Brigand: Oaxaca might be the ugliest game I've ever played, and quietly one of the greatest immersive sims of all time

GamesFPSBrigand: Oaxaca might be the ugliest game I’ve ever played, and quietly one of the greatest immersive sims of all timeWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Laughing Coyote Software)

Cyberpunk-looking woman in bright jacket and visor facing player from other side of prison bars in a farm field.

If you’re the kind of weirdo who’s into Stalker, Morrowind, Kenshi—worlds that fundamentally don’t care about you and adhere strictly to their own rules—consider this my unreserved recommendation. Brigand: Oaxaca feels like burying all those games a mile underground, subjecting them to an eon of heat and pressure, and pulling out the mystifying diamond that results.

Bob’s your uncle

Image1of4(Image credit: Laughing Coyote Software)(Image credit: Laughing Coyote Software)(Image credit: Laughing Coyote Software)(Image credit: Laughing Coyote Software)

Image1of4

(Image credit: Laughing Coyote Software)(Image credit: Laughing Coyote Software)(Image credit: Laughing Coyote Software)(Image credit: Laughing Coyote Software)

(Image credit: Laughing Coyote Software)

View of banana billboard on side of highway in Brigand Oaxaca

(Image credit: Laughing Coyote Software)

Zombie character facing camera with dialogue window about it stealing from another character in Brigand: Oaxaca

(Image credit: Laughing Coyote Software)

Character on other side of jail bars with character pointing gun at them in Brigand: Oaxaca

(Image credit: Laughing Coyote Software)

Firing on an NPC in a farm field in Brigand: Oaxaca

Brigand: Oaxaca starts you out in prison. Actually, no. Brigand: Oaxaca starts you out at character creation in glorious 4:3. The rest of the game is not in 4:3 (it goes all the way up to 1080p, if you can imagine that), just this bit. There’s probably a technical reason for that, but I choose to interpret it as a statement of intent: the game letting you know what you’re dealing with right from the off. Just in case you didn’t get the message from its launcher looking like an install wizard for Microsoft Office ‘95.

You name your guy, choose a face for him (there are three: Camilo Cienfuegos, the melted guy from Robocop, and Niko Bellic), and then you get into the meat. Your starting class determines your starting stats, and your starting stats determine your starting abilities. For instance, I decided to be a Witchdoctor because it was the least comprehensible thing on the menu. That made me very good at bandaging people and learning new spells, less hot at exterminating my foes with extreme prejudice.

Brigand’s all about freedom, so you could always just flee into the mountains and leave these people behind, but I was keen to follow something resembling a plotline. Also, I had no idea what was happening and wanted weapons and skillpoints, and I’ve played enough videogames to know those things come from doing stuff people ask you to do.

Alas, I was good at learning spells, but didn’t actually know any, and my proficiency for bandaging was, if anything, counterproductive when it comes to killing people. I met a near-instant end come nightfall, when armed men poured across the hills and into the brewery. I didn’t even hear it when it happened.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

I did none of these. I crouched in a dark corner and picked the thugs off before they knew I was there, just as they’d done to me.

Image1of3(Image credit: Laughing Coyote Software)(Image credit: Laughing Coyote Software)(Image credit: Laughing Coyote Software)

Image1of3

(Image credit: Laughing Coyote Software)(Image credit: Laughing Coyote Software)(Image credit: Laughing Coyote Software)

(Image credit: Laughing Coyote Software)

Firing on zombie NPC with another visible dead on ground in Brigand: Oaxaca.

(Image credit: Laughing Coyote Software)

Brigand: Oaxaca character creation screen with classes like “Gunslinger,” “Pit Fighter,” “Vagabond,” “Businessman,” and more visible.

(Image credit: Laughing Coyote Software)

Firing on NPC in close range in a canyon in Brigand: Oaxaca.

I think I might be in love with this game.

More about fpsTeam Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40KThe most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’LatestMy Summer Car, the absurdly detailed Finnish life sim about vehicle maintenance and drinking in your underpants, smashes into 1.0 after nearly a decade in Steam early accessSee more latest►

More about fps

Team Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40KThe most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’

Money money money.

Team Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40K

FBC: Firebreak

The most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’

LatestMy Summer Car, the absurdly detailed Finnish life sim about vehicle maintenance and drinking in your underpants, smashes into 1.0 after nearly a decade in Steam early accessSee more latest►

Latest

My Summer Car, the absurdly detailed Finnish life sim about vehicle maintenance and drinking in your underpants, smashes into 1.0 after nearly a decade in Steam early access

The protagonist of My Summer Car smoking a cigarette outside while a truck in the background pumps out a septic tank.

My Summer Car, the absurdly detailed Finnish life sim about vehicle maintenance and drinking in your underpants, smashes into 1.0 after nearly a decade in Steam early access

See more latest►

Most Popular

The Witcher 3’s now 2-year-old bonus quest is our first taste of the ‘vibe’ CD Projekt is going for in The Witcher 4

2024 was the year updates for old games beat out all the new ones for me

Train like you game with this adventure-inspired workout

‘It’s simply impossible to make a difficulty level that’s just right for all players’: How Final Fantasy 14’s lead battle designer has been playing a precarious balancing game for Dawntrail’s dungeons and raids

Please join me in getting super excited for all the cool looking survival games coming in 2025 (and beyond)

Competitive shooters are at a crucial crossroads in 2025: ‘sweaty’ teamplay vs. casual fun

Call of Duty’s $28 Squid Game skins are the perfect crossover for our capitalist dystopia, and Activision knows exactly what it’s doing

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

Five new Steam games you probably missed (January 6, 2025)

I’ve seen enough: No more forcing singleplayer studios to make mediocre live service games

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Bob’s your uncle#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

Bob’s your uncle

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals