Chip ‘N Clawz vs. The Brainioids Review (PC)

I am an old-time player of Overlord games back in the bygone era of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. When I got the information surrounding Chip ‘N Claws vs. The Brainioids, that was exactly where my mind went. I wanted to feel the power of controlling an army as well as contributing to that army.

Game Name: Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids
Platform(s): PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC (Reviewed)
Developer(s): Snapshot Games Inc.
Publisher(s): Arc Games
Release Date: August 28th, 2025
Price: $29.99

You play as Chip and Claws, two individuals who want to save the planet from invading robots with brains known as the Brainioids. To do that, they set up and create robots that can fight off the brainoids. You will be collecting brainium and setting up facilities to construct different types of droids.

The Good

At the beginning of Chip ‘n Clawz vs. the Brainioids, you are blessed with what appears to be a claymation animation with Chip and Clawz. This is how a lot of these cinematics play out. The other way animations play out is in a comic book format with written dialogue bubbles for the main protagonists. Both of these are expertly done and add a lot of charm to the game and its campaign.

In the campaign, when you begin a stage, you will be given just enough brainium to construct one facility. That facility will generally be on a Replikon droid next to you. You can then build that facility to have that building construct the units housed within. It can be close-range melee robots, ranged attackers, air drones, or even worker drones that will do their part in mining brainium crystals throughout the map. You will be at each section long enough to find another Replikon droid that will also let you go to a new section of the map. Usually, in opening bridges or taking down watchtowers to eventually take them over and unlock a new section. It always gives you enough of the right unit to unlock the next area.

Chip and Clawz are both playable characters, and they both offer something different to the table with their kits. Chip is a bit faster at close-range combos and can supply extra speed to your units as he overdrives them. Clawz is faster at long-range combos with a gun and repairs the robots and droids your facilities create for a price of some brainium. I would recommend playing as them both and figuring out which playstyle you like best.

I played Chip n’ Clawz vs. the Brainioids on Steam Deck, and it ran at a solid 41 FPS. Though if you change the predefined frame cap in the settings, you can change it to 60 fps. Then it runs at around 50-60 FPS. It doesn’t dip a lot under 60 FPS, but I understand that they probably wanted it to be consistent, so going to 41 was the choice.

The Bad

For you to get extra weapons or utilities, you have to build a facility in Chip ‘n Clawz vs. the Brainioids. You have a single weapon combo, but you can make a facility that will give you ammo that makes you use Chip’s or Clawz’ gun. Once you are out of ammo, you have to go back to that facility or make a new one. This makes fast-paced combat a bit annoying. You have to remember where you placed the facility or use up some of the brainium you probably want to use for something else, on replacing the facility somewhere else.

When you create a facility, your robots essentially just attack or mine at the closest spot they can reach. At first, it makes it nice since you only move forward. Once you start moving to other directions, having other locations with bases and enemies, it can be annoying as they move all over. This is mitigated with the rally mechanics, but if I am working on making an army with mining resources, I don’t want them to have to all coincide into one place yet, but I also don’t want them just wandering around the enemy base camp.

The Verdict

Overall, if you are looking for the next Overlord itch you amassed from the PlayStation 3 era, this is the game to get. I enjoyed the time it took to beat the campaign. You can get more time out of the campaign with the challenge missions. This isn’t a game for everyone, though. If you want an action game with lots of combos or options to fight, you are going to be sorely disappointed.

Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Review Disclosure Statement: Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids was provided to us by Arc Games for review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy.

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