Game Check: Brok the Investigator – Wool Milk Adventure – News

Through the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, the French studio COWCATGames for Brock the Investigator asked for financial help and received it beyond all measure. The game combines classic adventure and beat-em-up, garnished with RPG elements. In this game review, I would like to tell you how well this genre mix has worked.

In the tutorial, the first opponent greets us quite friendly

Seamless switching between worlds

A former boxer, Brok is new to his job as a private investigator. In the tutorial you will be introduced to the controls, but also to the situation. Brok, an anthropomorphic alligator, takes care of his stepson Graff after his wife dies in an accident. Graff, a cat, is the other character that you will also control later in the game. Together they live in a hovel in the slums, but Graff is in the middle of preparing for exams in order to be accepted into the elite of society who are allowed to live in a dome. This dome protects its inhabitants from the hostile circumstances of the dystopian future world. The subject matter is quite serious, but it is conveyed here in a relaxed manner in the comic style of the 80s and 90s.

The controls aren’t complex, but still take some getting used to. The combat and jumping interludes, which are rather rare in adventures, can best be mastered with a controller or keyboard. Some tasks can even only be solved with a Jump’n’Run approach, for example if I have to jump onto a ledge to collect an item there. If you don’t like the beat-em-up part, you can also deactivate it, but in the opposite case you can also optionally switch to a higher level of difficulty.

As a good detective, we connect clues to conclusions

You need to find the right clues

In the best adventure manner you will find tracks and solve small tasks. The difficulty remains shallow here. The situation is different with the conclusions that must be derived from one or two clues in order to convince a suspect to confess to everything. The deductions are quite confusing in places and it wasn’t always clear to me that two pieces of information should make sense together. But what is not done to enable the offspring to rise to the upper class. With each new assignment, Brok takes a closer look behind the scenes of the world of the better off. The robots that are doing their jobs everywhere are acting stranger and getting cheeky. Little by little I’m finding out why and what role Brok and Gaff play in it all.

In addition to these main tasks, there are also optional side quests. Through your behavior towards others and whether you solve a task with violence or brains, you also determine which of the 11 endings you will experience. Who do you make your enemy, who your friend? Later in the game, a former opponent will even help you if you treat them kindly and support them first. At the end of the game you also get an overview with all your decisions and solutions as well as relationships to all important characters. The possibility of jumping to each chapter in order to make different decisions there is very pleasant.

If you like a hearty brawl, you can look forward to the level system. Defeated opponents drop coins and give experience points. With these you rise and with each level up you can choose whether you want more life energy, more impact or more power for a special hit. A certain grind is possible in a VR battle arena, but the later fights are tough if you haven’t deactivated them. In the last quarter of the game, however, I switched to the easiest level of difficulty, because the opponent absolutely didn’t want to admit defeat in a mandatory fight.

Brock may be a crocodile, but he’s still a good walker

cause and effect
Again and again we are sent from one place to another and visit them with both characters at different times and thus also see the changes that the other has brought about. If the violent way was chosen with Brok to open a door, the wrought destruction is later visible with Graff. If the door was opened intelligently, this is also shown. By the way, up to three advertisements can be found in each room. They are not displayed via the hotspot system and are used to provide clues for solving the puzzles. The hints aren’t very helpful at first, but then become very clear as you redeem more ads for more tips.

Conclusion
Brok the Investigator offers a pleasing graphic style and integrates the jump-and-run inserts well. What bothered me time and again was the fact that there is always talk of “humanity” even though all the characters are anthropomorphic animals or robots. But the twists in the story have managed to logically absurd my assumptions as to who is up to evil here and why. Despite the comic graphics, the dark-melancholic, serious undertone of the story about a father who only wants the best for his stepson motivated me again and again to want to turn everything around for the better.

• Adventure genre mix for PC, Playstation and Xbox will follow
• single player
• For beginners to professionals
• 19.99 euros (Steam/GOG)
• In one sentence: gripping story, always loosened up by interesting genre leaps