[Part 1] Three Fantastic Games I'm Currently Playing: Brotato | Chants of Sennaar | Star Wars Jedi Survivor

In today's edition: Brotato — One of the three highly recommended games I’m playing right now

Sep 27, 2024

Have you ever been so hooked on a game that you can't stop thinking about it? That's where I'm at with three games right now, and I’m excited to share them with you.

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hat’s me playing Brotato on my Steam Deck. I’m smiling because I just unlocked a rare item after a run.

I love recommending games that aren’t the newest releases. In fact, diving into "not so brand new" titles often comes with nice perks:

Many are frequently on sale across platforms like Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo, and some are even included in Game Pass or PlayStation Plus.
Playing older games not only saves money but also means you’re stepping into a game that’s likely been polished through patches and updates.

Here are the top three picks I am playing right now:

An indie rogue-lite action title (Brotato) — THIS NEWSLETTER
A mystical puzzle indie title (Chants of Sennaar) — NEXT WEEK
A sci-fi action adventure (Star Wars Jedi: Survivor) — NEXT WEEK

I originally planned to cover all three games in this newsletter/post. However, after finishing my thoughts on Brotato, I realized it became longer than expected.

So, let me share with you today what I love about Brotato. Just keep in mind that this is not a review. Instead, I’m sharing my thoughts about the game and some intriguing insights:

1. Brotato

📅 Released: June 2023 (Early Access: September 2022)

🎮 Platforms: PC/Steam, PS5, Xbox X/S, Switch

🏷️Price: $4.99 (and in Game Pass)

🗨️ Metacritic User Score: 8.2

🔗 Steam: Overwhelmingly Positive

📱Steam Deck: Verified ✅

✌️I play it on … on my Steam Deck.

The first time I played Brotato was in early 2023. It was one of my first games for the Steam Deck LCD I bought back then. I was sure that I would just give it a try for only five bucks and then never touch it again, as I’m not the biggest fan of rogue-like or rogue-lite games.

You start by selecting your character. Each has different skills and abilities. My favorite is the engineer.

Well, I was hooked almost immediately. Now, I have over 100 hours of playtime. That says it all, right?

This game is only $5 and I think these are best 5 bucks I’ve ever spent on something fun! It’s so addictive!

It is a fast-paced rogue-lite shooter where you control a heavily armed potato fighting off waves of quirky enemies. Its charming art style and chaotic gameplay offer endless replayability, with a huge variety of weapons, upgrades, and character builds to explore.

After selecting your character, you choose your weapon, from old-school melee weapons to high-tech guns. Some weapons even have special abilities.

The most addictive aspect is unlocking new items and weapons as you progress, each run rewarding you with new tools and strategies, keeping you hooked as you experiment with different combinations.

The Gameplay

You start a run by selecting a character (each has different abilities).
You select a difficulty (called danger) and your starting weapon.
Each run has 20 waves of aliens, and you just run and dodge them while your weapons auto-fire at enemies.
During each wave, you collect materials.
After a wave, you can upgrade your stats and buy items or weapons in a shop with your collected materials.

The Shop

You can only buy those items that randomly ‘drop’ in the shop. However, you can reroll, depending on your ‘money'/materials’.

Items can be white, blue, purple, or red. The red items are the most powerful ones.
You can equip up to 6 weapons (melee or ranged) at the same time.
You can combine identical weapons to make them more powerful. There are four tiers, from white to red.

It looks a little dull, but the bullet-hell frenzy keeps you hooked. Trust me!

The areas you fight in are always the same: A square field with only different background colors. Sounds dull, right? Not quite, as the most fascinating aspects of this game make it so addictive:

… unlocking powerful blue, purple (rare), or even red (legendary) items or weapons by completing runs with certain characters. You know the feeling: I just WANT THAT ONE LEGENDARY ITEM! 😁
… to experiment with different weapons, stats, and items for each character to make them even stronger. It’s so much fun when you realize that after a few waves, you can BLAST EVERYTHING.

With better and more powerful items unlocked, you are able to deal with higher difficulties and unlock even more things or characters.

It’s a lot easier to explain its fascination with screenshots:

The Weapon Tiers

Weapons come in 4 different tiers. This is a rare pistol (purple) and a legendary one (red).

Besides your starting weapon, you can purchase them in the shop after each wave, depending on which one ‘drops.’ If you have two identical weapons of the same tier, you can combine them into one of a higher tier. This is genuinely fun:

You don’t have to wait until a high-tier weapon ‘drops’ in the shop. Combining two identical tiers into the next one is a powerful feature.

Some weapons and items are only unlocked by completing a full run (20 waves) with specific characters. That means my motivation to complete a run with some characters sometimes skyrockets, especially when really powerful items can be unlocked (see below).

The thrill of unlocking these weapons and tools makes each completed run feel even more rewarding and pushes you to explore different builds.

‘YES, I GOT IT!’ … When you complete a run with the ‘King’ you unlock a legendary melee weapon.

The Items

Items can have intriguing stats/abilities and are either obtained from crates dropped during a run or purchased in the shop afterward.

I got lucky! A great rare (purple) item and two uncommon ones (blue) dropped in the shop after wave 8!

However, you can’t always buy everything—sometimes great items appear in the shop, but other times, items that aren’t useful for your current build will show up.

This randomness adds a strategic element, forcing you to adapt and make the best of what’s available.

My Favorite Weapon

This is hands-down my favorite weapon in Brotato. However, you can’t just grab it right from the start—you’ll need to complete a full run with the ‘Soldier’ to unlock it first. Even then, you’ll have to wait for it to show up randomly in the shop.

Imagine combining some of them into legendary ones. 😮

Conclusion

My playtime in Brotato: Over 100 hours so far. I know, I should’ve unlocked everything; but I love taking my time ;)

Should you give Brotato a try? Absolutely! Even if you are not into rogue-lite games, I highly recommend this one. It’s so addictive, and it’s only five bucks!

If Brotato isn’t your cup of tea, don’t worry—stick around! Next week, I’ll dive into the two other games:

Chants of Sennaar (Mystical Puzzle Adventure)
Star Wars: Jedi Survivor (Sci-Fi Action Adventure)

Both are incredible, and I can’t wait to share some surprising insights about them.

Keep playing,

Michael