Blast Brigade, or Blast Brigade vs The Evil Legion of Dr. Cread, is a 2D action-platformer that puts players in the middle of an 80s pulp action movie. The preview build explored the first biome of the game, a handful of bosses, and a hearty amount of action-comedy that would fit right in with shows like Venture Bros. Blast Brigade looks to be a pretty solid release but as it currently stands, there are some balance issues in the gameplay and, without the full context of the game, some story elements seem to verge on problematic.
Blast Brigade is being developed by the Russia bassed studio, Allods Team. The year is 1989 and players are put in the shoes of B.L.A.S.T super-spy Jeff Jefferson as he and his teammates crash land on a remote island that just so happens to be occupied by the villainous Dr. Cread and his army. While the preview only featured Jeff, there will be multiple characters to control throughout the game.
Gunplay is the center of Blast Brigade's action and thankfully, it feels really good. The base assault rifle does a decent amount of damage and some of the secondary weapons pack a surprising punch. The platforming is just as good, providing various ways to traverse each level. The player can control the height of Jeff's jump via how long the jump input is held down and special equipment will be found to make platforming even more fluid, such as a belt to provide a horizontal dash. These elements work so well because it doesn't seem to be trying to reinvent anything, instead it chooses to fully embrace the touchstones of its genre.
Blast Brigade's gameplay and mechanics overall feel solid and responsive, however there are a few places where it falls short - like how to heal, for example. The healing mechanic requires the player to hold down the ability's input, which results in Jeff taking his time to drink his health juice. Where this becomes a problem is in the boss fights because there is never enough time to finish healing and, even if they manage to do it, the player will get hit almost immediately.
There is, however, a more problematic aspect that's present throughout: The remote island in the Blast Brigade preview is inhabited by Indigenous people with dark skin who are depicted as scared and primitive, wearing leaves as clothing and hiding in bushes while Jeff and his team take over and "upgrade" their village. It's not just the B.L.A.S.T team, however, as the overall story revolves around Dr. Cread "enslaving [the island's] inhabitants to help him build his giant doomsday robot," as stated in the game's press release. The same release goes on to highlight that the B.L.A.S.T team will have to "master strange, ancient technology" to save the island and the world, playing into further stereotypes of Indigenous peoples being mystical and advanced while simultaneously needing to be saved by external forces.
This is likely not a malicious choice, rather an unfortunate oversight due to satirizing other action movie stereotypes, including American exceptionalism, the cold Russian KGB agent, and the big American "himbo" that somehow manages to save the day. One of the playable heroes is a native of the island, which suggests the Indigenous people could be portrayed with more agency later in the story, but having a story based on enslavement at all seems wholly unnecessary for a villain with an army at his command and non-human monsters that share the island. There is potential here in every other aspect of Blast Brigade, but the harmful stereotyping of Indigenous peoples is a significant problem that detracts from the overall experience.
Blast Brigade early access opens in September 2021 or PC via Steam. Release for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch expected in early 2021. Screen Rant was provided the a PC preview build for the purpose of this preview.
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