Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is the living proof of how a port of an aged title can redefine itself and can further be improved for the sake of releasing it on a new platform. The Nintendo Switch version has it all; the same haunting and emotionally painful story, visuals and audio that keep the players investing more and more of themselves, plus a new mode that finally enables two players to sit back and enjoy the tale of these two brothers.

Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons is such a natural fit for the Switch that it’s easy to look past its age and just enjoy the experience as the story sweeps you away.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a great title that, despite its short length, catches you from start to finish. We are facing a game where feelings are very important, making us identify with the vicissitudes that the two brothers go through during this magnificent adventure.

A small masterpiece.

If you’ve already played Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons on another platform there’s not much in the story or in-game achievements to warrant another trip. Playing with a partner, however, creates a whole new experience that’s certainly worth sharing. And if you’ve never experienced this tale before, you should. The puzzles are fun, the story is touching, and it comes together in a way that’s likely to leave a lasting impact.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, while short, has a lot to offer thematically. It doesn’t show anything mind-blowingly new, but rather comes across like a beautiful amalgamation of the greatest hits from dark fairytale. It only scratches the surface of its own potential, but the beautiful scenery, music, themes, and interesting take on gameplay make it a definite title to check out.

If you haven’t played Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons before, this is definitely the version to get since it has an all new proper co-op mode including single Joy-Con support for you to be able to experience this short story on the go with a ready to go co-op setup. If you’ve already played the game, there isn’t much value in getting it again since the main draw is the puzzles and experiencing them for the first time.

The opportunity to play Brothers A Tale of Two Sons in local co-op is not a bad idea in itself, but the experience is less relevant since it was designed as a solo game at first, with a single player able to control two characters at the same time.

The worldless storytelling is as compelling as ever and the purposefully frustrating control system still seems an excitingly daring experiment – now softened by an optional co-op mode.

As poignant, heartbreaking and memorable as it was back in 2013, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons hasn’t lost any of its emotional impact in those intervening years. With a captivating soundtrack, an aesthetic design evocative of Fable and a genuinely clever take on co-op, you can really see why it’s held in such high regard. The new traditional co-op mode does offer a new way to play, but it also robs the game of one of its most challenging and rewarding features. While there’s not much here to coax back players who have already experienced Brothers, those that enjoyed Unravel Two will certainly revel in its co-operative charms.

In addition to the touching story of two brothers trying to save their father that has been present in all previous releases, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons for Nintendo Switch finally gains the co-op gameplay option the game always felt like it was lacking. If you have missed out on Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons in the past, there is absolutely no reason not to check out the latest release on Nintendo Switch in its definitive form.

Despite the glitches, the addition of true, two-player co-op makes it a fantastic adventure to share. I found Brothers to be a hidden gem when it was first released, and that still holds true today.

Whilst the concept of controlling two different characters simultaneously differentiates Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons from other titles, beyond this it can be somewhat simplistic. However, it is certainly well-crafted, creating a pleasant and laid back journey, with many touching moments. Graphics, sound, and style of gameplay also come together harmoniously, in a way that suggests a lot of effort has been put into building the general vibe of the world. It's certainly not a game for those that love fast-paced action, but for anyone wanting to take the time to appreciate the world around them, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a good choice.

Its journey, through a heavy, grey and gritty world, acts as a good example of how a dramatic connection between the player and the game can be achieved, and while the experience could certainly last longer, this is a work that will be very welcomed by players of all tastes.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons for Nintendo Switch is a decent conversion of a game that may not have aged very well, surpassed on several fronts by many other exponents of the same genre.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons looks like it would be a fun, artsy game to play with a buddy, but most of what you do feels like pointless busy work with almost no trace of the story past the two-minute mark. You’ll run around, climb things, pull levers and move objects, but in a way that requires virtually no thought or strategy. I’d definitely recommend this game to young siblings or children in general, as it is aesthetically pretty and very low pressure. For any other audience, I think the game would be too mindless in its objectives and too frustrating in its clunky-ness to merit even its $14.99 price tag.