This is probably my GOTY 2025, not just because this game is great but also because it's as if it was made specifically for me. Let me explain that a bit. I accidentally watched 1995's "Goldeneye" when I was way too young, and I specifically stumbled upon that scene where Famke Janssen almost crushes Pierce Brosnan between her thighs. This scene absolutely ruined me and I haven't been the same ever since. And for many years I've been dreaming about a game that lets you play as a sexy lady who kills people with her legs. Now, a lot of you will probably say "There's plenty of games that let you do exactly that" but in my experience, most don't quite meet the requirements. You see, yes there are games like, say, Onechanbara or Stellar Blade where you are a sexy lady killing enemies, but the problem is that in those games the main characters basically don't even know they look the way they do, nor is it ever commented on really. In other words, it's not really a choice a character made. I guess there are exceptions to the rule, like Bayonetta, but I always wanted something more on a stealth-y side. Okay, there is also Red Ninja, but come on, that thing came out all the way back in 2005. Well anyways, finally my prayers have been heard and Knife Demon Software created Brush Burial: Gutter World, an stealth-action game where you are a sexy demoness who can snap people's necks with her thicc thighs. I was probably going to love this game either way, but it just so happens that it is actually pretty great even regardless from my personal preferences. So the game is split into 4 missions, where your goal is to kill some guy who's usually hidden behind a bunch of locked doors and also protected with a small army of guards. Each level has a very open-ended design, allowing you for all sorts of creative ways to achieve your goals. These levels are full of cool secrets and alternative pathways. The game controls also very great. There is a small adjustement period, as you come to grips with how your character's movement works, but that's the way I like it. When you get the hang of it, you start to feel like a mix between Garret from "Thief" and xenomorph from "Aliens vs Predator 2". It is very easy to get killed quickly if you're being reckless, but once you learn some of the game's mechanics, you can become an absolute beast when it comes to taking down enemies. A mechanical detail I love is how you can avoid killing almost all enemies. The way it works is that the best way to kill enemies it to catch them off-guard and perform a takedown. However, you can also start the takedown animation and then not finish it, leaving the enemy stunned for a bit longer. In crowded fights this trick is essential to neutralizing enemies without getting caught in long takedown animations. But I later learned that if you do this a couple of times on an enemy, that enemy will just realize that they're no threat to you, and then they will stop attacking you and choose to run away instead. And that's so great. Because not only is it a fun way to avoid unneccessary casulaties, but it's also a nice reward for skillfull play. I kinda now wish more games would do this. Imagine a Devil May Cry game where if you style on an enemy enough, that enemy will be like "Well, ♥♥♥♥ my life, I guess this guy's too tough for me". The game doesn't have that much of a story. There is a lot of lore and some thought behind this fictional world, which looks like a strange mix of post-apocalypse and dark fantasy. The relationship between the main character and her handler/boyfriend is very touching though. Overall I really would love to see more of this world one day (I guess I should also play the previous Brush Burial game now). But don't go into this expecting a deep, twisting narrative akin to Thief or Deus Ex. My only big complaint with the game is how the inventory system works. Because it is very confusing and even after finishing all the levels I still don't feel comfortable using it. Basically you have several inventory slots, the two primary ones are for weapons and the rest are for keys and other items. In order to use something, like a key, you need to have it equipped in your hand. But if you already have a weapon equipped, you can't just press the number button to switch to a key, you first need to un-switch from a weapon, and the way you do it (I think) is by pressing a button that doesn't have anything assigned to it. Except if you have a lot of stuff stored in your inventory, then you end up just pressing buttons randomly until eventually you un-equip the current item. It's extremely weird. I probably still don't understand something about this inventory system, but I saw several other reviewers say similar things so I am certainly not the only one. In fact, I played through the entire demo under the false impression that you can only have one item equipped. So if you need a key to open a door you have to abandon your current item, like a weapon you use, and make yourself vulnerable. Funny thing is that this is sort of an interesting challenge and you could maybe even use it for another game. But I can see why it's definitely not an option for this game. Because firstly there is a lot of doors that require colored keys, and it would be incredibly annoying to open a blue door, discover there is a locked red door behind it and then go all the way back to wherever you left the red key. That, and also keys are physics items in this, so not only can you leave them pretty much anywhere and forget where it was, you can also just accidentally yeet them to some place you won't be able to even find them later. Aside from all that, like I already said, this game is great and I love it. I hope Knife Demon Software sees a lot of success in the future and they will be able to make any project of their dreams. Go play "Brush Burial: Gutter World"
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