Brothers: A Tale of two sons Review

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• Developer: Starbreeze Studios/The Workshop
• Publisher: 505 Games
• Genre: Action & Adventure
• Release Date: 12.08.2015
• Platforms: Playstation 4, Xbox One
• Game Supplied by: 505 Games

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On the 7th August 2013 A beautiful action adventure title graced the Xbox 360, Brothers a tale of two sons. It had such an impression on our reviewer it sparked a huge debate over what a 10 out of 10 game constituted as he was sure it was worthy of a ten. Two years later the only point he could mark down clearly were the graphics and for only a mere 664 MB compared to the new version boasting a whopping 3.64 GB it’s surely going to fulfil those shortfalls. (bearing in mind it was at the peak of Xbox 360’s power) but is or was it ever ten out of ten?

You share in the epic journey of two brothers, as they set out to find a cure for their dying father. Travel across beautiful vistas, through dark and foreboding forests, down perilous rivers, up hazardous mountain sides and experience the wonders of Nordic mythology along the way.

Use the unique control system to control each brother with a stick, for concurrent gameplay throughout the adventure. Use both brothers cooperatively to solve puzzles, explore the environments and in boss encounters.

You are thrown straight into the game and immediately your focus is on doing two things at once, Each thumb stick controls a brother and the triggers makes them take actions or perform a task when close to an object. To fully coördinate their different abilities you must learn to master this dual stick control system but trust me its worth your perseverance. One big brother, one little brother, one stronger, one lighter, lift each other up and work together to achieve your goals and save your dying father.

I decided to change what they were saying in their quite obvious situation

So off on your quest you go, meeting people along the way with a soundtrack for every occasion (I turned mine down a little to give a better background appeal) and then BAM it hit me, I’ve set the wrong language settings, and I’ve not turned subtitles on WHAT ARE THEY SAYING?

For some reason this game is not in any known dialect, at first I found it annoying but instead of letting it ruin my experience I changed what they were saying in their obvious situation and make up my own story (tell me yours in the comments below)

So foreign language aside and tricky controls to master (but that’s the challenge) the game takes you through two experiences at the same time, so keep an eye out for those simple yet clever elements like when they are both sliding down a roof, big brother goes down quite sensibly but little brother goes down like the little kid he is on a slide. Interact with as much as you can as you will be humoured by the quirky elements that might not actually have any bearing on the game but will certainly enhance the great little title.

This game should give you goosebumps

The visuals are stunning as you get into the water subtle ripples drift across the surface, couple this with the stunning lighting that produces beautiful reflections of all that surround it.

But please tell me where this world is? This is the clearest water in the universe, add to that, this beaming sunshine that powers between trees and through cracks in rocks producing a beautiful picturesque scene. This game should give you goosebumps after a huge overhaul and yet trees are flat on occasion, but other times stunning, it’s as if they worked on it for a while doing bits and pieces and forgot to go back and check their work. Some parts of the game are stunning for the style of game produced and others just not up to the same level.

Two years on from the first release and £5 more this time to buy, and all we have is a bigger game by graphics? Surely they did more than this?

The multi-award-winning indie hit has received a new generation update with additional content

including commented Director’s Walkthrough, Soundtrack and Art Galleries. No new levels then!

Summary

So for those of you who have played this before leave it as a beautiful memory from the past.

For those of you who enjoy action adventure, simple puzzles and challenging (if you’re going at a pace anyway) controls, then Brothers a tale of two sons will be another title to add to the ever-expanding collection of Xbox One titles that we are blessed with.