Brief Battles is a couch co-op game for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC by developer Juicy Cupcake. The game focuses on brawling battles and platforming. What separates this game from others in the genre is it’s humor and use of superpower-granting underwear!
Brief Battles has four single-player modes. In “Tighty White Targets,” players must break all targets within a certain time limit. “Underpants Collector” sees players having to grab all underpants in a stage, while avoiding obstacles, before the timer ends. The final two single-player modes can be played with a friend. “Butt-em-up” and “Endless Butt-em-up” pit players against hordes of strange foes. The regular version sends enemies in waves, while the other is an endless horde mode.
The game really shines with its multiplayer modes. Two of these will be familiar to players who have played a brawler before. “Classic Battle” lets you earn points by defeating opponents. “Knockout” mode is a last player standing match style. The other two multiplayer modes are unique to the underpants nature of the game. In “Hold the Gold” mode, you win by picking up the golden underpants and keeping them for twenty accumulative seconds. Finally, to win “Underpants Collector,” you just have to grab the most pairs of underpants by the time the match ends.
The overall control scheme of Brief Battles is a very familiar to modern platforms. You can double and super jump and have the ability to crash to the ground to defeat your enemies. Much like Super Mario Bros., players have power-ups that grant them special abilities. There are several different powers, from the ability to fling green balls of goo to moving with the speed of a cheetah. What separates Brief Battles from those games, though, is the ability to stick to walls and ceilings, much like a certain web-swinging friendly neighborhood superhero.
Brief Battles is a fun party game and great if you have friends over. Unfortunately most of the single player modes can be finished in a few hours and the multiplayer is same couch only. It would be a 5 star game, but is limited by the lack of online play.
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