along the arena edges. Couple this with waves that are quite similar, with new enemies appearing irregularly, and the result is the occasional mundane and eventless run. It seems that the developers have tried to rectify this though, as once a 20 wave run is beaten, new levels unlock.
Brotato isn’t merely trying to ride the coattails of another game’s success; it has been born out of a desire to deepen and enrich the auto-shooting genre. The amount of tinkering that has gone into each character’s stats, the balancing of the upgrades, and the variety of weapons is noticeable after just a couple of runs. This culminates into an experience that’s long lasting and fulfilling – and at a low price point to boot. One of the best budget buys around, Brotato proves there’s life after Vampire Survivors. Or should that be an afterlife?
Seaven Studio’s Brotato is out now on Xbox and PlayStation formats. It first launched on PC and Switch.