Favourite Games of 2013: Number 4 - Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

(Xbox Live, PSN, PC)

Brothers begins rather innocently as a journey of two brothers seeking out medicine in order to save their ailing father, who cannot be taken to a doctor in good time, and ends up as a rollercoaster ride of emotion.

Controlling one brother with the left analogue stick and the other brother with the right analogue stick is, at first, a rather strange method of control, but it does not take too long to click.  Using the right analogue for control, as well the left stick, when 99% of platformers use the left analogue stick for movement is jarring at first, but over time controlling both brothers in synchronisation to platform and solve puzzles is immensely satisfying.

In this short 3 hour game the brothers speak in a fictional dialogue and there are no subtitles to translate what they speak to one another or the various characters that they meet along the way, yet there is so much personality to each brother.  The action button can be used to briefly interact with people – from this alone it can be seen that the younger brother has a mischief, but fun and endearing nature, while the older brother is the more mature and responsible of the two.

The game is nicely paced and the brothers traverse a variety of different environments in the Tolkien inspired lands.  Graphically, the game is a beauty to behold – with rich lush grass environments and reflectively icy cold landscapes overlooking a jewel encrusted starry night sky to name a few areas.  The music also beautifully intertwines with the eye catching landscapes to capture something that is truly other-worldly and most definitely worthy of anyone’s time.