Since it is that time of year, it isn’t unusual to see some games geared towards the season arriving just in time for being extra relevant. In this case we have what amounts to a relatively short visual novel of sorts, based in the BROK universe. The good news is that if you didn’t play the original InvestiGator adventure, or the follow-up brawler, you still shouldn’t have any real issues with this stand-alone side story, you could just perhaps appreciate the characters a bit better.

If you were expecting this to be a straight-up yuletide tale you may be a bit disappointed, at least at first. The traditions you’re more used to have been lost in this world, replaced by a more unusual one where you work to buy yourself your perfect gift. What this does well though is open the door to the characters reflecting on their own lives and family, and changing their own focus to the ones they love. 

Though it isn’t terribly long, you will have the opportunity to make at least some decisions, including ones that will lead to negative outcomes if you’re determined to make bad choices, so I’ll at least give the game credit for leaving the door open to at least some limited player agency. All in all, this is a pretty slight experience on the whole, but one that at least goes for a non-traditional means of sharing some holiday ruminations and further fleshing out of the seemingly unstoppable BROK extended universe.