Brume

[h1]Short Review[/h1] Brume is a cool little atmospheric action-adventure from Sokpop Collective that gets a lot of mileage out of its aesthetic and exploration, but it trips over some pretty frustrating design choices and bugs that hold it back from being an easy recommendation. The combat works well enough, and the vibe is pretty solid, but janky hitboxes, game-breaking bugs, a punishing checkpoint system, and an achievement list that forces multiple uninspired playthroughs add up to an experience that is rougher around the edges than it needs to be. Recommended, but don't expect this to be a polished hidden gem. [h1]Full Review[/h1] Brume is a short action-adventure from Sokpop Collective where you explore a foggy abandoned island, fight your way through knights, leeches, beetles, and ghosts, and make your way to a corrupted keep. It bills itself as a bite-sized experience clocking in around one to two hours (not to 100%, though). Going in expecting a tight little atmospheric adventure is the right mindset. Going in expecting a polished one might leave you a little frustrated. [b]The aesthetics and atmosphere.[/b] This is where Brume shines. The muted pixel art style leans into grays, greens, and weathered browns, and the fog that drifts across the island does real work in creating a sense of mystery and decay. Enemy sprites and environmental details are well-animated without being overly flashy, and the occasional cinematic camera angle gives certain moments a sense of scale that the minimalist presentation otherwise wouldn't suggest. The sound design backs all of this up nicely, too. Brume uses silence and ambient noise more than it uses music, and when music does come in, it is understated in a way that fits the tone rather than fighting it. The crunch of footsteps, the echo of distant enemies, the metallic clash of combat, all of it reinforces the atmosphere the game is going for. On a purely aesthetic level, Brume nails it. This is honestly the reason why I even got the game, as I liked the vibes from the look of the trailer and images. [b]The combat.[/b] The combat is not overly complex, but it works for what this game is trying to do. There are actually some genuinely difficult fights, and enemies are not just pushovers you can brute force through without thinking (at the start). Where it gets frustrating is in the jankier corners of the system. Hitboxes are inconsistent, occasionally making you question whether a hit should have connected. The animation canceling works in one direction only: you can chain attacks together freely, but committing to an attack locks you out of blocking or dashing until the very end of the animation, which feels excessive. I-frames from dashing also seem inconsistent, which is a real problem in a game where dodging is one of your core tools. And the health system has a weird quirk where your character can carry two HP bars but respawns with only one, even though getting the second back takes about 15 seconds of absorbing health from minor enemies near checkpoints. If I can get it back that fast anyway, just let me respawn with it. [b]The bugs.[/b] There are some genuinely gamebreaking ones. The worst I ran into was trying to swap weapons and having every icon and the entire HUD disappear. Going back to the main menu didn't fix it; the Sokpop startup logo didn't even appear when I tried. Closing and restarting the game was the only solution. For a game this short, hitting a bug that forces a full restart is a pretty significant problem. [b]The story and world.[/b] There is not much here in the way of story or explanation. You are on an island, there is a corrupted keep, go fight things. If you need narrative context to stay engaged, Brume is not going to give it to you. That is a valid design choice for this type of atmospheric game, but it is worth knowing going in. [b]The achievements.[/b] Getting 100% requires replaying the game multiple times across three different challenge modes. The problem is that those modes are not different enough to make repeat playthroughs feel worthwhile. The game does not have a lot of replay value to begin with, and being asked to go through it again and again for achievements that do not introduce anything meaningfully new gets old fast. There is also no save point near the final boss, which is one of those small oversights that somehow manages to be more annoying than it sounds, especially when I was doing the achievements to kill the final boss with a stick and one to kill the final boss with a big spoon. [b]Overall.[/b] Brume is a cool game with a strong aesthetic foundation and a combat system that mostly works. If you are looking for a short, atmospheric action-adventure to spend an hour or two with, there is something here worth experiencing. But the janky hitboxes, the frustrating checkpoint and health systems, the gamebreaking bugs, and the thin achievement structure all chip away at what could have been a cleaner recommendation. Worth picking up on sale if the vibe appeals to you, but just go in knowing this game is a bit janky and the achievement hunt won't exactly be the most fun. [code]If you liked this review, then feel free to check out my [url=https://www.youtube.com/@VinroyIsViral]YouTube Channel[/url] for more reviews. I also have a curator group called [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/43774503-The-Completionist-Crusaders/]"The Completionist Crusaders"[/url] that focuses more toward completionists. Thank you, and happy gaming![/code]

game can be permanently bugged for some people, where the game starts up and goes to a black screen with some text that you cant proceed from. this is a known issue and nothing has been done to fix it in a long time. best to avoid unless they actually decide to fix it

The Good: I love the aesthetic and how it gives an ominous tone with everything. Reminds, me of "No one lives under the lighthouse" and the sound design of the game. Very sweet and short and may pick up again for my souls-like urge. It felt like nice pacing and not asking too much. Very simple and easy to follow. The Bad: Janky *ss hit boxes at times. It was hard at first knowing where to go but got the hang of it fast. Wish there was more variety of weapons. But most of all, a place to rest outside of the castle. I didn't want most of my playtime running everytime back and forth. The Ugly: I hate how most souls-like games have very difficult achievements. It's already designed to be difficult. Even official FromSoftware achievements don't have the "Bare-hand only run" or something along those lines. Conclusion: All in all I really enjoyed the game with how ominous it is. The style and setting is great. Just think it needs slight adjustment for hit boxes and rest area placement. I can see myself coming back to this game for the souls-like itch.

Nice lil soulsy snack. Will probably play another mode in the future when deciding what major title to play next.

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Short but sweet.

Short, stylish and atmospheric combat based game. An interesting adventure!