Brave Soldier: Invasion of Cyborgs XSX Review 6.5/10 "Cyborgs Schmyborgs" 🤖 @eastasiasoft #IndieGames #GameDev

Brave Soldier – Invasion of Cyborgs is a pretty direct run ‘n-gun shooter in a 16-bit style. The game sees – as you would assume from the title – cyborgs invade Earth, and (for some reason) only you can stop them.

Brave Soldier – Invasion of Cyborgs has a tremendous little intro that will remind some folks out there of a certain Contra game on the SNES. Beyond that funky intro – it’s quite a standard 2D shooter over thirty stages and three bosses that is accompanied by music that works well for a while but does get a little repetitive.

In terms of the controls – it’s very much a three-button affair. One button shoots, one jumps and the other fires off a charged shot (built up by not getting hit and successful consecutive enemy hits).

The game starts off with an incredibly simple difficulty curve, each of the thirty stages – aside from the three boss levels – sees your character moving from left to right and blasting cyborgs with a small array of weaponry. Only one gun can be used at a time, but others can be picked up, whilst they have infinite ammo – a single hit from an enemy causes you to revert back to your standard assault rifle.

As mentioned above, the game is pretty breezy for the first third or so, and then the difficulty ramps up in terms of environmental hazards such as mines, explosive areas and whirling saw-blades. Following the first boss, a noticeable rise in difficulty ensures that you slow down your run. The energy bar is generous but can drop ultra-quickly in later levels, and there’s no way to replenish your health mid-level – so a careful approach is needed!

SUMMARY

All in all, Brave Soldier – Invasion of Cyborgs feels extremely generic and comes across as an entry-level game in the run ‘n gun genre.

It’s a budget title that will keep players entertained for a couple of hours, but don’t expect to be blown away by this one.