Being a Scandinavian I feel a desire to play any game that draws inspiration from our regional folklore and culture. Especially when it is the frame of the setting, and not the main point of the story.
And so I found myself buying a copy of "Brothers: A tale of two sons". I will describe some of the story in this review, so if you're very sensitive to spoiers, please consider this a warning.
Brothers is a game that attempts to marry gameplay and story into an experience where the one aspect strenghtens the other.
You play as two brothers who set out on a journey to save their father. They have mostly similar skills, but at times must perform character- specific tasks to progess along their path. They can interact with objects and people along they way, sometimes helping, sometimes teasing or tricking. It's pleasant and charming, and I found myself immersed in the experience.
The true wonder is towards the climax of the game, where the true relation between controls and events adds another aspect to the game, bringing in entirely to another level. This makes it into a memorable and very worthwhile experience.
There are some things that limit the game. The characters only have one button for interaction. At times the actions performed using this button are unpredictable, and as a player I lose the sense of control.
Controlling two characters at once suited me well. After working on Shadow Puppeteer I'm very familiar with simultaneous two- character play. The level design was laid out so this worked well.
Brothers relies havily on invisible wall. At first I found this slightly claustrophobic, but when I understood why they were there I agreed with the design choice. Coordinating two characters at once can prove challenging at times. With the invisible walls the characters can't accidentally drop off the path and fall to their deaths. And considering the level design it saved me a lot of frustration.
Emotions and motivations in the story are simple, conveyed with gestures and gibberish. But the damsel-turned-villain seemed cheap and left me feeling a bit disappointed. In the end she was only a plot device to bring about the story's climax. If you accept that then it's not a problem. But to me, I only wish they'd done better.
Brothers is a game I'm very happy to have played. It enternained me, it brought me a sense of wonder with its gorgeous visuals, and it moved me deeply with its story. I would recommed it to anyone more interested in quality over quantity with an interest in fairytales.