Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a puzzle game with a sincere heartfelt story. So it may surprise you to hear that the game was created by Starbreeze Studios who previously worked on some of the darkest and most violent games of the last 10 years including The Chronicles of Riddick and The Darkness. Brothers attempts to tell a profoundly resonant story about life, death and family all without a single spoken word. And what initially sounds pretentious is pulled off with such elegance and a sure hand that every interpreted moment comes crashing down in a poignant and unforgettable ending. Brothers is a darker game than it initially lets on but a few hours into your adventure and the brutal realities of this world are made clear. Surprisingly for the scope of the game, both brothers have significant character arcs over the course of their journey as they learn things about themselves, their responsibilities to the world and eachother.
The game play is refreshingly unique with each boy being controlled with a separate analog stick and trigger making keen coordination necessary for navigating the gorgeously rendered environments and solving the games puzzles. The game deserves immense credit for the way it communicates to the player without explicitly pointing anything out, the subtle nudges allow for a more rewarding experience and one that had me grinning ear to ear with each new discovery. Brothers is the perfect length, at around 5 hours the game never overstays its welcome while consistently delivering plenty of unique areas and varied set-pieces that keep the game exciting till the end. And boy that ending, a tearful and beautiful finale that accomplishes an unprecedentedly emotional moment with the simple act of pressing a button, a feat so noteworthy it deserves to be experienced by anyone who plays video games. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is wonderfully realized and heartfelt without being sappy, a testament to great game design; a simple idea propelled by ingenuity and execution.
(5 out of 5)
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