Brother: A Tale of Two Sons Review

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a game of artistic and commercial pedigree, and that is exactly why it has been chosen to launch this year’s Xbox Live Summer of Arcade. It has been developed alongside the award-winning Swedish art-house director Josef Fares (he did Kopps and Zozo). In reality it translates to a stunning modern fairy-tale of ambition, joy and tragedy linked heavily into the world of Grimm.

Like the Grimm tales, the beauty of this game lies in its simply but accessible story. After losing their mother in a tragic accident at sea, two boys rush their ill father to a doctor, who reveals that the only way to save him is to collection and return the ‘water of life’ for a spring far away. The two then set out to work together and save their father from his terrible fate.

As they journey through the world they meet a variety of creatures, friend and foe, who help to create a mesmeric atmosphere that draws you into the quest at every opportunity. There isn’t any speech or subtitles here and the narrative is presented in the form of mimes; but instead of hindering the story, it aids the expressive nature of the characters.

The theme of the adventure is in its simplicity. On an Xbox controller the left stick and bumper controls the older brother and the right stick and bumper controllers the younger one. Of course this takes a little while to get used to but you quickly synchronise with the gameplay, hurtling through areas and puzzle with minimal fuss.

The genius control system allows the game to feel both simple and connected all at the same time and bringing the two characters together emphasises the intimacy of the design. If this has been a co-op game the connection would instantly be lost.

It actually feels a bit like an ICO experience; especially in style and design. Brothers is instantly charming but also intensely lonely. The world always feels bigger than the characters you control and this really shows through the design choices and draw distances. It’s even more impressive when you realise that the game is extremely linear. The world is beautiful with waterfalls, mines and, a particular favourite, battlefield.

The only issue I found is that the game itself is almost too straightforward. While the adventure and design leads to the sense of grandeur, the puzzles are easy to solve and many are just timing actions. Some of the traversals are inventive, but much of the game becomes very obvious very quickly.

However, the game does not ever reach the depths of un-enjoyable, and the six hour campaign feels exactly right. Anything longer would have stretched the narrative and gameplay towards breaking point, anything shorter and the player would be left wanting more.