Brotato is a 2023 top-down arena shooter roguelite video game created by French independent developer Thomas Gervraud under the studio name Blobfish. It was first released via Steam early access in 2022, during which it sold over one million copies. Brotato received positive reviews from critics and players, and it was later ported to multiple platforms.
| Brotato | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Thomas Gervraud |
| Publisher(s) | Blobfish |
| Programmer(s) | Thomas Gervraud |
| Engine | Godot |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release |
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| Genre(s) | Top-down, arena shooter, roguelite |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Gameplay
The player controls one of several potatoes in a top-down perspective. Many of them are unlocked at the beginning and have different starting attributes. The goal is to defeat as many enemy waves as possible with the potato. The player can upgrade and improve various attributes and weapons after each wave, which can be bought with materials collected. Brotato is an arena shooter. Shooting is automatically handled by the computer but players can change this in the settings to manual aiming.
Development and release
Brotato is the fourth game by Blobfish, a one-man indie studio based in Lyon, France at the time of development. It entered the Steam early access for Windows on September 27, 2022, followed by the full release on June 23, 2023.
The Android and iOS ports, developed and published by Erabit Studios were released on March 28, 2023. On mobile, Brotato is available in free-to-play and premium versions. The Nintendo Switch version was released on August 3, 2023. Versions for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S were released on January 30, 2024, also available via Xbox Game Pass from launch.
Reception
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | PC: 76/100 |
Rock Paper Shotgun, who reviewed it during early access, likened it to "a hit Flash game on Newgrounds in 2006". Though they enjoyed the retro gameplay, they said death came a bit too easily. TouchArcade said that although it seems at first to be a simple Vampire Survivors clone, it introduces roguelite elements and is more strategic, giving it a distinct identity. Screen Rant calls the game mechanics addictive, quick and easy accessible with of lot of freedom in strategy and experimentation. The website lists it as one of the best Indie Games 2022. Digital Trends called it a "smart evolution of the Vampire Survivors formula" that focuses more on dynamic character builds.
It was one of the most popular roguelite games on Steam in 2022 and 2023, and received "overwhelmingly positive" reviews from users. As of September 2022, it has sold over a million copies. It was nominated for "best Steam Deck game" at the 2023 Steam Awards.