Strange Brigade is a third-person shooter that places players in the role of adventurers battling supernatural threats in a stylized 1930s setting. The core experience revolves around cooperative action against hordes of undead and mythical foes, combined with light puzzle-solving and environmental interaction across a series of campaign levels.
Gameplay
Players select from four distinct characters, each equipped with unique amulet abilities that charge through collected enemy souls. These powers deliver area effects or targeted strikes that complement standard firearms. Weapons range from pistols and rifles to shotguns and submachine guns, with upgrades available through collectible runes that add perks such as life steal or bouncing projectiles. Workbenches scattered through levels allow customization of loadouts between encounters.
Levels feature branching paths that reward exploration for hidden relics and treasure. Puzzles often involve activating mechanisms or aligning elements to unlock new areas, while environmental traps like swinging blades, fire pits, and collapsing structures provide tactical options for crowd control. Combat emphasizes positioning and timing, as enemies include fast-moving zombies, armored skeletons, giant scorpions, and larger threats such as minotaurs. Solo play allows unhurried navigation of detailed ruins and jungles, though enemy density and puzzle complexity scale with group size in co-op sessions.
Game Modes
The main campaign consists of multiple chapters set across exotic locales, where the objective centers on confronting an ancient evil through sequential missions. Each chapter mixes traversal, combat encounters, and puzzle segments, with playtime varying based on thoroughness in collecting items.
Horde mode challenges players to survive successive waves of increasingly difficult enemies in arena-style maps. Gold earned from kills funds weapon purchases and level expansions, creating resource management decisions that influence survival duration.
Score Attack mode focuses on completing condensed sections of campaign levels under time pressure. A combo multiplier rises with rapid successive kills and drops during lulls, encouraging creative use of traps, amulet powers, and efficient routing to maximize points and compete on leaderboards.
Character and Progression Systems
Each of the four adventurers brings personality through dialogue and specialized amulet options, with four powers per character unlocked via relics found in campaign levels. Progression ties directly to exploration rather than traditional experience points, as relics grant access to new abilities that alter combat approaches. Gold collected serves as currency for permanent weapon unlocks that carry across modes and characters, while prototype weapons offer limited-ammo high-impact alternatives during runs.
Co-op sessions support up to four participants, with levels adjusting enemy counts and some puzzle solutions to accommodate teamwork. Solo runs remove AI companions entirely, shifting emphasis toward careful planning and personal skill with traps and abilities.
Is It Worth Playing?
Strange Brigade delivers a focused third-person shooter experience built around co-op coordination and environmental tactics. The campaign provides a complete narrative arc with replay value through secret hunting and character variety, while Horde and Score Attack modes extend playtime with distinct challenges. Reception highlights its suitability for groups seeking straightforward action with humorous narration and varied enemy types, though solo players may find the pacing more deliberate. The game remains available on PC with ongoing positive community feedback for its co-op strengths and consistent gunplay feedback. It suits those who enjoy pulp adventure themes paired with wave-based survival and scoring systems over open-ended progression or live service elements.
