VLADiK BRUTAL

I see a lot of people in the reviews saying that this game is a "Indie Russian Half-Life" and after playing it, I can't think of a more fitting description. It is a few hour-long FPS, (apparently made by a single developer) that takes heavy inspiration from Valve's main franchise. It has fast gameplay, very "punchy" gunplay and is decently optimised (although it did crash twice on me during my playthrough).
Well worth the price IMO, I've played several FPS games that were of worse quality while being several times more expensive.

absolute old school spirit, with a lot of jank.
"Russian Half Life" is not really the worst descriptor for this game. i found myself woefully addicted to this though just from the gameplay and level design alone. the physics based puzzles were interesting, if a bit repetitive with the batteries, and the fights were all really well paced, bar one of the last ones which frankly had too many enemies that it becomes an overwhelming gauntlet that requires either RNG or cheats due to how item spawns work.
overall though, it feels like a game made by a guy with a vision and an idea of good game design. a lot of the encounters are well paced and don't overwhelm you too much, there are a lot of interestingly designed levels, some with unique gimmicks, and gameplay is the bombastic "play what you got" type shtick. it really leans into old school gameplay dynamics with each enemy playing differently, but not having counters be so riggid that dealing with them becomes annoying and unfulfilling. it's a kind of arcadey stupid fun that i wish more games dared to offer. most modern games seem to have to be designed with some deeper gameplay purpose or have to have a particularly engaged combat loop, but Vladik Brutal just gives you the toys and says "go half fun". if you're expecting each tool to be purpose built, you're going to be a bit disappointed.
honestly, i wasn't expecting much of anything out of this game. even watching gameplay, i only saw a janky indie shooter with bad enemy models. the more i played, the more i wanted to play. the more i wanted to dig deeper into the gameplay and experiment with it.
i got it on sale, but this is well worth more than even the basic price of admission. 12 bucks is definitely a good deal on this game, and though the story wasn't particularly riveting, i found it complementary enough to the carnage on screen, which is enough for me.
if you're apprehensive about this, and just want an old school dumb fun shooter that feels unbalanced in some of the best ways, please play this. the gameplay overall is tight but fun, very free form, but doesn't pigeonhole you into playing too specifically. the gunplay is punchy, the enemies are diverse and interesting in their own ways, and the level design, though somewhat basic, has some pretty good looking set pieces. it's also very lenient on resources, as the game offers dozens of caches that can pick you up any time your down.
what are you waiting for? get playin!

The game isn't bad and can certainly be beautiful in it's own kind of way at certain locations, also the gunplay is top notch. The only bad thing I could say about it is that the story doesn't really make any sense and that the hardest difficulty is kind of
makes the last missions an absolute chore to get throug, my pc even started dropping to like 7 fps because of the amount of bodies littering the floor.
Other than that I'd say it's a pretty accurate simulator of an average day in Russia.

Honestly, for $12, this game is great!
It is LITERALLY Russian Half-Life. You are thrown into a fleshy nightmare in the midst of a revolution. The gunplay is amazing and the guns really pack a punch. The gore splatter is impeccable, even blood drips from the ceiling when you eviscerate people. The graphics are top-notch, even on lower settings. The story will run you about the normal length of a shooter campaign. The puzzles are simplistic, but the atmosphere is tense. I got jumpscared quite a few times from the zombies / soldiers.
My only gripe with the game is the enemies have super aimbot and will shoot you the NANOSECOND you are in their sight. This is especially egregious in the last section of the game where you have to break a siege into the tower of the government to kill the president. This was insanely difficult even on normal difficulty as the enemies just keep spawning and you just cant keep up with the damage. That's about it though. The music was amazing, seriously!
I would recommend this highly! It was a heck of a romp and very enjoyable!

The aaa space ought to be ashamed of itself when people are making games like this. Buy it yesterday.

Awesome game! My Half Life 3 fix. Excellent ending. Thankyou Vladislav Meshcheryakov, you put those so called triple A developers to shame!

I love a game that wears its influences on its sleeve unapologetically Vladik Brutal does exactly that, dropping nods to its Half-Life roots in memorable ways. If you're craving that golden age of game design but paired with slick, modern shooting mechanics, this is your jam. The recoil takes a moment to get used to, but once you do, It’s so damn good.
The setting drips with atmosphere from dilapidated Soviet panel blocks to murky underground labs all drenched in a grim aesthetic that’s equal parts nostalgic and original. For one solo developer, the ambition here is staggering: expect 7 to 8 hours of action, puzzles, vehicle segments, platforming, and secrets galore.
Yes, it's rough sometimes. Voice acting and translation can feel early access, and level design occasionally leans toward routines like "press a button, open a door." Enemy AI can be brutal and punishing. Yet none of that undercuts the core fun: fast, visceral gunplay with ragdoll carnage that feels spectacular sometimes reminiscent of FEAR with all the gory flair. The last huge battle was a bit of a pain to get through and I had to cheese it.