Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons Review
Played on PC
Developed by Starbreeze Studios
Released 7th August 2013
Before co-op masterclasses 'A Way Out' and 'It Takes Two' were released, Josef Fares, a film director and game designer, had unsuccessfully pitched ideas to many Swedish game studios for his break into the gaming industry. After Starbreeze Studios (developers behind the incredible Payday 2) needed a new IP, they accepted Fares' idea and what came out of it were several accolades and the push Fares needed to go ahead and set up his studio that would later develop those co-op powerhouses mentioned earlier. 'Brothers' being a predecessor to some of my favourite co-op games ever was what initially sparked my intrigue in playing this critically acclaimed title, and with its recent remake announcement at this year's The Game Awards, I had the ultimate push to play the game. With its remake on the way all that I hope for is that they take a page out of Resident Evil's remaking book of recreating a classic experience than 'The Last Of Us'' blatant 1-1 copy-paste style as the game is not as good as people remember it to be.
This review might be a case of unpopular opinion as the game does have a fairly great track record at pleasing audiences. It's often brought up as an example of video game artistry, it has sold over 1.3 million copies since its 2013 release (according to Video Game Insights), its Metacritic aggregate score sits at an impressive 86 and it has won Best Xbox Game and Best Game Innovation Award at the VGAs and BAFTAs respectively. For a first time of developing video games, Josef Fares did an impressive job directing his team to make such a beloved game, even if you are like me and find the experience to be less favourable.
Story
With its reputation preceding it, I went into 'Brothers' the same way anybody would've after hearing the buzz around the game: expecting a strongly evocative, personally connected, short narrative that plucked at the heartstrings to some degree. However, my 3 hours with the title didn't do as such, at least not until the final 20 minutes of the game when it starts to wrap up its journey. The story of 'Brothers' is very simplistic as you simultaneously control and play as two brothers who wander across the fairytale-inspired lands to get their sick father some medicine.
The narrative is delivered through the emotive body language of the characters as the actual dialogue is made up, with partial resemblance to Lebanese Arabic. But whether it's through the environmental storytelling or the short, scripted cutscenes, the whole experience and tale fell flat for me. There simply wasn't enough material or subject matter for me to latch onto and be engaged with as this had to be one of the most plain "duo travelling across the world" stories I've played. There were some instances in the levels and chapters where it did capture my attention like coming across someone who tries to hang themselves near a recently burned down home, seeing the aftermath of a war between giants or coming across a cult ritual. Yet, these moments were either optional bonus stories that the player could participate in or meant nothing to the overarching narrative that was being centred on the brothers. The final section of the game and its heavier emphasis on the storytelling was supposed to be this massive release of all the emotions that you've accumulated across the game but it meant very little to me with how little the rest of the game hooked me in.
The gradual maturing of tones and themes did work well though. Having such a fantastical world unravel around you in an attempt to strengthen the game's focus on family love and the younger brother's maturity, was executed well. However, at times this would make certain plot points feel disjointed as the two ideas of a fairytale theme and a family-focused tone would outweigh one or the other, further making it harder for me to immerse myself in these brothers' relationship.
Gameplay
'Brothers' and its gameplay clearly depict itself as the ancestors of the 2-player co-op playstyle of Josef Fares' future projects, and while it is intriguing to see where such design evolved from, it does leave much to be desired in this debut outing. When played with a controller, its right side is designated for controlling the younger brother, while the left side controls the older brother. The idea of simultaneously playing as two different characters is fairly interesting, albeit quite janky, and does lead to some clever set-ups and designs for puzzles and platforming, like having to use one brother as an anchor while the other uses the rope attached to them to swing to a nearby ledge.
The game is focused more on being an "experience" rather than a fully-fledged game and while that vision is sometimes realised, it does make a huge chunk of the game feel half-baked, more accurately, the puzzle and platforming chunk. The puzzle and platforming sections of the game aren't terrible and sometimes do serve as fun to do, but their basic structure does get unravelled with how quickly repetitive they are. Using that rope mechanic mentioned earlier, it was impressive to swing between the grand rubble of a tower, but after doing it for a solid 5 minutes, I was waiting for the game to make it more varied and interactive but instead, it continued its semi-monotony for the rest of the chapter.
On the other hand, the great sections of the game that nicely balanced gameplay entertainment with an atmospheric journey, from riding mountain goats to outmanoeuvring a giant guard, were fun little touches whose entertainment was as short-lived as their length allowed them to be.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is undeniably beautiful. The hues of blue and orange and how they naturally blend and contrast each other are advantageous in so many environments; whether it is to create tremendous moments of sunlight gleaming on glaciers, or a lake complimenting the surrounding autumn nature. Unfortunately, there are many moments where it's visually lacklustre. Where there is a gorgeous, mountainside view, there is a portion of the level that is unrelentingly dull with its grey colour palette and unfulfilling presentation, and there are a lot of mountains in this game. Quite rarely did I see a "grey" area working well, but when I did, it made the game's focus on maturation all the more powerful. The jarring transformation from pretty autumn weather to a dark & disturbing suicide forest, or a graveyard for the giants where their blood fills up the nearby creaks, was, and still is, designed amazingly. It is unfortunate to see these sceneries quite sparse as they were the most optically engaging and probably evoked a greater reaction from me than the story.
The soundtrack is fantastic as well. The expectations of an evocative experience that I came with into the game did not arrive in the form of the story or gameplay, but it was delivered via the audio. It has this alluring presence with the splendid blend of the woman vocalising and the orchestral-like instruments being either toned down to become the game's ambience or amplified to make the moment all the more dynamic. With how disappointed I was with a relatively large portion of the game, the music was one part that not only held up but somewhat exceeded my expectations. It's not a Hall of Fame level of amazement, but it's enough to make the game work, and had I been more invested in the story, I could see myself more emotionally attached and vulnerable to the sombre parts of the game.
Story - 6/10
Gameplay - 5.5/10
Atmosphere - 7.5/10
Subpar
'Brothers' is, in retrospect, painfully average, if not subpar, as Josef's later efforts led to more brilliant experiences that are plagued less with the need to be artistic, sacrificing entertainment value for it.
