{"id":78252,"date":"2023-02-10T00:21:42","date_gmt":"2023-02-10T08:21:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techreviewers.net\/preview-the-light-brigade-is-a-promising-roguelike-packing-realistic-ww2-guns-plenty-of-magic\/"},"modified":"2023-02-10T00:21:42","modified_gmt":"2023-02-10T08:21:42","slug":"preview-the-light-brigade-is-a-promising-roguelike-packing-realistic-ww2-guns-plenty-of-magic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techreviewers.net\/preview-the-light-brigade-is-a-promising-roguelike-packing-realistic-ww2-guns-plenty-of-magic\/","title":{"rendered":"Preview: \u2018The Light Brigade\u2019 is a Promising Roguelike Packing Realistic WW2 Guns & Plenty of Magic"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Slated to arrive on all major VR headsets later this month, The\u00a0Light Brigade <\/em>is well positioned to make a name among the top VR roguelikes, as it follows most visibly in the footsteps of bowshooter In Death (2018)<\/em>\u00a0in all the right ways.<\/em>\u00a0In our hands-on, we got to see just how Light Brigade<\/em> is setting itself apart though with a strong focus on an array of realistic WWII-era weapons and magical upgrades galore.<\/p>\n

Coming February 22nd, The\u00a0Light Brigade\u00a0<\/em>is\u00a0the latest VR title from\u00a0Funktronic Labs, the team behind\u00a0Fujii (2019)<\/em> and Cosmic Trip (2017)<\/em>. With a few hours of Quest 2 gameplay under my belt, I can say that The\u00a0Light Brigade<\/em> is certainly something to watch out for when it lands on PSVR 2, PSVR, Quest 2, and SteamVR headsets in the next two weeks.<\/p>\n

Although The\u00a0Light Brigade<\/em> isn\u2019t related to the award-winning roguelike bowshooter\u2014In Death<\/em> was developed by S\u00f3lfar Studios and Superbright\u2014there are more than a few comparisons here to make. The\u00a0Light Brigade<\/em>\u00a0similarly features a high degree of visual polish, well-realized enemy classes, and a fun array of weapons that make you really second guess stepping out from behind cover.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also culty as all hell, as you battle it out as an acolyte warrior of light on a quest to\u00a0pry the world from the grasps of the (totally not Nazi-inspired)<\/em> Obsidian Forces.<\/p>\n

What the hell does that all mean? I can\u2019t say just yet, but it all ends up feeling like a cool mix of World War-inspired trench warfare mixed in with a heaping dose of medieval-style religious quackery and magic.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Light Brigade<\/em>\u00a0tosses a smorgasbord of realistic weapons your way, all of which require a deft hand at manually reloading in the middle of a firefight. You\u2019ll get your hands on rifles and pistols, all of which are upgradeable. Besides the Mauser C96 (aka \u2018Broomhandle Mauser\u2019), most everything is what you\u2019d consider WWII standard stuff, including Gewehr 43, Sturmgewehr 44, Colt 1911,\u00a0M3 submachine gun (aka \u2018grease gun\u2019), and Nambu Pistol Model 14. Guns have a virtual weight to them too, so you won\u2019t be waggling around a 10-pound rifle or running too fast either when you\u2019re supporting the gun with your non-dominant hand.<\/p>\n

Each gun has three upgradeable power levels, which also let you tack on things like red dot scopes and powerful trinkets that allow you to charge and execute special shots.\u00a0There are also so mini potato masher-style grenades, health kits, and interesting tools like deployable decoys which draw enemy fire away from you.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll have to grind it out to level up each gun, which usually means sticking with the corresponding class long enough to generate points to sink into upgrades. The game\u2019s actual difficulty seems to scale relative to your weapon\u2019s current upgrade level, giving you more and different baddies to encounter as you head back in after your inevitable death\u2014although that\u2019s a bit of speculation on my side. There are two user-selectable difficulty levels though should things get too tough, \u2018Arcade\u2019 and \u2018Realistic\u2019.<\/p>\n

Levels start out fairly small in size, although all of them encourage exploration thanks to the important items that can be found around every corner, such as the game\u2019s tarot card upgrades that you\u2019ll find in glittering chests. These buffs stay in effect for your entire run, and are automatically applied when you choose one of the three presented to you from each chest.<\/p>\n

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Image courtesy Funktronic Labs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My typical level run goes more or less like this: kill every enemy in the level, comb the entire level again for lootable chests and other goodies, and then summarily step into a trap, like the sort of couter-weighted log traps Arnold Schwarzenegger tangoed with in the original Predator (1987), <\/em>or even a simple bear trap.<\/p>\n

Once I\u2019ve dusted off my stupidity, it\u2019s time to head to the level gate, which requires you to bring your hands together in prayer to activate\u2014a really cool and immersive touch. There are level bosses, although I only ever made it to the first, which I won\u2019t spoil for your here.<\/p>\n

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Image courtesy Funktronic Labs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meanwhile, I\u2019ll be playing a lot more of\u00a0The Light Brigade\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0and reserving my thoughts on game mechanics and immersion for the full review later this month. Still, it\u2019s safe to say I really enjoyed the entire vibe.<\/p>\n

One thing to note is that Funktronic Labs included a good number of comfort modes, including smooth turn, variable snap-turn, smooth locomotion, and teleportation. Currently, the game\u2019s inventory system includes a hip-mounted holster, which can be difficult to access whilst seated, making standing gameplay recommended at the time of this writing. We\u2019ll have more info in our deep dive review when the game launches on February 22nd.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, you can wishlist the game on Steam (PC VR)<\/a>, pre-order on PSVR 2 and PSVR<\/a>, and pre-order on Quest 2<\/a>\u2014priced at $25. Also, in case you missed out on the announce trailer, take a gander below: <\/p>\n