Mr.Brocco & Co

I spent enough time with Mr. Brocco & Co to tell you exactly who it will satisfy and, just as honestly, who should look elsewhere. VICTORIA Games has built a side-scrolling 2D platformer around one of the most cheerfully absurd premises in the indie space: pick either Mr. Broccoli or Super Asparagus and fight your way through stages overrun by malevolent hot dogs, coke bottles, and burgers. The concept alone carries a warm Saturday-morning-cartoon energy, and the colorful 2D art style earns its keep on that front. As a small solo studio release with a lighthearted message about healthy eating folded into its DNA, there is genuine handcraft in the visual direction and the commitment to the bit. The moment-to-moment play, though, is where honesty becomes necessary. Your character's core move set is jump, and that is largely where the toolkit ends. Levels are built around collecting coins, avoiding spikes, and hunting colored keys to unlock matching doors. The boss fights exist and are slow-paced enough to be approachable, but they do not escalate into anything that demands attention. The two playable characters do not appear to differ meaningfully in ability, so the choice feels more cosmetic than strategic. Veterans of the genre who have touched more than a handful of platformers will recognize almost every design beat from the first stage onward, and the mechanics do not evolve in later levels to surprise them. Pacing is the softest area. Some player reports flag a sluggish feel to movement that keeps the action from finding a satisfying rhythm. Controller mapping reportedly works but may need manual tweaking depending on your setup. The overall runtime is short, and repetition sets in before the credits, which is the game's unkindest structural choice. For a child just beginning their platformer journey, none of those complaints will land with the same weight. The colorful aesthetic, the three-heart health system, and the low friction entry point make this a genuinely reasonable first platformer for a young player. The edutainment angle, however, is thinner than advertised. If you are an adult shopper weighing this against your time, be realistic about what you are buying. The concept is delightful and the presentation has charm, but the depth the premise could unlock never materializes. What stays is a competent, undemanding arcade loop that knows how to look cheerful without fully delivering on its own energy. It occupies a specific and defensible niche, but it is not a game that grows with you or rewards replaying with a different vegetable.

Kai · Scout Team

Indie & narrative

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