Summary

• VLADiK Brutal is a ion project inspired by Half-Life, offering a unique dark setting and gameplay reminiscent of the iconic series.
• Developed by one person, the game features impressive visuals, tight gunplay, and diverse weapons, earning a Very Positive rating on Steam.
• Although not groundbreaking like Half-Life, VLADiK Brutal provides an entertaining experience that may satisfy fans awaiting Half-Life 3.

Fans of the series have been waiting for Half-Life 3 for so long now that it is starting to feel like it may never happen, no matter how many signs players look for from Valve. Just because a third mainline game in the series doesn't look like it will come out anytime soon, it hasn't stopped other projects from being made in the Half-Life mold. There has been an awesome remake of the first game called Black Mesa, but there have also been new titles that can help fill the void.

Black Mesa began as a mod for Half-Life 2 that became its own game in 2020.

Half-Life is a series that is known for being both foundational and revolutionary for the gaming industry, which is why both titles are still so loved this far from release. The physics put into the games, the advancements in AI, and the overall tone of the titles were something that was never seen beforehand, especially considering that Quake 2 was the pinnacle of the FPS genre before the release of Half-Life. Although the advancements cannot be replicated again, the tone and gameplay can and have been by an indie developer.

VLADiK Brutal Is The Closest Thing To Half-Life 3

With A Healthy Helping Of S.T.A.L.K.E.R

Having been released recently on Steam on August 9, VLADiK Brutal has been compared to Half-Life ever since it was launched. It takes a decent amount of inspiration from the series despite being a sequel in its own right, being an FPS in which many a strange creature is put in the player's path. From a gameplay perspective, the game functions quite similarly to Half-Life's FPS mechanics, with puzzle elements and the physics of the engine being at the forefront.

There is another game in the VLADiK series, simply titled V.L.A.D.I.K.

The game takes place in a fictional country in Eastern Europe that is currently under the control of a violent dictator who rules his people with an iron fist. VLADiK Brutal gives players control of Vlad, and it shines with its dark atmosphere, variety of guns at the player's disposal, and enemy variety. It even gives players the iconic crowbar that was famed as George Freeman (Half-Life's protagonist's) weapon. In general, the game feels like a love letter to the Half-Life series, but this isn't the only franchise from which it draws inspiration.

With its Eastern European setting and its many grotesque monsters, the game has also been compared to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R series, especially with how dark some sections can be. In a way, VLADiK Brutal has the setting and monsters of S.T.A.L.K.E.R while benefiting from the gameplay and similar UI elements of Half-Life. This combination is striking and has resonated with players enough for it to have earned an overall rating of Very Positive on Steam, with 88% of s reviewing it positively.

VLADiK Brutal Wears Its Half-Life Inspiration On Its Sleeve

It Was Developed By One Person

VLADiK Brutal is, first and foremost, a ion project that has been in the works for some time now. Although the UI and subtitles have been translated into English and a few other languages, the game's audio is only in Russian. The development team consists of one person, and considering both the scale and level of refinement of the game, this is incredibly impressive, but that does mean that some bugs and errors are going to rear their ugly head.

Still, bugs aside, VLADiK Brutal makes sure that the game is fundamentally fun enough for most of them to be ignored. The gunplay is tight and responsive, the physics are impressive enough to feel relatively immersive, and the weapon variety helps give players a diverse and wacky arsenal. There isn't a Gravity Gun like in Half-Life (since that might be a little too obvious), but there is an electricity-based rifle that will envelop foes in an electric singularity, which is quite the spectacle.

For a game developed by one person, the visuals are certainly impressive, being a title that was developed with Unreal Engine 4. The environments are detailed and are accented with good lighting, the particle effects for weapons and explosions are more than adequate, and, despite using UE4, the physics are well done enough to be reminiscent of Half-Life 2's Source Engine. The game is reinventing the wheel in a lot of places since nothing here raises the bar like either Half-Life title, but for a project by one person, it is certainly impressive.

VLADiK Brutal Might Just Scratch The Half-Life Itch

Its Dark Setting Provides Something Different

VLADiK Brutal isn't exactly subtle about where it got its inspiration from, with a reactor going off at the start of the game. In fact, the scientists around the reactor will even comment about a game called 'Half Pife' and how they are scared that something similar will happen, which does. It is a fun Easter Egg, which confirms how large an inspiration the Half-Life series was to this title, and thanks to some solid gameplay, this could be the game to scratch the Half-Life itch, at least for a little while.

Outside the basics of a physics-based FPS, the game also has puzzles dotted throughout to keep players on their toes. Levels often end with boss fights featuring some truly grotesque monsters that are made intense, thanks to how punishingly brutal the damage system is. VLADiK Brutal certainly earns its name by its gore and brutality, being significantly more violent than the Half-Life games. Blood will coat the walls and ceilings in pretty much every fight, but with some nice attention to detail with gore effects, they end up being quite immersive.

It may not be the Half-Life 3 that the fans wanted, and it won't revolutionize the gaming industry in the same way the first two games did, but VLADiK Brutal has enough in it to deliver an entertaining experience for its roughly five-hour run time. For a game developed by a single person, it is a triumph. Being crowned as the "Russian Half-Life" by many fans who hold the series in such hard regard is no mean feat, and hopefully, there will be more to come from Narko Games in the future.

Source: Steam/VLADiK Brutal