Brazen Blaze Review: An Arena Brawler With Real Potential

There's never a better sign with a multiplayer game than when your first reaction after finishing a match is wanting to hop right back into the queue. If nothing else, Brazen Blaze nails the fundamentals of a PvP brawler, making it very easy to fall in love with MyDearest's latest title - even if it's just as easy to be disappointed with the lack of launch content.

In a nutshell, Brazen Blaze is akin to a mix of Overwatch, an arena shooter, and something more like Super Smash Bros or PlayStation All-Stars. Players control one of seven different characters and duke it out across a destructible city. Aiming either of your hands and pulling the controller's trigger will launch you in the direction that arm is facing; hold the grip button and punch forward to deliver a fistful of pain to an opponent, or grab a ranged weapon from your shoulder or waist to whittle them down from a distance.

Each character has their own unique skill set. Some, like Skybolt and Velvet, have a heavier focus on ranged combat, with their shoulder-mounted weapons letting them become a real menace when given the chance to keep their distance. Others like Legacy or Sunshine's forte lie in close-quarters brawls, with either shields to protect against ranged weapons or grenades that explode on impact, yet can only travel a short distance. While every character ostensibly punches as their main attack, Brazen Blaze succeeds in both making each fighter feel different to play, while crucially forcing you to consider how to approach combat with each type of character.

For example, Legacy's shoulder-mounted weapon is a riot shield, which can make it far easier for him to dash into close quarters; characters that focus on ranged combat might have trouble finding an opening to attack him. Meanwhile, Legacy players might struggle to deal with Velvet; her Sword's ranged attack has some light homing, and if they get behind your shield, you're a sitting duck. Additionally, dotted across the map are floating boxes that offer items to augment any character's actions; from an umbrella that can shield you from projectiles, a rocket that can offer a one-time boosted dash, a baseball bat that can knock an opponent right off the stage when utilized correctly - and more. These are a fun distraction, and they really bring to mind something like Super Smash Bros. You can, of course, turn off item spawns in custom matches if you wish.

The game's controls work well and it really feels like they've nailed that "easy to learn, hard to master" balance from the onset. From a strict gameplay standpoint, it would be incredibly easy to recommend Brazen Blaze, yet a few core issues hold things back. The amount of launch content is a bit disappointing, and what's there doesn't differentiate itself as much as I hoped. While each playable character feels distinct, I can't say the same for the currently included maps. That's partially to do with everything being destructible - so landmarks whittle away as a match progresses - but it's a bit more than that, too. Item Box spawns are the same regardless of the map, and visual differences aside, playing on any one map isn't meaningfully different from the others.

Matches involve players teaming up for 3v3 brawls across three different maps - two of them are technically variations of the same city - in either round-based elimination bouts, or a race to see who can deplete the other team's stock of lives the fastest. There's also the option to create custom matches, where you can choose to duel 1v1 or set the rules for how many rounds must be won before a winning team is crowned. While limited in scope, players can ditch the multiplayer action to undergo target challenges for each character and help hone their skills. I wish there were more modes available at launch, though I suspect the conservative amount has more to do with managing queue times. There are definitely multiplayer bots in the game and beyond one occasion where someone used voice chat, I can't say for sure exactly how many human opponents I've faced.

That last point is especially concerning for a multiplayer title. Brazen Blaze's lack of content begs the question of exactly how long players will stick around, which only exacerbates my main issue - monetization. Nine playable characters are included presently, but only five of them are readily available from the start. For example, Levin and Chillout are both included in the opening roster but require players to progress their "Runner Pass" to unlock them.

With Brazen Blaze being billed as a multiplayer, Games-as-a-Service title, it's little surprise that it comes with a Battle Pass. Nor is it shocking that it offers a premium track that players can optionally buy into. You can complete dailies and weeklies to gain experience points to level up your Battle Pass, unlocking various currencies, cosmetics, and emotes. However, each character outside of the original five also has their own "Runner Pass" that levels separately from the main Battle Pass and requires direct input from the player to do so.

To specify; while the main Battle Pass will always level automatically, the same points that go into your main pass will be passively banked and can then be manually spent to level the Runner Pass of your choosing. This was a problem at launch since the amount of XP that you could get each week was capped, meaning that players would be unable to unlock these characters without at least 2 weeks' worth of effort. That has since been changed following launch, as players will also receive XP depending on the feats that they've accomplished during each match that do not count towards your daily or weekly caps.

There will still be a grind to unlock any new Runners, especially if you don't want to pay, but I'm far more comfortable with the current system. Additionally, in-game a new promotion has been added, where players who link their Discord accounts and join the official Brazen Blaze server can instantly get enough XP to unlock a Runner of their choosing. You can, of course, instantly leave the server once you've reaped the rewards.

That's before considering the cost of upgrading both the main Battle Pass and both Runner Passes, nor the fact that Brazen Blaze is already a premium release and not a Free-to-Play title. Again, how much this will impact your enjoyment is subjective but with so little content at launch, it sticks out like a sore thumb. It's not enough to diminish what the game does right, but I'd be remiss if I didn't voice these concerns. On the bright side, the game's roadmap currently targets two new maps and two new characters by the end of October.

I've got no qualms with the game's visuals or performance on Quest 3. Sure, the resolution could be a little bit higher, and maybe the textures could look a bit clearer - especially at a distance - but the game itself looks and runs great. Prior to release, I also tried the PC version over Virtual Desktop, though for Quest users it's an easy recommendation to stick to the native version - at least on Quest 3.

Brazen Blaze Review - Final Verdict

Brazen Blaze is in a much more comforting state now than at launch, and I find it much easier to recommend without as many qualms. While I have some lingering concerns that no additional roadmaps have been added since the conclusion of the previous one, matchmaking still appears to be reasonably populated.

Even if wait times were to get much worse, the addition of some new distractions in the lobby - a punching machine to test your form, and a basketball hoop to practice your free throws - it's easy enough to forgive waiting for a minute or two, regardless. If you have the VR legs for it, Brazen Blaze cements itself as one of the best PvP experiences you can currently have in VR.

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