Brigador is a fantastic game.

Imagine for a bit, a Latin American Country decides it has had enough with Earth and decides to move to a distant planet. Of course, space companies run by philantropists like Beff Jezos or Melon Husk are also there, ready to engage in vile acts of terrorism to improve the country via destabilisation. You are a Brigador, a ruthless killer in a death machine hired by these companies to drive your Tesla™ Tank and your Amazon™ Mech and your Microsoft ® Hovertank all over the populated urban centres of this planet.
The Brigador can be one of a variety of characters of every gender and colour, all in service of the neoliberal dream of people of all colours being capable of committing atrocities that your average American Private Military contractor can pull off.

Set your Controls to Relative. It's rough at first, but once it becomes natural you'll start enjoying the fantastic art, music and sound direction. I would like to be emphatic when I praise these things. This game came out during the peak of the synthwave aesthetic back in 2016, and perfectly captures it.

The art you will enjoy will not last. Why? You need money. What makes money? Death and destruction of infrastructure. Everything that moves can be killed, everything that is standing can be torn down. It's actually quite amazing how the engine for this game works. I'd like to explain it to you, but I simply don't understand programming. All I can do is enjoy the pretty colours my big gun makes as it turns housing complexes into open air concrete gardens.

Playing it is intense, stimulating, exhilarating. intermittent moments of planning and bursts of movement and gunfire. Outmaneuver the guards, play dirty and make loads of money.

The very premise of this game is horrifying, the actions of the player characters are chilling and it's almost unbelievable what the companies are willing to do to establish a corporate presence (almost, please google Coca Cola Columbia Death Squads for more, among other examples). The only solace I'm willing to offer you is that this will likely never happen. There are no Latin American countries in space, and if we know anything about Elon Musks Rocket, it's that it won't be going to Mars, it will be going to the Middle East instead (https://www.businessinsider.com/musks-spacex-partners-us-military-to-deliver-weapons-by-rockets-2020-10)

Reviewed on Jan 15, 2021


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