Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons

 
Developer: Starbreeze Studios AB
Steam Release: Sep 2013
Hours Played: 9.4
Similar To: Degrees of Separation / Lara Croft Go / Never Alone / Submerged
Rating: 5/5 Parsnips

GAMEPLAY
Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons is one of the most amazing games you'll play and quite possibly the showcase for the indie gaming world. Polished and crafted to an exquisite degree, it's described by developers as a "single-player co-op" where you are placed into the shoes of two brothers. The blue-clothed big brother moves with use of the left-stick and the orange clothed little brother is moved with the right. An action is initiated and performed by squeezing the corresponding trigger. You bound through the lush and gorgeous world in a linear fashion while being forever required to engage in team work to overcome the huge variety of obstacles and situations in your path. This could be from the simplest task like opening a gate to the very tricky such as releasing a trap through a complex process of tasks.  
      

BALANCE & PACE

The game can be described as third-person action but puts itself in a class of its own by breaking the usual conventions. Rather than following you in behind the shoulder view (which wouldn't be possible with two characters anyway) the camera shows an isometric view of both protagonists while a swing-cam and panning view captures and frames their teamwork beautifully. This creates a certain harmony between the two brothers that just makes the controls and movement seem elegantly precise and well-done. The game's charm weaves its spell by incorporating everyday actions such as pushing, pulling and climbing in rich and entertaining ways to create varied and fresh puzzle-solving mechanics from start to finish. I wouldn't even want to start listing the ingenious and inventive ways this is done. 

PRESENTATION & DESIGN

Menus, being few and sparse, are most definitely not a priority in B-ATOTS as it's clear developers just want you diving into the action and not worrying about distractions like settings or options. This is not surprising as it's glorious and plays out like an epic, interactive Brother's Grimm fairy tale adventure. With stunning lighting and shading effects to triple A standards, you'll be encountering the weird and wonderful as you set out on your journey to find elusive medicinal herbs for your dying father. (Slight spoiler) You'll meet a friendly troll, a helpful gryphon and a mad professor with a dodgy hand-glider to support you, along with not-so-friendly giants and a genuinely scary arachnid keen to end your journey. Chapter 4, involving the hand-glider and the huge abandoned castle, might just be the most memorable gaming experience in history.    

PROGRESS SYSTEM

The story of Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons, plays out over seven chapters but features a prologue and an epilogue that are virtually chapters in their own right. My first playthrough took about four and a half hours meaning 30 minutes per chapter but I tend to take my time and explore most nooks and crannies so it'll be less time for most. In any case, the game is conveniently divided into bite-size sections and definitely lends itself to two or three relaxing sessions - and of course you'll want to show it off to friends and family so you'll get your money's worth. Finally, there is a Select Chapter option to replay chapters if you so wish.
  

CONCLUSION

It really is hard to find negatives for such a remarkable game but if you're looking for one you might take issue with the difficulty. B-AToTS is not an overly challenging game. Sure, the left or right trigger for an action is like a get-out-of-jail free card (in that they'll either perform the correct action or simply point in the direction of where you need to go) but to my standards the pacing was spot-on and stretched me at the right level I wanted the game to be. My only real problem with the game was that I found the mixture of the seriously creepy twist in the tale near the end and the over-sentimentality afterwards just a little jarring if not downright disturbing. But hey, the overall gameplay mixed with the stunning environments alone trumps everything else entirely in this immaculate title.