Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake the same gripping story with a more visually pleasing appearance.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons originally came out in 2013 as an adventure game. It was developed by groups such as Starbreeze Studios, Black Wing Foundation, Turn Me Up Games Inc., and Fractured Byte and published by 505 Games across multiple platforms. In the present day, we are given the remake, as this seems to be the season for the remakes of a few games.
The game’s new developer, Avantgarden, and original publisher, 505 Games, bring players the same gripping story with updated graphics, smoother controls, newly recorded music, and couch co-op, making the already gripping story even more visually and musically intense.
Starting Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake, you are given a warning of the contents that are in the game, alongside the possible trigger warnings that may occur; the warning ends with a link to a mental health website for those who may be playing the game that would possibly have potential triggers to things such as injuries, ritualistic symbolism and ceremonies, alcohol abuse, and a few others.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake starts with a boy standing before a gravestone, weeping and remembering the tragic death of his mother, which occurred during a storm when his mother fell into the sea from the boat that they had been on. After remembering the tragic events, the boy’s mother appears to him in a ghostly form, comforting him and then vanishing as his big brother calls him over while carrying his father to a wagon.
After this cutscene, the tutorial for controlling the two brothers begins. Using a controller, the game shows you which two buttons to press to activate control of either the little brother or the big brother. To move around with either of them, the left and right joysticks control each one of the brothers’ movements, the right controlling the little brothers’ movements and the left controlling the older brother.
Taking the father down the mountainside, there isn’t much of a tutorial from there. This is where the game wants you to figure out how to get by, such as overcoming obstacles like using one or both brothers to do certain things, such as climbing up on high ledges or moving platforms. Once you have conquered these obstacles, you will have made it to what seems to be a wise man or, rather, a physician who helps the boys’ father inside and begins to examine him.
Explaining to the oldest boy that his father does not have much time and is gravely ill, he shows them an illustration of a tree to which they need to go to get water, which may help heal their father. However, don’t misunderstand; all interactions between characters during cutscenes are not in English and do not have subtitles. On the contrary, all dialogue in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake, between characters, is done in a fictional language based on Lebanese Arabic, making this game mostly understood through gestures, actions, and expressions.
However, this form of fictional language in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake does not make it hard to understand what’s going on. You can pretty much piece together what must be done with the actions, expressions, and gestures. This also gives the player a sense of feeling like they can almost subconsciously translate the fictional language.
Making your way out of the healer’s hut, someone who refuses to let you pass stops you at a bridge, even though the brothers have explained the situation. Being unable to pass, you will have to make your way down further to the shore. Upon reaching the shore, the little brother begins to show his fear of the water while explaining that he can’t swim; the older brother sees this fear and understands it, offering to carry the little brother on his back to the other side.
Making their way to the other side, the boy who originally stopped the two brothers runs into the village, closing the doors to the entrance and laughing at the brothers as if it were some sort of joke. Being nothing but a rude little brat to the brother, you will have to find yet another way around, though this time, the only way around would be to climb the mountainside.
Now, unlike most games where the whole controller is used to do certain actions, in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake, there are only six buttons that allow for certain things, such as interaction between obstacles, and the two brothers would be done with your left and right triggers, like having to climb up a cliff instead of automatically mounting on to the rocks like in-game like God of War or Tomb Raider and other games with these kinds of obstacles, you will have to use the interactions button’s.
It all falls on the interactions, triggers, and joysticks; for example, when climbing the mountainside, you would trigger and hold the interaction buttons while pointing both joysticks in the direction you would like to go. Should there be a jump of sorts, you would then be letting go of the triggers, causing both brothers to perform a jump to the next ledge. Remember to tap and hold the interaction triggers again in order to remount onto the walls or rocks, or the brothers will just simply jump and land on the ground if there is ground beneath them.
Although Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake is simple in terms of the controls, the game still has its gripping story, even with all interactions being in a fictional language. The characters’ designs, alongside the emotions the scene conveys, make it somewhat easier to interpret, making the imagination of the person playing has to piece things together and guess what’s being discussed. When it comes to Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake’s content and general story, it’s quite the roller coaster for any “big softy.”
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake has a very narrative-driven feel. It has some interesting and funny moments as well as topics that can be very dark and bittersweet. When left up to the game’s fictional language and the player’s imagination, this can really play with a player’s heartstrings and inner thoughts.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake’s puzzles are very straightforward most of the time; it’s just about coordinating, planning, and positioning the two brothers and manipulating the environment to solve the puzzles that the player will come across. With a general understanding of most challenges, it becomes easy and somewhat predictable. Taking on challenges with the co-op mode and communicating with your potential game buddy is also easier.
In Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake, the brothers’ skills complement each other. For example, the younger brother can slip between railings and reach out-of-reach places. The bigger brother has advantages of his own, being strong enough to boost his little brother up cliffs, pull weighty levers, and help his brother swim across dangerous waters.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake’s story and experience is what the game is truly about. The music and sound design that accompanies the player on the adventure and during the cutscenes convey what it is and what the characters are doing and going through. It’s where most of the story of the game is translated through feelings and sounds; it gives a dramatically pressing sense of enthrallment.
Without giving away too many spoilers for those who haven’t played Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake, the general idea of the game and its story is to get to what would be interpreted as the Tree of Life; this is also where the brothers will hopefully find the cure for their ill father—solving puzzles and meeting a few other characters along the way that will either frustrate you but not in a bad way or be bonded to. You become a part of the story in a way that both of you want to find out more and delve deeper to get to the cure.
In most cases, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake is a mostly visual experience with both the storyline, cutscenes, and the environments you get to travel through. From easy puzzles to more complex ones, the game’s challenges can sometimes tickle the brain, alongside scenarios such as getting a separated couple back together, which the couple thought would be a surprise, making the game quite the story of determination and hope that is seen through the eyes of two children.
Overall, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake is an interesting experience for those who have not just played the first rendition of the game, and the overall experience is a roller coaster of feelings, visuals, and scenarios that the player can be enthralled with, ranging from sad to funny or even dark. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake is full of adventure and feelings for the whole game. Thankfully, it warns players in case they may have certain psychological triggers.
