0 
0 Read Time:5 Minute, 56 Second
Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainiods is a new 3rd person strategy action game by the creator of X-COM, Julian Gollop, and Snapshot Games (Phoenix Point). With publishing by Arc Games (Remnant II, Torchlight 3), play solo or with a friend to save the planet’s supply of Brainium from the invading Brainiods. You can pick it up today for PC via Steam or Epic, PS5 or Xbox. Today I’m taking a look at the PC version which is £25 on Steam.
Meet Your Next Comedic Gaming Duo: Chip ‘n Clawz!
Duos seem to be a common theme in 3d action platformers. The obvious and most direct comparison here would be between Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids and the well-known Ratchet & Clank series. Both feature a humanoid and their robot sidekick with a world to save. Regardless of similarities though, the trailer caught me as a quirky title with a bright and witty atmosphere. Not to mention that the strategy aspect thrown in seems unique too. We should be expecting comedic and strategic action then right? Read on to find out my thoughts below.
Gameplay
Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Broinioids sounds like a game in a series but this is the first appearance of the human/robot duo. The world has just finished repelling an alien invasion by a race known as The Brainioids – brain creatures in floating containers. Though the invasion has been stayed for now, the intruders are still looking to steal as much of the Brainium resource as possible before they depart. You’ll play as Chip or his robotic creation Clawz to battle it out by hopping on to the Grav Spheres they are using to harvest resources. Don’t worry though, there are plenty of gadgets, bots, and upgrades to find and place to assist you.
The game is a slick combination of 3rd person action and resource management strategy. You could almost think of it as a kind of tower offense game rather than defence. As you advance toward capturing enemy respawners in Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids, you find and hack various replicon containers for plans to build an array of bot spawners to assist you. These bots come in various forms of utility – from melee fighter boxer bots to distantly bombarding artillery bots. Using mining bots to harvest Brainium for powering your own technology, complete the objectives while best countering the enemy units. Sadly I found myself too caught up in the 3rd person action most of the time to be a good strategist.
Some Other Highlights
Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids features a command view from the heat of the moment. Pulling up this view gives a complete overview of the area, highlighting enemies, collectibles, buildings and more. It also provides a straightforward way to strategically place rally beacons for all or specific types of units. The only downside is that the view tethers to your character position and the action doesn’t pause when shifting into command view. So either be quick or make yourself safe first! There is also a way to quickly place rally beacons on the fly so you don’t have to completely rely on the command view.
Each campaign mission in Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids has it’s own set of unique objectives and collectibles to be found. Upgrades for your base and future loadouts are also hidden in the various campaign and challenge maps. I thought the trading info card collectibles where a nice touch on top of the comic books. Thankfully you’re given a clear number and indication of said collectibles from the mission overview and are able to replay missions to find those you missed. This also means that secondary objectives can be completed that you may not have quite finished the first go around. For completionists, ticking the box to hard difficulty will get that final star.
Graphics & Audio
I spent time playing Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids on my PC as well as on my Steam Deck. Both perform very well on default settings (with 2k resolution on PC) and the rendering for Steam Deck particularly is spot on. At no point am I left feeling like I’m sacrificing performance or quality going the handheld route. The models and environment feel very polished as well. Battery life, however, is another issue…
The game aesthetic is of a comic book style. Artwork, models, and environments throughout Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids are brightly colored and the UI reflects the same. However, I did feel that the UI, mostly due to the specific style of aesthetic, felt almost too familiar. Certain pieces stood out as making me feel as if I had already played the game before. Especially the background of the UI elements.
A great thing about game duos is that there’s usually some back and forth banter to be overheard. Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids is no exception. With quality voiceovers for both main characters and throughout, listening to instructive banter is just as enjoyable and the times in between. I also wasn’t left groaning from a ridiculous number of terrible puns right from the start. That was a plus. The game sounds just as great as it looks.
Longevity
I’m not sure how long the main campaign of Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids will take to complete. It doesn’t seem like a lot of people have the game yet to gather a good sample. I would definitely venture as far as to say that the completionist will spend more than a fair amount of time with the game. Though I haven’t had a chance to play it myself, I’m sure there will also be a niche for the versus mode as well. Brainioid Tournament, anyone? But keep in mind this is a full release so a lot if not all of what’s going to be in the game is already there.
Final Thoughts
Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids definitely feels like it could be one in a series of games. But this being just the first, I would say it is worthwhile checking out. It runs well on PC, Steam Deck, and is available for PS5 and Xbox. It’s a beautiful 3D action adventure with a flair of strategic management. If anything, maybe more focus on keeping up with your strategy could be in order. Maybe that’s just me. Definitely deserving of the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
If you enjoyed this review, be sure to check out my other reviews here.
YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Discord | Podcast