Game Reviews

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons - It takes one to tango

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Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons - It takes one to tango
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Ooooh, is that a two player game? Can I join in?

No, get off. This is Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, it's a puzzling adventure where one player controls both characters at the same time. It's been out on lots of other platforms for a while, but it's just landed on iOS.

Both characters at the same time? What is this madness

It's not madness. Well, it is sometimes. It's actually a really clever mechanic. The two characters, the brothers of the title, have different skills. One's stronger and can push switches, the others is smaller and can get through little gaps and sneak.

So it's like tapping your head and rubbing your tummy

Er, I guess so. It's not that often you need to control both of them at exactly the same time, instead you can move them one at once. You've got two joysticks on the screen, one for each brother, and pushing on them will perform a context sensitive action.

How do you know when to do that?

Objects you can interact with in the world are highlighted in either blue or orange, with the colours corresponding to one of the brothers. Something require you to use both of them, like particularly heavy switches or items you need to move around.

Is there any action?

Sort of. There are sections where you need to get past enemies. But since you're playing kids, smashing their faces in isn't an option. Instead you need to figure out how to use the environment to your advantage.

And a story? I like stories

Yup. I don't want to spoil too much of it, but you're trying to save your father's life. You'll meet lots of interesting characters along the way who'll try and help and hinder you as well. It's more than enough to push you through some of the game's problems.

Problems? Uh oh

There's nothing terrible to be honest. There were a few issues in my playthrough. One boss just stopped moving and I had to restart the puzzle. I had a couple of crashes as well, and the game chugs a tiny bit on my iPad Air.

Resource heavy then?

Oh my word yes. But it's absolutely stunning. I mean, actually breathtaking. Some of the vistas make you want to stop and sit on the grass and stare. Brothers is definitely one of the best looking games on the App Store.

But is it one of the best playing?

I don't think that makes sense. If you're asking if it's a good game though, it is. In fact it might nearly be a great game. It's a little fiddly in places, due in part to it being a port of a game that was initially designed for controllers, but it's still a wonderfully entertaining and enthralling adventure.

Do I even have to ask if you're going to recommend this?

Well, it's nice to be asked. This one gets a wholehearted recommendation from me. It works pretty darn well on iOS, it'll only set you back a few quid, and it'll keep you engaged for hours. Definitely one to download as soon as you can.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons - It takes one to tango

A bright and clever mix of interesting ideas, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons works pretty damn well on iOS
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Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.