Finally Played It #3 – Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Review

Having finished my Deadly Premonition playthrough, I turned my eyes towards the next game in the backlog. At first I didn’t know what to play, and then I spotted Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons in my Steam library. Since the game’s release I’ve heard praise for this indie title. With positive reviews in mind, I decided to dive in. Here is my Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Review. 

What is Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons?

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is an indie title that was released back on August 7, 2013. In the game, players take on the roles of two brothers, Naiee and Naia as they strike out on a quest to find medicine for their dying father. Along their journey, the brothers face various struggles as they attempt to reach the Tree of Life.

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Gameplay

I must admit, back when I first played Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons in 2015, I never made it very far. I couldn’t wrap my head around the concept of controlling two characters. Thankfully I came back to the game and I’m glad I did.

As soon as you start Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, you’ll notice the gameplay right away. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a singleplayer game, but you control two characters. This is done through the utilization of the control stick on a controller. If you played Embers of Mirrim, you’ll immediately see some similarities in controls.

The gameplay hook of controlling two characters leads to interesting puzzles which include things like lowering ropes and bridges, balancing a glider, and other two person jobs. These puzzles are well thought out and vary from easy to more thought provoking.

While you will spend time solving puzzles, you will also spend time walking. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is about a journey more than anything. This journey takes the form of a linear path. I actually appreciated this approach and thought it worked well given the storyline.

Overall the gameplay in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons strikes a nice balance between walking and puzzles. I enjoyed the journey and was pleasantly surprised as to how the game was designed.

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Story

If the gameplay of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons doesn’t hook you, I’m betting the story will. While the game clocks in at a mere 3 hours, the story and pacing just feels well thought out. With games like these, it is easy to bog the story down by stretching gameplay out. This is not the case. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons story is paced wonderfully and actually had me invested.

I’m not going to go to deep into the story here, but I will say the lack of text and voice actually works really well here. While Embers of Mirrim struggled in this department, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons really gets the character emotions correct. You actually feel the story through the interaction of Naiee and Naia.

Starbreeze Studios nailed the story in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. While I typically don’t find myself invested in video game stories, Brothers managed to get me to a point I very rarely experienced. From the pacing to the character emotions, I was invested.

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Graphics

For a game that came out back in 2013, I found Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons to hold up fairly well. There is a definite plus to taking a more cartoony approach to graphics, as it often ages a game better.

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Misc

Controls well

Good sound and ambience

Runs well

A couple of bugs still exist

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Closing

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a must play indie title. Like indie games such as Terraria, Binding of Isaac,  and Braid, you can feel the love and thought put into Brothers. Both the gameplay and storyline are top tier and really got me invested. Clocking in at just under 3 hours also added to my experience as it never felt bogged down or tough to push through. If your haven’t played Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, I highly recommend it. Just prepare to get sad…

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What I liked

+ Gameplay: Controls well; has a good mix of puzzles and walking.

+ Storyline: Incredible storyline. Sucks you into the journey.

+ Graphics: Holds up surprisingly well.

+ Runs Well.

+ Can be bought for crazy cheap

+ Short.

 

What I didn’t like

– I ran into a couple of glitches

 

Score: 9/10

 

Agree with my Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Review? Let me know in The Pit below.