As you might expect, each brother has his own skillset (the older, stronger boy able to do the heavy lifting, pushing or pulling, with the smaller of the two better at slipping through small gaps) with the trick being to use each brother where appropriate. Though wearing the clothes of a pure adventure title, play actually takes the form of simple puzzles all pieced together in a 3D environment. It’s a world seemingly set in the medieval past, but one that also feels a touch alien, perhaps best illustrated by the nonsense language spoken by all of the game’s characters – the sounds uttered by the population having more in common with the cute and cuddly mutterings of the Teletubbies than any real prose.Įndless reams of script would be wasted here, however, because Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is somewhat self explanatory. The bones of this adventure focus on your ability to control both brothers Naiee and Naia simultaneously, using virtual thumbsticks on each side of the screen to both guide them around the landscape and interact with its elements.Īnd so the partnership between the two kins begins, with your job being to escort them – almost hand in hand at times – through a linear, but expansive and ultimately striking world that feels a little bit Hansel and Gretel, a little bit Harry Potter. Still mourning the drowning of their mother – depicted fairly explicitly within Brothers’ opening cut scene – the two siblings referenced in the game’s name then suddenly find themselves fending for their sick father, carting him to the local doctor (quite literally) before setting out on an adventure to find the medicine needed to bring him round. For a game that at times gushes with pure beauty, it serves as a stark contrast that Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons – the latest iOS release from Swedish outfit Starbreeze Studios – opens with several minutes loaded with sheer tragedy.

Game brothers a tale of two sons