It's not often a game can truly grip, steal, strangle and caress your emotions to such an extent as this one does. Truly, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is one of the most hauntingly beautiful and heartfelt adventures I have ever experienced. I do not say such things lightly, as I have played more games that I care to admit. It takes a loving hand to mould a story as moving as this, and without a doubt this is a game you must play.
It isn't just the beautiful, fairy-tale landscapes that capture your imagination. It isn't just the innovative and unique control scheme, and it isn't just the soaring orchestral music this game exposes you to. It is all these, but so much more. Because, when a story can be shown without a single word uttered, emotion conveyed without a single piece of text written and true love felt without a forced set-up, then you know exactly what gaming should be.
In three hours, I cared more about these two characters than I ever have before in any video game made. Not Joel and Ellie, not Lee and Clementine, not anyone. These two nameless, wordless brothers have shown me a truer sense of companionship and love than any character in video games before. That done in such a way as to draw me in, lift me up, drag me down and then let me soar once again.
I spent the last half hour of this game with my jaw open, eyes wide and trying with all my might not to let the rapidly brimming tears spill out. Then, at a certain point, they fell with abandon. Just, tears everywhere. Never have I been able to say that a video game, a medium known for guns and blowey upey shit and female characters so sexed up they become parodies of reality, has been able to move me to tears. If that isn't the sign of a well made game, I don't fucking know what is.
The best way to describe this game is single-player co-op adventure. While the control scheme can be frustrating at times, it really doesn't even register when considering the rest of the game. It is the perfect length, and at about 3 hours it is almost necessary to play it in one sitting. For gamers, a 3 hour session is easy as taking a shit. Depending on how much fibre is in your diet, maybe even easier.
The landscape switches between bright and beautiful, full of wonder and colour, to dark, sombre, even disturbing in some cases. In the picture above, you see the corpse of a giant, arrow stricken and slumped in a river of blood. Scenery such as this only makes you stop and stare. It takes a page out of Dark Souls' textbook and leaves the lore of the land up to your imagination. However, with some careful observation, you can piece it together and reveal a tapestry of wonder woven by master storytellers. It never stopped amazing me, and just as I grew accustomed to the landscape, it changed, thrusting me into an even crazier and more storybook-esque place. The only world to describe this land is wonderful.
All in all, never have I played a game that gripped my heart, ripped it out and pissed on it with such tender love. I enjoyed every second of it, and I implore you to play it. It is truly a masterpiece of gaming, and it is without a doubt where the medium of gaming should be heading.
The landscape switches between bright and beautiful, full of wonder and colour, to dark, sombre, even disturbing in some cases. In the picture above, you see the corpse of a giant, arrow stricken and slumped in a river of blood. Scenery such as this only makes you stop and stare. It takes a page out of Dark Souls' textbook and leaves the lore of the land up to your imagination. However, with some careful observation, you can piece it together and reveal a tapestry of wonder woven by master storytellers. It never stopped amazing me, and just as I grew accustomed to the landscape, it changed, thrusting me into an even crazier and more storybook-esque place. The only world to describe this land is wonderful.
All in all, never have I played a game that gripped my heart, ripped it out and pissed on it with such tender love. I enjoyed every second of it, and I implore you to play it. It is truly a masterpiece of gaming, and it is without a doubt where the medium of gaming should be heading.