BROK the InvestiGator is Back, With Brand New Local Co-op and Physical Release Announcement!

We thought we said “See ya later, alligator!” to BROK the InvestiGator when VGamingNews reviewed the game, but our resident reptilian detective refused to be put on the shelf just yet. Our friendly neighbourhood swamp lizard Brok is back, baby – and with a brand new bag of crime busting buddies! Alliteration aficionados, you’re welcome (insert winky face).

Developer COWCAT has exciting news for fans of the garment wearing gator, with the announcement of a brand new local co-op mode, where you can fight crime alongside three of your friends for a total of four players. And, as if that wasn’t enough, COWCAT has further announced a physical release for Brok. Alongside the custom-made PC physical, players will also be able to get their hands on a console physical in the form of a limited run edition for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and the Nintendo Switch. This limited edition will include some awesome collectibles, such as an art book, sleeves, poster, and reversible cover art, and the release is scheduled for Q2 2024.

For those not yet in the know, BROK the InvestiGator is a unique mashup of the point-and-click style of old 80s adventure games, and beat ‘em ups like Scott Pilgrim VS The World and the amazingly stylistic Sifu. In this narrative driven, punch-and-click adventure, you play as Brok, a down-on-his-luck detective with a slew of puzzles and mysteries to solve. You can use brain or brawn as you navigate the dystopian style world, where the rich and privileged live under a literal dome in a flourishing economy, whilst the poor live in the wastelands of a world decimated as an apocalypse swept through the lands.

Brok lives outside of the dome, with his stepson Graff, Brok’s wife and Graff’s mother deceased from the outset. As you make your way through the story, it is clear that there is more behind your wife’s death than it would seem on the surface, and the father and cat-son duo must solve the clues, take on many threats, and ultimately discover their destiny.

As with many adventure games, the choices you make throughout will shape the future, and the ending you will achieve. As you traverse the levels, both within and outside the dome, you will encounter other anthropomorphic creatures, gangs of ne’er-do-wells, and other poor, unfortunate souls with a myriad of problems that you can help solve for them. Or not. It’s entirely up to you. Want to fight crime with your wits, swaying people with your charm and detective skills to puzzle out answers? Or would you rather duke it out with your meaty, ex-boxer lizard fists and pummel the truth from suspects? You do you, friend! But remember, your actions have consequences, and there may be outcomes that make you wish you had made a different choice.

Brok has so much going for it, including a cast of talented voice actors who really bring their characters to life, a great soundtrack, and a whole vibrant host of cartoon characters that will have you longing for your 90s Saturday morning childhood again – if you’re as old as me, that is. The story is an evocative and moving experience, touching upon drama, excitement, loss, and the importance of relationships. You will enjoy solving puzzles, making impactful choices, leveling up to take on bosses, combining clues to unravel mysteries, switching between two playable characters, unlocking multiple different endings, and much more – including the brand new local co-op.

With new co-op mode, up to four players are in for a real treat as they can experience the entirety of BROK the InvestiGator and its rich, dystopian setting together! As a fearsome foursome, co-op players can engage in fights together, earn experience and level up, hunt for clues and crack whodunnits, collect hidden ‘shadow ads’, and purchase food and hints. You and your quirky quartet can even interact with each other, with added reactive sounds and emojis, so that there’s no doubt as to how each member of the team feels about a certain suspect or situation. As a group, you will have access to six playable characters via Steam Remote Play Together and PlayStation Share Play (which only requires one copy of the game).

As well as new game modes and characters, COWCAT’s Brok can also boast the first fully-fledged classic adventure game that blind players can fully play through, which is incredible! The game can be fully narrated through quality text-to-speech and audio descriptions, which will relay information about the characters, locations and scenes. Puzzles can be adapted for blindness, or all puzzles and fights simply skipped. There are adapted tutorials, with buttons to repeat voice lines or instructions. There is positional audio, and no online connection is required to play once the initial download is complete. Adding to this, there have been a lot of general improvements and bug fixes, including a new difficulty setting unlock upon completing a first playthrough called ‘Mania’, the gameplay is faster, the graphics have had an overhaul, lighter CPU usage, traditional Chinese subtitle support, and more.

As alluded to in the opening segment, VGamingNews has a full, in-depth playthrough review (scribbled out by yours truly), which delves deeper into the game’s mechanics, the world-building, and stellar narrative. You can check that out here.

The team at COWCAT has certainly been busy, making what was already such an amazing game even better and more visually appealing than it was before, a real treat for any new player that has yet to experience the thrill of adventure with our friendly neighbourhood water-dino; BROK the Investigator! The full game is currently released across all platforms, with the physical edition coming in 2024, with pre-orders available at Red Art Games website. So don’t delay, you can certainly go pick up your copy today – but you better make it snappy! (Sorry.)