Best Indie Games of 2017 – #10: Brawlhalla

We start our list of 2017’s best indie games with epic F2P platform fighter Brawlhalla.

Brawlhalla is a classic, high-energy platform fighter you can play with your friends on a couch or online. Set in Valhalla, a golden hall filled with the greatest warriors from every time and place, Brawlhalla is the Grand Tournament Odin created in a vain attempt to keep his warriors from tearing Asgard apart.

So, why are we kicking off our list of the best indie games of 2017 with Brawlhalla?  Well, it’s a hell of a lot of fun.  If you have even the slightest hint of an addictive personality, this one will get you hooked.  Think Super Smash Bros, then think bigger and better.  There’s not much of a story in Brawlhalla, your only aim being to prove who’s the best that ever was, is, or will be.  With over 30 playable characters, that might take some time.

Increase your killing power with many different weapons and gadgets, such as mines, hammers, rocket launchers and swords.  Each character has their own weapon combinations, move sets and abilities.  You’re never likely to bore of Brawlhalla, as new characters regularly join the slugfest.  There are also tonnes of gameplay modes, free for all, tournaments, 1v1 and more.  If you’re feeling confident you can take the fight into ranked matches, with new seasons starting every few months.

Brawlhalla also looks awesome.  The beautiful backdrops contrast with the intricately designed characters and the flawless, violent animations.  Despite each character having many different skins to choose from, they’ll always be recognisable, so when you meet one in combat you’ll know what they’re capable of and what to expect.  Don’t let the mention of skins and cosmetics dissuade you from Brawlhalla though, as the developers, Blue Mammoth Games, promise that:

Brawlhalla will always be 100% free to play, with no pay to win advantages and no in-game purchases to keep you from the action.  Everything you can buy with real money is cosmetic (such as character skins, podiums and knockout effects) and none of them effect gameplay.

This is a refreshing design choice, and separates Brawlhalla from many modern games with greedier micro transactions.  You can, however, spend real money to unlock all current and future characters, which personally I think is a bargain at £15.99.  If you’d prefer not to spend any cash, Brawlhalla offers all of it’s characters to play for free on rotation, with six characters each week.  You’ll also earn gold whilst playing in any online mode, which can be spent on permanently unlocking characters of your choice.

Brawlhalla is trying hard to break into the e-sports market, and despite only having launched three months ago, has already held two world championships with impressive cash rewards for top players.  You can watch the event on the Brawlhalla esports page.  It’s easy to see why this game has been so well received by the community, and it seems Brawlhalla is only going to get bigger and better each year.

You can pick up Brawlhalla on Steam or the PlayStation store now, for free.  Be sure to check back with us tomorrow to find out what we reckon is the ninth best indie game of 2017.