Platform: PC
Developer: Double Stallion Games
Publisher: Kongregate
Release Date: September 19th, 2018
Genre: Action / Fighting / Indie
Nerd Rating: 8 out of 10
Reviewed by Kikopaff
Sparring with sluggers, prize-fighting brawls and climbing the ranks of cabal hoodlums. An anime-inspired brawler has entered the gaming scene and Double Stallion Games has developed a stylish combat-racer. Set in 1888 in the outskirts of London, a decade has passed since the Lunar War. The Lunar invaders (now known as Selenites) are the new workforce of the industrial revolution, opening doors of new opportunities for mankind. However, upon arriving at the bank of new endeavours, the working and middle classes grow disobedient and reckless with their new way of independence. Alas, the dissatisfaction births a new form of entertainment; an elite sport, where keen warriors can wage battle against the lowly Selenites to stand on a new platform of victory. Enter the world of Speed Brawl!
Speed Brawl offers a roster of six unique brawlers, but at the beginning of your experience, you play as Ebba, an adept and tenacious fighter; and Bia, Ebba’s personal bodyguard and Mexican boxer. Together, the tag team embarks on adrenaline rushing races and brawls in the pursuit to electrify Speed Brawl audiences. From dodging explosive grenades to dashing against enemies with powerful force, Speed Brawl showcases a range of fighting styles and enemies that are sure to leave you coming back for more.
Speed Brawl is a 2D combat-racer, a game that will certainly thrill the player if they already love all things speed and throwing a good punch. But even if you aren’t a seasoned veteran in holding a good fight or speeding through race tracks, Speed Brawl welcomes all types of players. Being a dominantly RPG gamer, playing a combat-racer sounds pretty bizarre at first thought. But after hours of literally sitting on the edge of my seat and shrieking at near K.O’s, Speed Brawl allows me to feel like I’m an expert at the duo-genre by simply letting me have fun. This is a game that meets you where you’re at; whether you enjoy a competitive play or are looking for something casual, Speed Brawl offers what you like and much more.
The typical level design in Speed Brawl involves a standard championship, made up of three races. Your performance is measured by how quickly you can defeat all enemies and cross the finish line. Combat is the cherry on top in Speed Brawl and is a wonderful sight to watch as you dash and attack your enemies, and cleverly time your ultimate attacks to unleash your brawler into a frenzy of power. But behind every punch is a strategy, and Speed Brawl rewards the player who takes their time to assess the playground and carefully think through their plays. For example, certain Selenites have weak spots such as their backs or above their head, which took me several brawls to figure out. Dashing against walls and poles allow you to quickly reach your opponents from a distance, and counter-attacks can be crucial in avoiding an instant K.O. There are open windows to watch out for during your brawl, like a quick flash from a Selenite which indicates they’re about to attack you. This is a perfect hint for you to block or counter-attack, but the timing of your desired move is important. Even if you had an intended play, Speed Brawl quickly notes that speed is not only important on the field, but in your reflexes too.
Unleash special and ultimate attacks when your stamina and focus bars are full.
Thankfully, there is a tutorial mode that enables you to learn the tips and tricks of Speed Brawl and makes sure you enter the battlefield ready, in spirit and in skill. Playing on PC, it does take some time to get used to the key binds, but keys can easily be customised to what suits your playstyle and if you’re still feeling a tad uncomfortable, Speed Brawl supports hand-held controllers. Though finding your best tool doesn’t necessarily make races any less challenging. Speed Brawl is tough. The arena and finding your own playstyle will take some getting used to. Executing that perfect counter-attack may take some practice in the advanced tutorial mode before you’re ready to show off to your friends just how good you are. But completing a championship feels rewarding, and as you progress, there are new challenges to meet which allows your Speed Brawl experience to never feel dull. Tougher environments and enemies are fun to discover and overall feels fair; and with six brawlers to choose from, you can mix your tag team to achieve the best synergy leading to your sweet victory.
If that experience isn’t enough for you, there are other types of races, also known as Challenges. For example, Pole Races involve swinging through every pole in the run and race to the finish line; in Big Bad, brawlers are required to do as much damage as they can within a time limit; and in Centurion, 100 snarling Rippers must be bashed into submission. Each Challenge poses unique modes of difficulty and is a refreshing avenue if you’re needing a break from the standard championship run. The Challenges feel fun, rewarding and distinct from one another, so you never feel like you’re doing the same race or brawl repeatedly.
Ready… steady… Speed Brawl!
No matter what type of race you complete, Speed Brawl has an abundance of prizes to win and collect. At the end of each victory, you receive prizes. With over 200 gear items to collect, Speed Brawl offers enough incentive for you to keep playing to earn sweet loot. However, the prizes often fail to reflect or complement your sense of victory. I found myself opening the same loot that I got in previous races. Whilst prizes have tier levels which indicate its rarity and overall value, Speed Brawl‘s rewarding system feels a little bit like manual labour, and there were a few times where it killed my buzz after a victory because I opened the same glove for the fifth time. Thankfully, getting duplicates allows you to sell them, gaining more coins which you can use to purchase items in the game’s shop. There are plenty of opportunities to earn coins throughout your Speed Brawl experience, so you don’t always have to rely on end-race prizes. Saving up on coin also gives you more control over what items you want for each brawler.
“Flaming mittens” doesn’t sound as cool when you’ve looted it multiple times.
However, when you do snag a good loot, it’s exciting to see which fighters benefit from it. Some items are limited to certain fighters. For example, Bia seems to have more items that focus on defence, whereas Cassie holds more priority over damage. Skill traits also enable a deeper layer of character customisation. There are over 70 unique skill traits for players to choose from and transforms each brawler into your own, depending on what techniques, offence and defence you select. My Cassie will look different to another player’s take on her adorable, French attitude. Not only do skill traits customise the brawler’s abilities, but you can also alter a brawler’s appearance. For example, Cassie has an appearance with more oranges and greens, and another set that’s more broody, with dark purples and magentas. Speed Brawl does a wonderful job of making the player feel satisfied and in control of their decisions.
Speed Brawl‘s visual palette is reminiscent of the style from superhero manga and anime series, My Hero Academia. Trails of bright greens or pinks, explosions of yellows and oranges – Speed Brawl is a bonanza of colours! Every punch, dash, dodge and jump feels fluid and effortless. The backgrounds of each race are also true to the game’s industrial revolution setting and remain authentic to the plot. There’s something about Speed Brawl‘s animation that makes you feel like it’s a comic strip coming to life and there isn’t a single frame that feels out of place. The opening animation’s score reminds me so vividly of Japanese shōnen style soundtracks aka rock ballads about the power of friendship, love and teamwork. It’s overly cheesy, but you can’t help but feel excited and part of the greater team. Throughout your experience, you’ll be tuning in to more powerful guitar riffs that make you feel all the more powerful and tough in your match ups. It’s a perfect score for the world of Speed Brawl. Dialogue texts that appear between races are also cheeky and fun and is a perfect opportunity to delve deeper into the back stories of your brawlers, as well as insight into their personalities.
Speed Brawl supports both online and local co-op play.
Speed Brawl‘s primary replayability factor is through the timers in each race. Depending on how quickly you finish a race, you’re given a bronze, silver or gold trophy. For the competitive players out there, this will give you enough challenge and motivation to keep coming back for Speed Brawl‘s playgrounds. There are certain races where achieving gold is doable, but I found myself caring more about progressing through each league and finding new chapters to explore than re-running through the same race unless I kept losing. Beyond that, I didn’t really have an incentive to keep playing unless it was introducing the game to friends, playing with them or trying to complete Challenges I hadn’t embarked on yet. I also enjoyed looking through the in-game shop and finding items to unlock, which encouraged me to keep playing races in order to gain more in-game currency.
Willy wants you to know that Cassie is his girlfriend. Cassie wants you to know that Willy is an intolerable cretin with bad breath and poor hygiene.
Speed Brawl is a stylish combat-racer that provides plenty of punch, kick and personality. Its setting offers unique playgrounds for players to brawl and test their skills to the limit, making Speed Brawl one of the most fun games I’ve played this year. With enough brawlers to select and combine as a tag team, and new enemies to overcome, Speed Brawl offers many incentives for players to stick to the fight, enticing you with customisation and rewards. Though the rewards can feel a little repetitive and unfair, the challenge that Speed Brawl poses gives enough motivation to either claim a gold trophy in your next race or customise your brawler further with set skill traits, appearance changes and new gear. If you enjoy games like Castle Crashers, or franchises like Street Fighter or Tekken, then Speed Brawl might be the next big fight for you to win.
Written by Kikopaff
Kikopaff is an avid fan of comics, slurps many bowls of ramen, and lives in the Land Down Under. When she’s not writing about video games, she is playing Sid Meier’s Civilization VI or buried in a Terry Pratchett book. She also loves cooking up a storm in her kitchen.
