Recent reviews by Gilbitt

Brawlhalla is often praised as a free-to-play alternative to Super Smash Bros., but after spending countless hours with the game, I can confidently say that it’s a shallow, frustrating, and ultimately unsatisfying experience. While it may have a dedicated fanbase, the game is riddled with issues that make it more of a chore to play than a genuinely fun fighting game. Here’s why Brawlhalla fails to live up to the hype.

1. Repetitive, Floaty Gameplay
One of the biggest problems with Brawlhalla is its core gameplay mechanics. The movement feels weightless and imprecise, making every character control like they’re floating on ice. Unlike Smash Bros., where characters have distinct weight and momentum, Brawlhalla’s fighters all feel like reskins of the same few archetypes. This lack of depth makes matches feel repetitive, as there’s little variation in how different characters play.

The combat itself is overly simplistic, relying too much on spamming the same few moves. Since most attacks have minimal startup or endlag, matches often devolve into mindless button-mashing rather than strategic play. The game’s emphasis on aerial combat also means that ground play is nearly irrelevant, further limiting the skill ceiling.

2. Uninspired Character Design
While Brawlhalla boasts a large roster, most characters are forgettable and lack personality. Unlike Smash Bros., where each fighter has a unique moveset and identity, Brawlhalla’s legends feel like they were designed by a committee trying to check off a list of weapon types rather than create compelling characters.

Even worse, many characters share the same weapons, meaning their movesets overlap significantly. This leads to a sense of déjà vu when playing different fighters, as you’ll often see the same animations and combos repeated across the roster. The game tries to compensate with crossover skins (like WWE or Adventure Time characters), but these feel like cheap cash grabs rather than meaningful additions.

3. Pay-to-Win (Sort Of) and Grindy Progression
While Brawlhalla is technically free-to-play, it employs some of the most aggressive monetization tactics in the genre. The game locks nearly every cosmetic behind a paywall or an absurdly long grind, making it feel like a glorified demo unless you’re willing to spend money.

Even worse, the way characters are rotated in the free roster means you’re often forced to either grind for weeks to unlock a single fighter or pay up. This creates an artificial barrier to enjoying the game, especially when certain characters are objectively stronger than others. While it’s not strictly "pay-to-win," the system is designed to pressure players into spending money just to have access to a full experience.

4. Terrible Online Experience
Brawlhalla’s netcode is notoriously inconsistent. Even with a strong internet connection, matches often suffer from lag, input delay, and teleporting players. The ranked mode is especially frustrating, as a single lag spike can ruin an otherwise competitive match.

Additionally, the matchmaking system is unbalanced. New players frequently get matched against veterans with hundreds of hours of experience, leading to one-sided stomps that aren’t fun for anyone. The lack of proper regional servers also means that cross-continent matches are common, exacerbating the lag issues.

5. Lack of Meaningful Single-Player Content
If you’re not into online multiplayer, Brawlhalla offers almost nothing of value. The "training" mode is barebones, the "story" is nonexistent, and the AI opponents range from brain-dead to unfairly punishing with no middle ground. Even the "Brawl of the Week" events are just recycled game modes with minor tweaks.

Compared to Smash Bros., which offers a rich single-player experience with Classic Mode, Adventure Mode, and Spirit Battles, Brawlhalla feels barren. It’s clear that the developers put minimal effort into offline content, making the game feel like a hollow shell unless you’re willing to suffer through its online modes.

6. Toxic Community
While this isn’t entirely the game’s fault, Brawlhalla has one of the most toxic player bases in the fighting game community. Taunting, trolling, and BMing are rampant, and the game’s barebones reporting system does little to curb bad behavior. The ranked mode is especially bad, with players frequently disconnecting or spamming the same moves to exploit the game’s poor balance.

Conclusion: A Mediocre Smash Clone with No Soul
Brawlhalla isn’t the worst game ever made, but it’s a prime example of wasted potential. Instead of refining its mechanics or adding depth, the developers have focused on pumping out uninspired crossover skins and milking players for microtransactions. The gameplay is repetitive, the characters are forgettable, and the online experience is plagued with issues.

If you’re looking for a deep, rewarding platform fighter, stick with Super Smash Bros. or Rivals of Aether. Brawlhalla is a shallow, frustrating experience that doesn’t deserve the attention it gets. Save your time and play something better.

Final Rating: 3/10 – A forgettable, frustrating mess with little redeeming value.

Opposing Force

Hardcore stealth game

Trash and inconsistent game

I really wanted to like this game but the more I play the more discouraged I get to keep playing. Combat is very inconsistent and unsatisfying. The world is empty and uninteresting. Overall it feels like a lesser version of Darksiders 2 but with artificial difficulty to appeal to souls fanbois.

This game is a 9h long joke

This game made me play 12 hours of card games, even tho I hate card games, 10/10.

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Supposedly a video-game.

Crazy to think that I slept through this game/franchise and only came around to playing this almost 20 years after release, even though it inspired literally every single game that I like.