Bravery and Greed Review

Sometimes it takes work to find a game that has good multiplayer and single-player at the same time. If one is good, the other may feel a little lacklustre — like the majority of the titles’ development was spent on only one area. Developer Rekka Games, along with publisher Team17, have delivered Bravery and Greed that delivers in both areas. This roguelite action/adventure game is challenging and addictive, whether you are playing solo or with others.

The game starts with our four heroes in a tavern, drinking and making plans to strike it rich by getting to the Dwarven Sky Fortress. This won’t be an easy task; to unlock the door that leads to the fortress, they need the four runes: chaos, order, life, and darkness. To get these runes, you will have to play through the four appropriately themed levels and defeat the boss waiting for you at the end of the dungeon. In the dungeons, you will find monuments where you can select the type of path that you will follow on that run. The life path will have health-themed boosts, chaos focuses on attack damage and agility, order deals with technical abilities, and darkness rewards greed. Whichever route you select will have the type of enhancement you will get whenever you go to a monument during that run. If you die during your adventure, you will have to start at the beginning once again. Still, first, you will see a recap screen that shows how many enemies you have defeated and how much gold you collected. It will also give you titles according to how you did during your run: pacifist, gardener, pot breaker, or glutton. The Greed o’ Meter fills based on the amount of gold you collected during your run. You can unlock items like arcanum cards or different types of followers and wands that can appear in a dungeon during your future runs. 

Once an arcanum card is activated, it can make your run easier or harder depending on the card you equip. Usually, when a card has a good perk, it means there is also a drawback. For instance, get 40% more gold on your run, but the enemies are stronger, so you will have to figure out which is more beneficial for you. It adds an exciting twist, and it’s always rewarding to unlock new arcanum after each defeat. There are even cards for playing multiplayer adventure mode; the fool card will let your group come back to life if you are willing to give up some gold. 

There are four different classes of characters to select from — Rogue, Warrior, Amazon, or Wizard; multiple people can be in the same class if you are playing with others. Luckily, you can change the colour of your hair and clothing to make it easier to spot your character from the others on the screen. All the classes played well; there weren’t any that felt incredibly weak compared to the others. Classes offer a variety of ways to deal damage; whether they smash enemies up close with a melee weapon or attack from a distance by wielding a bow or magic.

There are four inventory slots for items you pick up during your run; you can carry one glove, pair of boots, amulet, and a wand. If you happen to pick up another kit item when you already have one equipped, you will have to select which one you keep, and the other will get tossed. This could be beneficial if you play with others as they can pick up the equipment you don’t want to keep! It takes time to determine which items are more useful than the others. As you play more, you will find that some of the equipment works better for your fighting style than others. Unlike items, potions let you carry as many as you want; the highest I’ve had on a run is six. Fortunately, you can hold on to these for big boss fights as barrels and treasure chests will give you fruit that helps replenish your health so you can save the potions.

While exploring the dungeon, you have a map showing all the areas you have been to thus far. It makes it easier to backtrack if you need and show places with followers for you to recruit. A follower will help you fight and stick around until they are out of health. If you see a cage with a wolf or person calling for help, it is worth the effort to let them out. Anyone that can help take out some of the enemies in these hordes is always beneficial. Luckily you are allowed to have more than one follower at once, they don’t always last very long, but any help is appreciated.

Bravery and Greed has a great soundtrack and beautiful pixel graphics that remind me of some of the best-looking titles on the SNES. Various monsters, each with its own sound effects, inhabit these caves, ranging from skeletons to slimes. When you enter a room, a pink barrier blocks the door, locking you in until you defeat all the creatures in that room. One-on-one, they aren’t terrifying, but when you get a massive rush of monsters all at once, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Every third room you clear, you will be rewarded with a treasure chest that rewards you with gold, fruit to replenish your health, and items to equip to get stronger. The miniature fruit is adorable when it flies out of the treasure chest. Remember that if you play with others, you have to share or be greedy and take as much as you want; it is totally up to you!

I enjoyed how I could play through the adventure mode solo or if I wanted help, I could play locally with up to three other people. If you don’t have other people you can play with locally, there is always an option to play online. There are a variety of different modes available to play multiplayer such as: survival where you try to defeat as many waves of enemies as you can. There is also split-screen PVP and team PVP with modes like free for all, king of the hill, and deathmatch for you to enjoy with your family and friends. Though I can’t promise that everyone will be happy with the results! 

Bravery and Greed is the perfect title for people looking for a game that is fun to play solo and for playing with others locally and online. I especially love being able to play split-screen locally as it’s not very common to see anymore. This game is incredibly challenging and frustrating when you make a lot of progress and have to start over. However, being rewarded with cool loot when you die helped soften the blow a bit. If you are a fan of roguelite dungeon brawlers with a variety of different items and abilities to learn depending on the path you choose to follow, Bravery and Greed is a game that you have to check out. Though I guarantee there will be arguments with friends and frustration may occur!