Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake Review – An Unmissable Journey Renewed

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake Review

Before It Takes Two and A Way Out, Josef Fares created one of the greatest indie titles to date: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. Originally released over a decade ago, the Nordic-inspired adventure told an emotional story about family, loss and companionship. Remade from the ground up, will this rendition capture the same magic and emotional depth as the original?

Shortly after losing their mother in a tragic accident at sea, the father of the siblings falls seriously ill. Determined not to lose another parent, the pair embark on a quest to find a cure. This leads to fantasy fantasy-filled adventure which sees the two travel to wonderful and mystical places. Family is at the forefront of the narrative. While the brothers are doing what they can to save their father, it’s their relationship that is central to the narrative. Segments highlight the love and respect they have for each other as they rely on their partner to proceed through life-threatening situations. The nuanced story expertly progresses forging a bond with you and the siblings. As a result, you do all you can to protect the two on their journey.

A Real Connection

Even when confronted with unintelligible dialogue, you are able to connect with the brothers and relate to their hardships. This is magnified through the improved animations that brilliantly bring the characters to life. Created on Unreal Engine 5, each asset has been recreated to capture the spirit of a Swedish fairytale. Avantgarden respects the original, keeping the cartoon-style features but adds a wonderful level of detail to each aspect to create a truly beautiful world. From snowy mountains to quaint villages, each location you visit is rich with detail and further accentuates the enormity of the journey. In addition, the entire soundtrack has been given a lavish orchestral overhaul which heightens the epic quest. Due to this, the presentation of the remake is fantastic as it faithfully modernizes the game without losing its identity.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons features a unique system where you control characters independently with each analog stick. This leads to delightful segments where you have to work in unison to progress through the area. Each environmental puzzle is well designed and distinct which helps to add a lovely pace to the adventure. While it can take a while to master the system and control each of the characters separately, the implementation of one action button helps to ease this. As a result, you concentrate more on positioning and movement rather than fumbling through buttons to perform a skill.

When One Becomes Two

Although there are no real fights, there are a range of encounters that require you to use different skills. At some points, you’ll need to sneak past individuals whereas at others you will need to use your wits to lure enemies to certain areas. The range of ideas showcased is remarkable and helps to make each segment feel distinct and continues throughout its 3-hour campaign. Although it is on the short side, every section is purposeful and combines to deliver an emotional punch like no other. 

A new feature in the Remake is the co-op mode which allows you and a partner to control a character each. While I understand the inclusion of this, playing the game in this manner removed any sort of difficulty and reduced the impact of pivotal story beats. Although I understand that this could entice younger players to the game, the dark theme and sinister Grimm-influenced segments may deter certain age groups. In terms of extra content, this is what is truly lacking in the package. With such a landmark release, I would have liked extra content around the development and aftermath of the product, however, it fails to celebrate the game’s achievements. 

The original Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is one of the greatest indie games of all time. With its poignant story, varied gameplay and unique mechanics, it is truly a special title. The Remake perfectly captures these aspects and faithfully modernizes the aesthetics. Although the core experience is preserved, there aren’t enough improvements or extras to encourage returning players, however, it is a must for anyone who missed the initial release.

***A PlayStation 5 code provided by the publisher***