After 217 hours playing Brotato and countless runs, I figured it was time to share my take on whether or not Brotato is any good.
Namely, I want to talk about what makes Brotato different from its competition and which mechanics stand out.
TL;DR: Is Brotato Good?
Short answer: Yes.
Long answer: This game does combat differently, and that is its core selling point.
Playing as a vicious little potato in wacky outfits doesn’t hurt either.
The game is an excellent value, with many hours of fun to be had with each character at an accessible $4.99 price point on the Steam Store.
If you usually enjoy bullet heaven or arena shooter games, I’m confident you’ll enjoy this one.
Is Brotato Abyssal Terrors Good?
Perhaps you’re already knee deep in the potato chaos, wondering, is Abyssal Terrors any good?
Well, that depends.
Did you like Brotato’s core mechanics?
Want extra difficulty or find yourself thirsting for more?
If you answered yes to these, chances are you’ll think Abyssal Terrors is good.
You have fourteen new characters to play with, sixteen new weapons to wield, and thirty new items to try over the course of play. To top it off, the expansion adds a new map, twenty new enemies, elites, and bosses.
Is Brotato Multiplayer?
Yes, Brotato is multiplier and now supports traditional local co-op playstyle where you and teammates share the consequences and rewards of each other’s decisions.
Factors of My Brotato Review
Before we dig into the good stuff, here’s how I went about my review.
I stuck to a few core categories, as outlined below:
- Combat
- Price
- Controls
- Characters
- Builds
- Weapons
- Stats
- Platforms
- Difficulty
Brotato Combat
What makes this game stand out above most others within this genre is the satisfying, tactile, skill-driven combat mechanics.
Melee weapons feel tight, reward deliberate positioning. Ranged weapons feel a bit floaty and consistently reward kiting builds.
I have never had a “boring” round of Brotato, and there’s a reason for that.
While the map may remain fixed with only subtle, purely aesthetic variations, the rest of the game is practically defined by RNG. This leads to an incredible variety of gameplay, all centered around combat mechanics.
Play how you like; there is something for everyone.
GIF source: pl2w.com
Brotato Price
At $4.99 for the base game and $3.99 for the expansion, I’m more than satisfied with Brotato’s price.
I’ve had a couple of hundred hours of fun for under $10, which is an incredible value proposition.
Considering how many games in this niche have moved to $10+ for the base game, this is noteworthy.
Brotato Controls
Brotato’s controls aren’t out of the ordinary for a bullet heaven game, but the movement itself is a bit unique.
There is a precision and responsiveness to the movement that makes combat feel much punchier. This encourages movement mastery and makes skilling up your personal dodging reflexes a lot more fun.
It’s also worth noting, Brotato allows you to control your attacks if you opt into that option in settings.
Whether you’re WASD’ing or joysticking your way through this alien hellscape, you’ll notice the differences in movement compared to similar titles immediately.
Brotato Characters – What Is the Best Character In Brotato?
Characters feel one of a kind, truly distinct from each other.
The new items you unlock with each character also add a little extra incentive to replay those characters, as they generally reward stats that the specific character would benefit from above others.
Among all of Brotato’s characters, I love playing as engineering stat-centric characters most of all.
Engineer, entrepreneur, cyborg, and streamer are my favorites in particular.
Having dozens of little helpers dealing constant damage and creating breathing room scales very well into the late game, even on Difficulty 5.
In fact, the engineering characters are some of the strongest and easiest to master in the game.
If I were starting the game fresh, I’d try to use the Engineer for my first Danger 5 win. Your turrets will make you feel a smidge less lonely as you’re getting pummeled, too.
Brotato Builds – What is the Best Brotato Build?
Brotato build recommendations are tough, and I’m hesitant to provide any direct recommendations.
A broad general recommendation I can confidently make is that intuition will often betray you when planning a build around character-specific mechanics.
A simple example is the character Chunky, who gets 1% damage for every 3 max hp that they have and a 25% bonus to max hp upgrades.
You may be tempted to pick health cards and items early because of that bonus, but that would be a mistake.
While it is a nice extra bonus in the late game, you won’t snowball early, and you’ll struggle mid-game when you should be farming waves.
Brotato Weapons – What is the Best Brotato Weapon?
You get six of them, and yes, it is ridiculous. Almost all of the weapons are enjoyable, but a couple did fall short for me, like the Brick and Sharp Tooth.
Those aside, the remaining weapons are very satisfying to use, even on wave 1.
The club feels hefty and blunt. The throwing star feels lightweight and sharp. The laser pew is pewy. The smg brrr is brrry.
While we’re all probably hoping for a legendary weapon roll, it is rare that those legendary weapons will suit your build, and they’re totally unnecessary to have a good time. In fact, most of my ‘favorite’ weapons are the weapons you can start with.
You get it, weapons stand out here, and you’ll notice that distinction right away.
Photo Source: Aros_Rising Reddit
A Few Brotato Stats Explained
There are two stats worth digging into:
What Does Engineering Do In Brotato?
Some of Brotato’s stats require a little more explaining than others, and if you plan on taking the game all the way to completion, digging into the mechanics a bit deeper on one of the Brotato Wiki will level up your game knowledge fast.
For now, though, let’s cover a couple of the more common ‘complex’ stats.
As I mentioned before, I’m a total sucker for engineering, so I’ll start there. Engineering increases the damage and healing of several structures and weapons. Turrets, landmines, the Plank, and Screwdriver specifically.
That much is simple, but what isn’t explained is that there are several unique engineering-related items that can completely change a run, far more than other stats.
For example, the Pocket Factory turns destroyed trees into turrets, while the Bandana and Ricochet items scale projectile damage from turrets at a nearly “broken” rate.
What Does Harvesting Do In Brotato?
Another quick example is harvesting, which is pretty vague in the beginning. It’s actually quite simple: Harvest Stat Value – debuffs = currency received at the end of each round.
Meaning, it’s a passive investment that pays out at the end of each round you survive, no matter how well you did, which is critical for several characters and builds.
These two stats really stood out to me.
Image Source: Brotato Wiki – Harvesting
Brotato Platforms – Is Brotato Only On Desktop?
No, Brotato is not only on desktop.
I was shocked when I found out that Brotato is on several platforms: PC, consoles, and mobile.
If it has a screen and an interface, chances are that it supports Brotato.
Jokes aside, Brotato is on Switch, Xbox, PlayStation, Steam, Epic Games Store, Google Play Store, and the Apple App Store.
Brotato Difficulty
Now I’ll admit, this paragraph isn’t for everyone.
If you’re looking to ‘chill and kill’, you’ll enjoy Danger 1 and can skip this bit. With that out of the way, difficulty is a critically important factor for me in Roguelike, Roguelite, Bullet-Hell, and Bullet-Heaven games.
Difficulty can completely change the way you play.
For example, on Danger 5 (max difficulty) with a notoriously difficult hero like Arms Dealer, if you don’t snowball early on, chances are that you’ll lose before you make it to the mid-game.
While this may seem a bit restrictive and encourage ‘rerolling’ game-starts, there is something uniquely satisfying about barely squeaking by and hitting that one lucky shop upgrade that turns things around.
There’s more on screen, what is on screen hits harder and lives longer, a simple recipe.
I have spent easily half of my game time losing Danger 5 rounds, and I couldn’t be happier about that. If you’re anything like me and would rather lose 100 times on Danger 5 than win 200 times on Danger 1, welcome home.
Is Brotato on Switch?
Yes, Brotato is available on Switch, and it’s priced at $4.99.
Is Brotato on Xbox?
Yes, Brotato is on Xbox.
However, some issues have been reported by the Xbox player base, including lost saves and performance problems.
With that said, they’ve taken patches seriously, and it appears most issues have been reconciled.
Is Brotato on PlayStation?
Yes, Brotato is on PlayStation, but the same can be said about PlayStation; there are glitches you should be aware of, but it is unlikely you’ll experience them.
How to Play Brotato: 5 Quick Tips For Beginners
- Leverage your character’s weaknesses. If your character has a “throwaway” stat, take advantage of that. Use that stat as a currency to trade up for the stats that you need.
- Unless your build requires it, never stop moving. The chances are, there’s a slightly better position for you to be in at every second of the game.
- Spend as much of your currency as possible. The more you can spend, the stronger you’ll be in the next round. The stronger you are in the next round, the more currency you get. Don’t waste money, especially when you’re clearing waves completely and with ease.
- Don’t buy defensive items too early. Build your damage, then your economy, and then your health. There are exceptions, like legendary upgrades and items that will synergize well with your late-game build, but don’t pick up legendaries for the sake of it.
- Remember that you’ll need to do massive single-target damage in the end to kill the boss or bosses. Having wave-clearing potential is important for economy and levels, but in the end, you either have to endure the boss’s high damage area of effect mechanics for 90 seconds or kill them. You can imagine which is easier.
How to Beat Brotato
If you’re curious about beating difficulty five for your first time, consider the Engineer.
Play into the character’s obvious strengths. Stack engineering upgrades and engineering items until around wave 10, and then start to build out your defensive stats.
If you miraculously roll Ricochet or Bandana, pick them up or save them until you can.
Hover around your turrets, leading enemies through the highest turret coverage areas repeatedly as you kite. Rinse and repeat; the boss fight plays out the same way.
If you have a specific character in mind you’d like to try, take the extra two minutes and read one of the Brotato Wiki pages. A little info can take your gameplay to the next level, and the bragging rights won’t hurt.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are a few frequently asked questions I noticed beginner players had, so I thought I’d add a few here.
How Many Waves Are In Brotato?
There are twenty waves in Brotato.
Some of them are considered “farming waves,” others are thought to be potentially more difficult than the boss fight on wave 20, like “elite” waves. Brace for impact, RNG plays a role here.
How Do You Reach Level 10 Before Wave 6?
If you want to level up quickly enough to reach level 10 before wave 6, you’ll need a specific exp-focused build or a character that lends itself to those bonuses. Some people see this as a component of ensuring higher difficulty wins.
When Did Brotato Come Out?
Brotato had its full release on June 23, 2023, after a lengthy Early Access period where mechanics were refined.
Who Made Brotato?
Brotato was made by Blobfish, an indie publisher with three prior releases in this category.
Summary
Brotato is a blast. Even when you’re losing, the punchy combat and satisfying shop mechanics keep you locked in, hoping for a sliver of luck to keep you in the fight.
- The weapons are engaging, and the variety adds tons of replayability.
- The tight responsive movement deepens immersion and makes every keystroke or stick shift feel impactful.
- The characters each have distinct personalities and feel unique from the rest.
- The item shop is robust enough to get the job done, and items feel meaningful as soon as you get them.
- The music somehow feels appropriate for a potato on the hunt for aliens, whatever that means.
- The art style is top-notch, highlighting the ridiculousness of your little potato’s constant wardrobe and weapon changes with a nice somewhat ‘muted’ environment.
At the game’s current price, if you’re considering it, it is hard not to recommend the game.