VLADiK Brutal is a solo-developed, indie first-person shooter game created by Vladislav Meshcheryakov over a span of 5 years. You play as Vlad, an ex-con who ends up fighting a one-man war against the iron-fisted dictator of a dystopic post-Soviet state.
THE WORLD AND LORE
In a fictional nation within Eastern Europe, a dictator of long standing holds power. The dictator, marked by paranoia, has carried out numerous purges, eliminating the opposition. Common citizens are monitored by tracking chips in their necks. Everyone wears identical clothing, each bearing a unique number, all regulated by the government. On top of all these measures, the dictator has established a 'Grand Research Facility', utilizing prisoners for nefarious purposes. The state incarcerates many for their resistance to the dictatorship, resulting in executions and exploitation as forced labor.
The game generally has a gloomy and somber atmosphere, but the interior levels, such as maintenance areas, metro stations, and the dictator's massive tower, stand out with their vibrant and colorful palettes.
CAMPAIGN
The game begins with you, Vlad, having a conversation in prison with your friend. You're discussing the new assignment you've received from the administration: you are to be escorted to the 'Innovation Center' and assist the scientists there with an experiment. Once you arrive, a scientist tells you to pull some levers ominously labeled AZ-1 to AZ-5―the latter being the label of the lever that triggered the meltdown of Chernobyl in real life. Unsurprisingly, things go wrong, and soon you're up against a bunch of monsters and military forces. Your main goal becomes taking down the dictator and freeing your country from his oppressive rule.
It's the standard post-Soviet shooter: everything is ****, dystopic, and hopeless unless you bring the hurt to those at the top.
One thing that bugged me, though, is the end of the game.
SPOILERS
► Ending
The difficulty options.
The game has three difficulties: Easy, Normal, and Brutal. The menu is presented quite nicely, reminiscent of old shooters like DOOM and Wolfenstein. The details are even different for each difficulty (see: Codename, Appearance). It's funny how the Easy profile gives you a thin physique and calls you CHICKEN while the Brutal profile gives you a 'pimped' physique and calls you BRUTAL MONSTER.
ART DIRECTION
VLADiK features a highly cohesive art direction, each area feeling logically connected to the next. Metros appear authentic and the underground maintenance areas are filled with all the details you'd expect: small tunnels to crawl through, catwalks, emergency lights, sounds, etc. The atmosphere is further enhanced by the biomatter that covers most walls and floors, along with huge worms crawling everywhere. The experience is made even more immersive by the aftermath of battles between monsters, military forces, and even civilians present in each area.
Murals found in the Metro.
The art direction is pretty consistent. Some things felt out of place, but that's probably because I'm not Russian; I assume it's authentic. The underground passages reminded me of Half-Life 1 and 2, which is pretty nice. It was also a nice touch to include corpses of both monsters and humans all over the areas. It makes the game feel lived-in, as though you aren't just running through a level with enemies placed all over.
A propaganda poster. You see these on buildings.
VISUALS
The visuals are impressive, especially considering that the game was developed by a single person. It stands strong against games made by larger teams. The game offers a wide range of graphical options, including a preset optimized for the Steam Deck, allowing it to run at 60fps without any performance dips while still looking great.
► Screenshots
This noise is persistent in all areas where it's dark and you activate your flashlight.
SOUND DESIGN
The sound design is excellent. From the satisfying gunfire to the eerie ambient audio and the cawing of ravens, the game nails the atmosphere. When you're underground, you may hear speakers repeating warnings or the distant, terrifying roars of rampaging monsters. Gunfights, the screams of men and women, and other chaotic sounds contribute to the tension. The military enemies sound similar to the Combine from Half-Life with their heavily distorted voices. After you kill a soldier, you can hear someone on the radio, likely asking for his status, followed by eerie silence.
The voice acting is serviceable, but nothing grand. The dev himself voiced the main character.
ENEMIES
The game features a variety of enemies, including mutants and military personnel, each presenting unique challenges. Mutants range from standard enemies with tentacles on their faces who rush at you when they sense your presence to invisible foes that can be detected by their distinct sounds. There are also naked mutant women who flee from you but spawn kamikaze children that explode on impact, the spawning stopping only when the 'mom' is killed. Prowlers, crawling on all fours, are known for their jumping attacks, while fat slobs move slowly but can deal significant damage if they get too close, though they can usually be taken down with two shotgun blasts.
The military faction adds another layer of difficulty with standard goons armed with pistols, baton-wielding goons who rush at you, and commandos who come in two types: green with assault rifles and blue with shotguns, both fast and aggressive. Riot shield goons are slower and try to protect their allies by walking in front of them, but they’re easy to deal with once you figure out their pattern. Heavies, heavily armored and equipped with machine guns, can absorb a lot of damage and possess significant firepower. Attack dogs track and attack you, snipers require careful navigation to avoid their long-range shots, and, in the final missions, you face two assassins equipped with jetpacks, making them elusive and difficult to handle as they dodge and get close.
It's a nice variety of enemies. I'd say the military are the more difficult to fight against since they have guns and run just as fast as you do; they also like to flank or run behind you. One nice feature is that they take advantage of their riot shields by having two ranged goons stand behind each while firing at you.
There were a few boss fights in the game. They weren't particularly noteworthy but worked well enough for situations in which you face them.
EQUIPMENT
The game offers a diverse arsenal of weapons suited for various combat scenarios. The revolver is a powerful sidearm with limited ammo, capable of one-shotting most enemies. The regulator fires electric orbs that pull in enemies and then explode, which is both effective for crowd control and very fun. You usually see a bunch of limbs and blood flying around when that happens, fun times! For close-range combat, the pump shotgun stands out as a particularly strong choice. Of all the weapons, I used it the most, as it is a fantastic close-range option that kills most enemies with 1-2 shots and remains effective even at mid-range. Because of it shigher damage output, the AS Val proves a superior alternative to the AK despite its smaller 30-bullet magazine; it's particularly effective against tougher enemies like the green and blue commandos. The AK itself, however, with its 45-bullet magazine, still remains a reliable and efficient weapon.
► The Tokarev didn't fit into the collage
The Tokarev is one of the weapons I used the least. It is useful at the beginning of the game but gets replaced soon by the AK. If you have a steady supply of AK ammo, you basically don't need the Tokarev anymore. The two-barrel shotgun offers significant firepower, especially against heavily armored foes. For explosive needs, grenades detonate on impact, and Molotov cocktails are ideal for trapping enemies in confined spaces. The bolt-action sniper rifle can eliminate most foes with one hit, though it struggles with heavies. The RPG-7 is invaluable for taking down large groups and helicopters.
The gunplay was very well done overall, and each weapon feels good. The recoil is manageable; my only issue is that none of the assault rifles have a red dot sight or similar attachment, which makes aiming a bit more difficult.
NEGATIVES
Many of the game’s negatives can be easily adjusted through in-game options. Features like head bobbing, weapon sway, blur, bloom, and other post-processing effects can be turned off to improve comfort. However, you do need to reload your game manually after each death, so frequent saving is advisable. While the game does include auto-saves, they are often placed at the beginning of fights, which can be inconvenient.
CONCLUSION
Overall, VLADiK Brutal is a solid game, especially considering it was made by one person over five years. It's got that gritty, post-Soviet vibe down and has some intense action, a bunch of cool Russian guns, and a good mix of enemies trying to murder you. The atmosphere in each level feels great and the gunplay is satisfying even if some weapons are clearly better than others.
