Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
PlayStation 3
Every once in a great while a game will swoop in, seemingly out of nowhere, and take me completely by surprise. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is such a game. I had never heard of this game. In fact, I probably still would never have heard of the game if it wasn't available as a free download on the PlayStation Network.
I figured why not give it a shot? I never turn down the opportunity to play a free game. I looked up a couple reviews of it online, saw that it was supposed to be good, and then decided to give it a go.
Right off the bat, I was taken aback by the game's gorgeous visual style. It looks stunning, like a well realized, fully fleshed out fantasy novel or fairy tale come to life. The story focuses around two young boys who are brothers (obviously). They set out on a quest to find a potion which will save their father, who is fallen ill and seemingly on his death bed.
None of the characters in the game speak English. There are no subtitles either. So basically, it is up to you to figure out what is going on through body language and context clues. I thought this dynamic would be a bother at first, but it actually lends to the game's charm and mystique. You don't need to know exactly what everyone is saying. The game makes it very clear what is going on.
As the game progresses, you find out more about the boys' past. What happened to their mother, their life with their father up until this point. Turns out that this small family has really been through a lot, which lends a sense of urgency and desperation to their quest to save the father.
The game's controls take some time to get used to. You don't control one brother and have the other one follow you around - you must control each brother at the same time. Each analogue stick controls a brother. The left side controls the big brother, the right stick the younger one. Also, the shoulder triggers act as action buttons to each corresponding character.
This can be very disconcerting and hard to get a hang of. The human brain doesn't seem to be fully capable of moving two characters at the same time, especially when using the same controller. You sort of get used to it after a while, but I found that even towards the end of the game I was managing to screw things up every once in a while.
Each brother has his own unique attributes. The older brother is stronger and can move things that the smaller brother is incapable of. Also, the older brother is a strong swimmer. The younger brother is afraid of the water (for reasons which the game will dive in to) and must rely on the older brother to get him across rivers whenever swimming is required to advance in the game.
Conversely, the younger brother is smaller and can get into areas the younger brother can not. For example, he can squeeze through bars and other small places when your characters are in a jam.
The game doesn't have any really traditional enemies as we are accustomed to in video games. There are a few fights which resemble boss battles, but they are solved more through puzzle solving than actual combat. For example, not too far into the game, there is an ogre you must get past. The younger brother must run into an open cage, have the ogre follow him in, squeeze through the bars at the far side of the cage to escape, and have the older brother turn a crank to close the door on the ogre and seal him in the cage.
Gameplay consists mainly of traversing this big, epic fantasy world. You climb things, swim, swing from ropes, solve puzzles and make your way to your ultimate goal of finding that potion that saves your dad. There are even a few vehicle segments where you fly a hang glider and ride in a boat across icy waters.
The game is always finding new ways to keep things fresh. Although this seems at first glance to be a simple "get from point A to point B" journey, it is anything but. And the way the game keeps you interested is in its varied gameplay, as mentioned in the paragraph above, and just as importantly - its incredible landscapes.
Anyone who appreciates a good fantasy epic will love the locales of this game. Everything is super detailed, super gorgeous. You start out in a beautifully rendered village. You make your way through an underground troll mine, a dark and haunted forest, an airy mountain range, a bloody battlefield full of fallen giants, an eerie abandoned town in the snow which is haunted by a terrifying beast, and much more.
Not only does the game look good, the sounds accompany each environment perfectly. Play this in the dark, put on some headphones, and let the game completely immerse you. It truly is an extraordinary experience.
I must say though, that the game is very short. It can easily be beaten in one sitting. While normally this would be a knock on a game - I got this for free so I am not going to complain. And a lot of classic older titles like Mario Bros. and Contra can be beaten in one play through - and you don't see me knocking them. The game is short, yeah, but it is still fucking epic.
All I can say is that if you have never played this game, you NEED to. There is no excuse not to. No, I don't think it is free anymore, but you can probably get it for really cheap. It is well worth the experience to own this amazing game forever. People shell out 20 bucks for a movie they'll only watch once or twice in their life. Why not pay 5 for a really great game that you will want to play over and over again?
It will be the best decision you have ever made.
Overall:
A
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