GamesStrategyBrutal Legend"People ask about Brutal Legend 2 all the time and I’m torn about that" - Tim Schafer says he’d expand on the 15-year-old game’s RTS bits for a potential sequelWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesStrategyBrutal Legend"People ask about Brutal Legend 2 all the time and I’m torn about that" - Tim Schafer says he’d expand on the 15-year-old game’s RTS bits for a potential sequelWhen 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: Double Fine)
Developers from Double Fine would like to return to the studio’s heavy metal epicBrutal Legendone day, but Tim Schafer is torn on whether he’d want to focus on the RTS elements or the God of War-y bits for a potential Brutal Legend 2.
Time marched with the same ferocity as a heavy metal album and somehow made Brutal Legend turn 15 years old earlier this month, on October 13, so the studio decided to go down memory lane in a recent’Brutal Memories' blogthat delves into the game’s backstory.
Rock iconography everywhere, an unexpected genre mish-mash, Jack Black starring as main man Eddie, Ozzy Osbourne selling you car parts, and a classically Double Fine personality made Brutal Legend endure for more than a decade. People (and Schafer himself) still log online every Rocktober 13, and so it’s not unexpected to read that countless fans are always writing into the studio asking, “When is Brutal Legend 2!? When!” Community manager Harper Jay MacIntyre says it’s “not in the card now,” but “it’s certainly a universe many folks here at the studio wonder about returning to.”
“People ask about Brutal Legend 2 all the time, and I’m torn about that,” director and studio head Tim Schafer says, mainly because of the game’s sometimes divisive genre blend. “I know some of them want it with an evolution of the RTS stuff and some of them just want God of War with Eddie Riggs. I understand the logic of making the second option, but I’m much more excited about the first.”
The reception to Brutal Legend in 2009 was probably harsher than you might expect for a game that’s now beloved, and that’s because the parts where you’d hack-and-slash gnarly rock demons soon gave way to bits where Eddie would sprout wings, shoot into the sky, and command armies from above RTS-style. It was RTS GTA, but rock, and it was pretty sick.
“There’s so much of a world to explore that could be done in many ways,” programmer Chad Dawson says. “It could be an RPG, it could be an RTS. Or even an auto battler!”
Schafer apparently thinks about Brutal Legend’s world as a place that can balloon, likening it to Mister Roger’s ever-expanding Neighbourhood of Make-Believe. DLC was supposedly considered and shelved, too, and the blog even shows off some scrapped enemies originally intended for a sequel. Who knows, though? The gap between Double Fine’s two Psychonauts games was 16 years, so it’s never too late for a sequel.
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“I think every game we made mattered to somebody,” Schafer noted. “They’re all personal, they’re all games we put a distinct spin on. Art is about making connections. You put yourself into this work of art and someone says “I see myself in that!” and that’s a beautiful thing. So it’s nice.”
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GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension"2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package"3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure"4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years"5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths"1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show"2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie"3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action"4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien"5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite"1Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now"2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat"3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses"4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist"5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
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GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2
Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3
Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
4
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
5
Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1
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2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2
Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3
Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5
Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
1Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now”
1Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now”
1
Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now”
2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
2
Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3
Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
4
Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”