“The Sexy Brutale” Is Almost Great – REVIEW

While looking for my next Detective / Mystery game to play on Steam, I stumbled across a fairly cheap, moderately well-reviewed title called “The Sexy Brutale”.

It’s quite a short game that revolves around a time loop gimmick, and I feel it was almost a great experience – I’ll explain what I liked about it, as well as the areas it fell flat.

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Story

You’ll be going into “The Sexy Brutale” more for its gameplay than its story, so take this section with a grain of salt. I’ll try to avoid spoiling the ending, but otherwise I’ll reveal tidbits of the game’s plot (it’s only really the ending that can be spoiled).

The game’s story revolves around a murderous time loop within a gaudy mansion, which is immediately a premise I could get behind. You naturally wonder how such a feat is even possible to begin with, and I think the game does an alright job of explaining everything by the time the credits roll.

The best part of the story, in my opinion, was its ending. “The Sexy Brutale” concludes in a satisfying and climactic manner, tying together overarching questions as well as some genuinely dark themes in a way that has stuck in my mind in the weeks since.

Again, “The Sexy Brutale” isn’t a game that’ll be remembered for its story, but the little tidbits we got were memorable enough to make it enjoyable.

Score: 7/10

Gameplay

The general gameplay loop of “The Sexy Brutale” involved learning about a crime and resetting time to save the guests from their twisted fates. For reasons that I’ll explain more thoroughly in my “Not-So-Good” section, I have my complaints.

First and foremost, the gameplay felt a little thin across the board. It was fun to learn more about the crime and the rooms of the mansion before springing a plan into action, but I hardly needed to use my brain for the puzzles or test my speed in the race against time. Long story short, the majority of the gameplay was too easy and shallow.

Also, and this might just be me, the various power-ups you gain along the way felt completely useless. They mainly served as ways of blocking you from the next section, as otherwise the developers didn’t find many unique and engaging ways to use your new skillset.

The rest of my criticisms will be spelled out in the “Not-So-Good” section, so for now I can summarise the gameplay as simply being “passable”.

Score: 6/10

Style

Whenever I play a detective game I always hope for a distinct style that sets it apart from other titles in the genre, and “The Sexy Brutale” did a good job of standing out – not a perfect job, but a good one.

The various locations you explore throughout the game are expertly designed and integrated into the detective gameplay, and in the latter half of the game I was really impressed by how well they handled the dark and sometimes uncomfortable imagery.

One of my major problems with the style, and this’ll be explored further in the next section, was the characters – specifically, the models. They all looked a little amateur and borderline like Mii characters, and it was hard to appreciate any of their distinguishing features.

The overall atmosphere was enough to keep me playing, but I would’ve liked some more meat on the bone.

Score: 7/10

The Not-So-Good

If you think I’ve been a little harsh on the game so far without giving any tangible critiques, fear not – this is the section where I’ll spell out any of the major flaws I could find.

The biggest problem by far was the various solutions to the puzzles. The first two-thirds of the game is far too easy and has mind-numbingly boring solutions, some of which can be executed in one or two simple steps. Nothing takes the wind out of your sails more than a puzzle that’s over before it gets good.

Another problem within “The Sexy Brutale”, and this applies to any time loop game, is the egregious waiting sections. At least once per loop you’ll have to wait a few tedious minutes for the same cutscene to play out before you can move on, and near the end of the game there were some excruciatingly long walks between rooms in the mansion.

The final major issue might not be a big deal to most players, but it took me out of the immersion. None of the characters you come across have any noticeable personality, and their dialogue sort of blends together by a certain point. What incentive should I have to save the guests from their fates if they don’t even feel like real human beings?

These three major problems wouldn’t be too bad in their own right, but together they hampered the overall gaming experience.

Fun

Maybe the game stumbles in a few of the technical departments, but is it still a fun game regardless? Well, yes and no.

“The Sexy Brutale” has an engaging gameplay loop … some of the time. The quick solutions ruined any momentum of fun I was building up, and the long stretches of walking, waiting or listening to repeated dialogue dashed any enjoyment I was having in the moment.

The final act of the game definitely picked up the pace and salvaged the game from being a dud, but there was a noticeable stretch in the mid-point where I genuinely considered dropping the game entirely.

Score: 6/10

Verdict

Despite the solid story and some admittedly fun moments of gameplay, “The Sexy Brutale” failed to live up to its own lofty ambitions.

FINAL SCORE: 6.5/10

PROS	CONS
+ The Setting	– Slow Gameplay
+ The Impactful Ending	– Solutions Are Too Easy
+ Solid Time Looping Mechanic	– Characters Have No Personality

Aaaaand that’s my review! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: