I finished playing this game today. Took about 3 hours to get through the entire game. Not sure if that's fast or not. Personally I felt the game was a perfect length.
I'm sure there are countless reviews one can find on the Internet about this game. This isn't meant to be a review, but rather my thoughts on how the game affected me. To say that I wasn't moved by this game would be an understatement. From the opening scene the game grabbed me on an emotional level and never let go until the final credits rolled.
The game begins with the younger brother, paying respects at his mother's grave. His mother drowned in front of him, and he was unable to save her due to his inability to swim.
Immediately following this tragic scene the younger brother is called into action by his older brother. Their father has fallen ill and the two of you must take the man to the local healer. This is when the core mechanic of the game comes into play.
Brothers is a game that follows two brothers on a journey to the tree of life to fetch some water so that their father can be healed of whatever it is that ails him. You have to play the game on a control pad. The left joy stick and trigger control the older brother; the right joy stick and trigger control the right. Obstacles and puzzles must be solved using both characters. It can be a bit disorienting trying to control two different characters with both hands, but after awhile it gets easier.
It is through the main mechanic of the game that really struck me. As a player you feel the bond that exists between these two young men. That bond can't help but manifest within you since each one must act as a team. Often one boy's life is dependent on the other.
Just before the game ends, the older brother is stabbed just before the two reach the tree of life. The younger brother must abandon the older one and climb the tree to fetch the water. It's in this short encounter where I immediately felt the loss of the older brother -- my left hand wasn't doing anything.
Sadly, the older brother dies and he suffers in sorrow. He holds his brother for the last time and cries. It was a touching moment. When the boy returns home he must navigate the initial puzzle obstacles at the very start of the game to get the water to his father. However, this time he's alone. At first the boy must swim down a river, but he never learned how. When his brother was with him, he rode on his brother's back. Fear grips the boy and as a player it is a bit odd to figure out how to continue. The game impedes every action to get into the water. And then an interesting thing happened. I squeezed the left trigger, and the boy got into the water.
Wow.
Very few moments really strike me in gaming but this one was just incredible. The qualities of the older brother are present, not only in the character, but with you as the player.
After swimming the river you navigate the boy through the other puzzle pieces, all the while using both triggers. That bond with the older brother was present. The spirit of the older brother lives on in the younger one. Pure genius of game design.
The father is saved by the water and the closing scene is a reflection of the very first one of the game. The camera returns to the grave site of the mother. A second stone has been erected, obviously for the older brother. Father and son stand by the graves in silent contemplation as the sun sets behind them. And then it happened. The father slightly cracks and as the music rises the man loses his strength and collapses on all fours as sorrow overcomes him. Not only has he lost his beloved bride, but his oldest son as well. A son who risked his life to save him. It's a touching moment, and the one that brought me to tears.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is an amazing story experience featuring an incredible game mechanic, amazing art direction, and simplicity of game design. But it also reflects the human condition of brotherly love and reminds us that we carry a part of our loved ones with us even after they have left this earth.