Brawl Stars Time Capsule: Sam, Gus, Skins, and a PvE Babysitting Gig

In 2026, Brawl Stars has enough Brawlers to fill a small country, so it is easy to forget that Sam and Gus once arrived as shiny new toys. Back in 2022, Supercell returned from a long summer break with a Brawl Talk episode that promised two new Brawlers, a pile of skins, and a PvE mode. From a 2026 vantage point, that update looks less like breaking news and more like a vintage comic book: the paper is yellowed, but the punchlines still land. Still, the details are worth revisiting, because they explain why Starr Park feels the way it does today.

Sam: The Robot-Hating Pugilist

Sam joined Belle's trio and brought a personal grudge against almost every robot in Starr Park. That is a lot of anger for one man, but Sam channels it through his Knuckle Busters. When equipped, the Knuckle Busters make his close-range attacks stronger and allow him to hit multiple enemies at once. When he loses them, his attacks become less powerful but faster. This gives Sam a playstyle that swings between sledgehammer subtlety and frantic mosquito energy.

The strangest part, especially for players in 2022, was that Sam spawns with his Super available when he has the Knuckle Busters. He became the first Brawler in Brawl Stars to start a match with a Super ready to go. His Super throws the Knuckle Busters a certain distance, damaging everything on the way. Using the Super again recalls them, damaging everything on the way back. It is like a medieval knight who throws his own gauntlet, then whistles for it to return and break noses on the return trip. Sam is not subtle, but he is memorable.

Gus: The Pajama-Clad Support Menace

Gus arrived a bit later, described by Supercell as a weird kid in his pajamas. That description sounds like a sleepover gone wrong, but it hides a fantastic Support Brawler. Every attack Gus lands charges a new bar. When that bar fills, he drops a ghost on the map where his next attack goes. Gus or his allies can pick up the ghost to be healed. He can drop multiple ghosts at a time, which makes him less like a medic and more like a toddler distributing Band-Aids at a demolition derby. His Super is a shield that can be cast on himself or an ally to protect them from enemy fire.

Players had to wait a bit longer to play him, because Gus was not immediately available with the next Brawl Stars update. He was released into the game later in September. In 2026, that delay feels quaint, but at the time it gave the community something to speculate about besides balance changes and skin prices.

The Skin Parade

As usual, Supercell rolled out a lot of new and exciting skins for players to unlock. The list was long enough to make a completionist's wallet whimper. Here is the lineup from that Brawl Talk:

The Mecha Mortis skin came with custom voiceovers and visual effects. Supercell also gave away a spray, profile picture, and a set of pins for free to players who got the skin during the release month. That is the kind of bonus that makes players feel like they won a tiny lottery, even if the lottery only pays out in digital stickers. Supercell said it would be breaking more skins into Brawl Stars for Halloween, but those were released in a later update.

Protect 8-Bit: The PvE Escort Mission

The new PvE mode asked players to protect 8-Bit. In this mode, 8-Bit roams around the map and does some work. Someone does not like this, so they send waves of Bots to bring him down. The goal is to protect 8-Bit from getting defeated before the timer runs out. It is like a bomb disposal squad guarding a sentient arcade cabinet that insists on doing parkour. The mode gave Brawl Stars a cooperative twist, and it showed that Supercell was willing to experiment outside the usual three-versus-three chaos.

A 2026 Postcard from 2022

By 2026, Sam and Gus are no longer fresh faces. They are part of the sprawling Brawl Stars furniture, and the skins from that update have become collector's items or nostalgic favorites. The PvE mode is a reminder that Supercell has always liked to mix genres, even when the results are as weird as a robot-hating strongman and a pajama ghost healer. The Brawl Talk episode from 2022 remains a time capsule: two Brawlers, a pile of cosmetics, and one escort mission that turned 8-Bit into the most nervous arcade machine in Starr Park. Players who missed it can still appreciate the chaos, because in Brawl Stars, yesterday's headline is tomorrow's nostalgia.