Review of 'Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons'

Official website for the game

Image via Starbreeze Studios

I decided to write a review for this game because it was my favourite arcade game of 2013, and despite it winning the BAFTA for Game Innovation, I still feel like not enough people have played it.

I had no idea what was in store for me when I started this game. I'd heard Burnie Burns talk about it on The Patch, but that was about it.

Controls

The controls immediately confused me. They definitely took some getting used to, but part of the charm of this game lies in the controls. It it a good physical representation of how close these brothers are, and how they must work together.

The player controls both players on one controller. After a bit of fiddling, I learned to control them effectively if I aligned them on the sides of the screen that correspond with their positions on the controller, otherwise I'd end up with two characters wandering around aimlessly.

Image via: http://store.steampowered.com/app/225080/

Storyline

Despite the lack of dialogue, the storyline is very easy to grasp (through a lot of pointing at things from the various characters). It's a simple storyline that we've all heard before in many different forms. A combination of controlling both brothers at once, and the puzzles throughout the game makes a simple tale so engaging. You really want the brothers to succeed.

Puzzles along the way keep the story interesting. Each chapter is exciting and different. It's also interesting how the achievements aren't story based, which makes it possible to complete the game without getting a single G. I felt like this added another layer to the game- it was almost like little side quests throughout! They range from cute things like playing with rabbits, to very dark moments involving a man trying to hang himself.... (That wasn't really a spoiler, don't worry). I really had fun going through and getting all the achievements. (Hint: It's worth interacting with everything you see)

This game was an emotional roller coaster. Without giving too much away, there were parts near the end where I actually teared up. I don't even get like that with movies! (Perhaps that's a testament to why video games are better than movies IMO, but that would be a WHOLE different topic)

Summary

Like I said, this game was one of my favourites of 2013. I loved every second of playing. It was never repetitive or boring, and I would recommend this to EVERYONE.