BROK the InvestiGator Review

BROK the InvestiGator is the latest title in the list of games that have been released with a reptile protagonist. This title is a classic point-and-click adventure with RPG elements with a sprinkle of beat 'em up action. BROK promises that adventure and mystery will be the driving force behind the game; you can skip fights if you want a pure point-and-click experience. BROK the InvestiGator has an art style reminiscent of the Disney Afternoon cartoons of the '90s that I used to watch as a kid. You are taking on the role of an alligator detective investigating a mystery in this post-apocalyptic world where animals have replaced humankind. The world's air is horribly polluted; the wealthy and privileged citizens live inside a protective dome, whereas the poor and "lesser" people live on the outside, struggling to live. 

When you start BROK the InvestiGator, you can create a new game or do a quick fight. The quick fight mode lets you take on an endless horde of enemies on the streets, seeing how long you can last before you are defeated. This mode is incredibly addictive when trying to beat your previous score! When you start a new file there are three difficulties to select from: Relaxed — You're here for the puzzles and story (it's like a regular point-and-click adventure), Standard — If you want some action to go along with your adventure, Hardcore — If you want a challenge this is the setting for you, be sure to use a controller! 

The introduction to the game is quite intense; Brok is in a room engulfed in fire. You have no idea what happened, but you can hear Lia, your wife, yelling. She is trapped under some rubble, and no matter what he does, Brok can not get her free. Lia is telling him that this is all his fault; he killed her and killed him. She calls him a liar and says that he is worthless and dangerous. The ground starts shaking, and he knows that the building will collapse. He tells Lia that he will stay with her to the end, and she calls him a liar and says she will never forgive him. That's when Brok wakes up from this nasty dream; it's clear that he feels incredibly guilty about the fire and thinks he is responsible for Lia's death.

Brok is living with Lia's son Graff; he has been caring for him for the last five years since his mother died. Their relationship is tenuous, but Brok is trying his hardest to provide for him the best he can. Brok used to be a professional fighter, but now he is a private investigator. The game is divided into chapters; the first chapter being called "Across the Border". Brok receives a call from a police officer named Sin; he won't tell you any of the details over the phone as he thinks it may be tapped. So you go to his apartment and learn that he lost his gun and the handmade handkerchief from his wife while he was on patrol in Alley #12. The hard part is since Brok is considered lower-class and as a Slumer he isn't allowed to go into the domed area, so he will have to figure out a way to get access inside the dome so he can continue his investigation.

While on your adventure, you will travel to different areas on the map and potentially get into fights if you had selected one of the harder difficulties. To replenish your health meter when it gets low, you can eat food like burgers or fruit called Pampalos (which is only 5% pesticide, so Brok considers it fresh fruit). Energy drinks that will boost your strength for 30 seconds will come in handy for fighting against multiple enemies or boss fights. Each area has three QR codes (Brok calls them ads or coupons) that you can collect and use to get a hint of where you need to go next. I admit I had to use them a few times when I was stuck and couldn't figure out how to progress the story. It can get frustrating when you go back to all the previous locations and can't figure it out! Though the game has excellent voice acting — each voice fits the character they were trying to be perfectly — so I didn't mind having discussions with the other characters multiple times! Great voice acting was a pleasant surprise, as even bigger games don't have voice acting as good as this.

It was interesting to see the divisions of the different economic classes in BROK the InvestiGator. Since the Drumers are wealthy, they have robots to clean or help them around the house called Tribots. There is no way for a Slumer to afford robots like these; they live in the rough areas outside of the dome where they have to worry about the pollution levels in the air. It's bad enough that they need to take pills daily to fight off all the negative effects. Brok has a side job where he fights almost every night at an arena to make some extra money. Being an investigator doesn't always pay the bills, especially when you have clients who don't have a lot of money.

I found the story's first chapter a bit slow and hard to get into. After that crazy intro with Brok's nightmare, the game slowed down a lot. Looking back, it makes sense that the game is set up this way. There are many things to learn and story elements that have to happen before you can progress. Once I got through the first chapter and got a chance to play as the second character, Graff, the story really picked up. It was nice to see things from a different viewpoint. Graff is young and has dreams of getting a diploma from the Consciousness Centre — a fancy term for school — and becoming a Drumer so he can live under the dome with a good job.  

As you progress through the story, you understand more about Brok, why he doesn't trust any robot, and why he is an investigator. We learn that Brok used to be a Drumer and live under the dome with the other wealthy citizens. After Lia passed, he wasn't considered a Drumer anymore and was forced to go live outside the dome with the other Slumers. I became invested in the stories of Brok and Graff and had to find out what happened to them in this world. Brok seems like a very nice guy trying his hardest to deal with this new world and provide a good life for Graff and himself. 

BROK the Investigator is a great point-and-click adventure game with fun fighting action segments with a deep and complex story. The stories of these characters teach you the motivations of each person you meet and why they do what they do. Touching on political and economic elements, this story is a lot more serious than you would think a game would be. Especially one starring an alligator and a bunch of other animals in a world full of robots who take on the roles of police officers and other roles previously held by humans would be. Depending on the choices you make during the game, there are multiple different endings that you can unlock. Your first playthrough will probably take over 10 hours to complete. You can always create multiple save files to jump back before that even occurs if something doesn't go how you want it to. Or, if you finish the game, you can use this to go back and try to unlock another one of the endings. 

If you are a fan of point-and-click adventures with a beautiful art style and a great story, you will want to check out BROK the InvestiGator. Don't expect this to be a straightforward game you will fly through in no time. You will need to use your brain and figure out how to use the items you have with the different objects you can interact with in other locations. Be prepared to visit the various areas multiple times as you discover new items as the story progresses.