World Warriors In Your Pocket: A Pocket Bravery Review

By Manuel

Players: 1-2
Platforms: PC (Steam)

It's not often that I get a chance to review a fighting game here at A-to-J, and even rarer that I get a chance to review one that comes from the indie scene. I'd imagine that creating a balanced fighting game from scratch is no small task, but that's exactly what Brazilian developer Statera Studios has set their sights on for years. Pocket Bravery came to life around 2020, though it took a while to get off the ground. After some other hiccups, its creator launched a (sadly unsuccessful) Indiegogo campaign in 2022, and eventually got a full release the following year. It's currently a PC exclusive at the time of this writing, though I wouldn't be surprised if a console release is in this game's future. There's going to be a lot to cover in this one, so let's dive right in!

Story

I'll be the first to admit that story isn't always an important factor in a fighting game, but let's take a look at what Pocket Bravery offers nevertheless. I may be jumping ahead of the review a bit, but Pocket Bravery has several game modes, with the two most prominent being Arcade and Story. Even though Arcade Mode allows you to take a character game's end relatively quickly, it doesn't really offer much in the way of plot. As a matter of fact, each character only seems to have one win or lose screen, and rarely even have anything interesting to say to each other before the start of a match. The arcade endings are just as basic, and that's something I found that pretty annoying since the cast is rather diverse, and you'd think the Arcade Mode will be where they come to life. It seems that if you want any sort of plot at all, then Story Mode is the only option open to you here.

Where do I begin when it comes to Story Mode. Much of the mode follows Nuno Alves, a former member of a group known as The Pack. Its leader is the big boss of the game, and he's the leader of The Pack, Hector. Hector and Nuno recently butted heads, and Hector has sent our main character to a prison known as The Kennel. It's here that Nuno meets Lobo, an old man who helps him break out of The Kennel. From there they meet up with Mingmei, an agent of a group known as The Ghost Hat. Together they set off to bring down Hector and The Pack, in the most drawn out way possible. Each story scene is told in complete silence (no voice acting here!), and in slow-paced, single panels. I'm not exaggerating when I say that it takes about ten minutes to get to the next in-game fight during the Story Mode, and there's even an unskippable Tutorial that seems redundant since there's already an extensive Tutorial in the Main Menu. Then there's the fights themselves. Most fights in Story Mode are against several nameless bad guys in a style that reminded me a lot of Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero. Let me clarify that I mean that comparison in the worst way possible. Enemies come at you from both sides, come at you in waves, and dying means you have to watch the minutes-long, voice-less cutscene that came before the fight all over again. If the Story Mode ever opens up to anything more interesting, I never found out. I gave up after about an hour of playing. It is by far the worst Story Mode I've ever played in a fighting game before, and that's saying a lot.

Like I referenced earlier, I would probably forgive the rather boring Story Mode if the Arcade Mode picked up some of the slack, but it doesn't. If you want to learn more about the characters, and have the same issues with the Story Mode's pacing, then you're simply out of luck. With that said, I'm not even sure that the other characters even appear in the Story Mode. I didn't see them in my limited time, and I have to wonder how they'd even be worked in. There are other issues with it too that made it near unplayable at times, but we're going to have to move on to gameplay before we discuss those.

Gameplay

Pocket Bravery plays a lot like the King of Fighters series, but with some quirks that make it unique. You have your standard attacks and special moves, with some of those moves requiring the use of a special elemental gauge. This gauge actually plays a part within the Story Mode, as it's explained that only certain people in the world are able to harness the chi-like power it provides. In short, this gauge allows Pocket Bravery's cast to do things like throw fireballs. I didn't feel the need to mention it earlier since it really isn't all that important beyond an explanation as to why they're able to perform these feats. Long-winded explanations aside, all this essentially means is that some of your special attacks, and I don't mean moves that would probably be referred to as "super attacks", need a pre-requisite amount of power in said bar in order to be performed. The elemental gauge is filled up via fighting, and performing pretty much any special move, and breaks, will deplete the gauge. Breaks are basically counters and/or parries, but are very difficult to pull off. As a matter of fact, I never once was able to successfully pull them off with any degree of certainty, and you have to so in several of the Tutorial's sections. Before we leave the realm of things that don't seem to function properly, let's talk a bit about blocking. Blocking is performed in the standard way of holding back while being attacked. The problem here is that it never felt like it was triggering properly. Very often I'd be holding back long before a move was anywhere near me, only to be hit anyway. Add in the cheap enemy AI that I'll get to in just a bit, and you have a recipe for a game that feels broken. The only other thing really worth pointing out is the special gauge, which is what you'll need to perform powerful super moves. These thankfully operate as you would expect, and don't have any game-breaking quirks attached to them.

It's often said that fighting games are very hard for casual players to get into, and that's never been truer than in the case of Pocket Bravery. Even though the game looks fun and inviting, it is clearly meant for the hardcore only. The game starts on a middle difficulty setting, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I had a very tough time winning any matches at that setting. I'm by no means a pro fighting game player, but I'm no stranger to the genre either. Even at the lowest difficulty setting, the game sometimes felt needlessly difficult. The root of this issue lies with the computer AI, which seems to be programmed by someone who hates casual players in general. No matter the difficulty, your opponent will always move in for a combo, then slowly back up forcing you to come in for the offense. I was reminded a lot of the simple AI found in games like Golden Axe, and I once again mean that in the worst way possible. All the characters operate with that same pattern, and it gets old fast. This might sound simple enough to counter, but the AI seems to enter into some sort of crisis mode every so often where it will match everything you throw at it, and then perform every single combo at their disposal until you're dead. I don't think I've ever played a game that felt as mean-spirited as this one does, and it only gets worse when if you're playing the Story Mode. Remember how I mentioned you faced off against multiple enemies there? Well, each of them have a full life bar, and the same AI issues I just mentioned. Playing against the computer is an exercise in patience and annoyance, and nothing seems to favor the player. Blocking is broken, the AI can pull off difficult moves in a second, and can also seemingly grab you out of a sky if they want to execute a throw. There's other similar issues I could point out, but I think you get the point. I guess this all might be seen as a good thing if you're a hardcore fighting game player, but even then I'd imagine there'd be balance issues.

Now obviously most of the problems I've just mentioned go away when you play against a live opponent, but I had little experience on that front during my time with the game. Local multiplayer on PC is wonky at best, and I was only able to try out a couple online matches that had some connection issues. There really isn't an online scene for this game, and your best bet with finding online opponents is to go to the game's Discord and set things up directly. I'm willing to give the game the benefit of the doubt that the one-on-one experience is a bit better than playing against the computer, but I can't really say too much on that front with the issues I had trying out anything to do with the Versus Mode.

With all out of the way, I do have to admit that Pocket Bravery offers a decent amount of single-player content for those who are able to stomach it. There's Time Attack, a Survival Mode, and even a really robust Training Mode too, just to name a few. While the base roster does feel rather limited at just twelve, each character does end up feeling unique, and you can tell that the developers were going for quality over quantity. That's pretty much the only positives I have when it comes to gameplay though. I don't want to make it sound like this game is particularly horrible, it's just that it feels extremely broken. I'd be more forgiving if this was an Early Access game, but it's a full release that's already on its second round of DLC. You'd think they'd have ironed out the bugs by now, right?

Graphics

Visually, Pocket Bravery goes for a style similar to that found in Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix, or the Neo Geo Pocket versions of their fighting game franchises. Each character is presented in a chibi form, and the graphics themselves are mostly pixel-based. Normally I'd be all for this style, but there's some issues here that made me not like it as much as I thought I would initially. First off are the technical aspects. I don't have a bad PC setup, but parts of Pocket Bravery chugged when playing. This mainly came during pre-fight animations, but I don't think a game that looks like this should have performance issues at all. Occasional hiccups aside, there were also plenty of times when I was underwhelmed by the visuals. Even though each character and locale are fairly unique, there aren't that many of them overall. It won't take long for you to see everything this game has to offer, and it doesn't even have many customization options either. You can palette swap your character sure, and even purchase more options with in-game currency, but everything just felt bland after only a few hours of playing. It doesn't help that some stages have cutscenes that open them, and others don't. Not only can you not skip these, making some stages load slower than others, but it made me wonder if the developers got lazy partway through and only put in actual effort for a third of them. On the positive side of things, I guess I do like the font and presentation seen in the menus, but that's me stretching for something nice to say.

My next issue is one that I will admit is more of a matter of taste. I personally found Pocket Bravery to be quite an ugly game, and one that just got worse the more I looked at it. Even though everyone is chibi, there's a "realness" to them that makes them look off somehow. I can't really explain it, but seeing Hector's cauliflower ears, Aleksander's overly muscled physique, and Nuno and Lobo's generic character designs, made me feel like more work needed to be done in the design phase. Actually, most of the male characters come off feeling generic too, and might as well have been the nameless enemies you fight in the Story Mode. I get that characters like Nuno are meant to be a baseline of sorts, but he is no different than the nameless Story Mode thugs. The female characters do fare a bit better, with Ximena Guadalupe and Malika Sharma being particular standouts, but I didn't find much of the cast appealing at all. Not only do they feel generic, but they also have some of the most generic names I've ever seen in a video game. For example, two of the DLC characters are named Rick Johnson and Brandon Carter. I don't think I have to say that those are the most milquetoast names I've ever heard. They might as well have been named something like John Smith. The main cast isn't exempt from this either. Hector? Daisuke? Kimberly? It's like they weren't even trying at some points. I don't want to keep bashing this game, but it all comes off feeling very amateurish. I know that this is an indie game, but these aren't nobodies making it. They're apparently well-known in the Brazilian fighting game scene, and have been working on games for about a decade. During the course of researching for this review, I learned that the game was at one point going to feature a normal 2D art style. I'm not sure if I would've preferred that over what we ultimately got, but I can't help but feel that anything would've been better than this.

Music & Sound

I will give credit where credit is due, and say that Pocket Bravery's soundtrack is actually really good. The opening theme made me look up the artist performing it, and some of the other in-game tracks had me searching for a full soundtrack release. Not all the music is perfect mind you, but I was hard pressed to find a track that I didn't like. Some were a bit more generic than others, but that's often the case in fighting games. The music didn't wow me, but it was easily my favorite aspect of the game. I already mentioned that none of the game's cutscenes are voiced, and that's a huge issue I had with the game that I was never able to fully get over. That said, the characters are not totally silent throughout. Each of the characters is voiced, though only in a limited capacity. I assume they're voiced in Portuguese, but language barrier aside, I think they all gave decent performances. These voiced bits are only present during fights though, and are pretty much reserved for pre-fight banter, and for calling out the names of moves. There are some other voiced bits here and there, like The Announcer, but I wouldn't suggest coming in expecting a full-voiced, AAA experience. Admittedly I don't have too much more to say regarding sound, but it was the one part of the game where I couldn't find anything particularly bad.

Value

At just $19.99, I feel that Pocket Bravery offers up a decent value for what you get. The real question is if that content is worth playing in the first place. I'm of the opinion that most potential players would be better off picking up just about any other fighting game out there, but I guess there will probably be some that will find this one to be more charming and inviting than I did. If you can get past all the issues I've laid out, or if you're the hardcore pro player this game is clearly targeted at, then you'll probably find this one at least a little entertaining. If you fit that narrow criteria, then you have quite a lot of game to go through. There are plenty of unlockables, achievements, and gameplay modes to keep one tied up for hours and hours on end. The online scene does seem to be fairly active too, and there is DLC available if you find yourself wanting even more. Honestly, the pricing is probably this game's single biggest saving grace. If it was just five or ten dollars more, I would say that it's not worth picking up at all. At just twenty bucks though, I can admit that even I don't regret my time spent on it.

Final Thoughts

I'm left with several mixed thoughts when it comes to Pocket Bravery, as I'm not sure what was going on during this game's development. It seems that the community was active throughout, but if that were the case, how is it as broken as it is? I was also shocked to find that the game is generally well-received. (It was even nominated for Best Fighting Game at last year's Video Game Awards!) I read reviews where people cited the same issues I had, but seemed to not care about them nearly as much. I can't help but feel that these reviews held back only due to the fact that this is an indie game. That really shouldn't be an excuse though. I take no pride in bashing a small title that obviously was created by a team that put their heart and soul into the project, but I can't lie and say that this is anything but a mediocre game at best. I honestly can't see myself ever picking it up again, and I don't think I can recommend to anyone but the most hardcore of players who have a high tolerance for wonky gameplay mechanics. Casuals need not apply here at all. Maybe if they release some updates when all the DLC is released, or if they re-balance the game totally, I'd change my mind, but I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. If you really must play it, get it on sale at the very least. If you take my advice and skip it, rest assured that you're not going to be missing much. On that note, see you in the next one.

Check Out Pocket Bravery on Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1555150/Pocket_Bravery/

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Story: C
Gameplay: C
Graphics: C
Music/Sound: B
Value: B

Overall: C

Pros:
+ Unique fighters and settings make this one stand out from other games in the genre.
+ Though I had some issues with the overall style, some characters have amazing designs and move sets.
+ There are plenty of gameplay modes to keep one invested, and lots of unlockables and achievements too.
+ The music is pretty awesome all around, especially the opening theme.
+ At just $19.99, this one is pretty affordable for those on the fence.

+/- This is definitely a matter of personal taste, but I found the game to be pretty ugly for the most part, especially in the designs of some of the male characters.
+/- There were apparently plans to bring this to consoles (As can be seen in the thumbnail for the trailer below.), but those versions are years late by this point.

Cons:
- Computer-controlled opponents have the most insane AI I've ever seen. Put simply, this is a game for the hardcore only.
- AI aside, parts of the game feel broken. Blocking rarely works, breaks and some special moves are hit and miss, and computer-controlled opponents seem to be able to beak hit boxes at will.
- The Story Mode is long, slow, and full of unvoiced dialogue sections that go on for far too long. Many of the fights in this mode only feature generic opponents too. TL;DR: It's bad.
- There are some performance issues scattered throughout, and the presentation is very inconsistent. It almost feels like the developers got lazy halfway through, and only bothered polishing some aspects of the game.
- Though the cast is full of unique characters, there's only twelve of them, and it won't take long for you to see everything this game has to offer.
- Offering so much DLC feels wrong when the base roster is as thin as it is.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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'MURICA!

#PocketBravery