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Obscura Vita

Just up the road a ways, not far, you and those dearest to you will come upon a crossroad. And it’ll be a miracle you’ve gotten that far, given that the trodden road rests hidden beneath the leaves, dried earth, old stone, and twisted bramble. Some lose the path completely, and this can be forgiven when one ponders the confusing, polychromatic, mad drifts obscuring the trail. And from which destination you wander—and one hopes those dearest always make consistent good company—you’ll be forced into a parting. A breaking is coming. At that junction you’ll have to reckon with it. There could be many reasons for it. Or no reasons. Sometimes, and this is perhaps the softer deviation, you consciously choose to part. You say goodbye, and simply let go.
Other times you’ll be ripped apart.
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No one knows the hour, but you carry on anyway, stealing away whatever sample of harmony and goodness can be extricated from this calamity of existence. And when the moment comes for that sweet embarkation into oblivion, your satisfaction must rest in the knowledge of time beautifully exhausted in each other’s story.
This is what Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is about. The pilgrimage of life.

If We Grow, We Grow Old

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is the story of (you guessed it!) two brothers who make a perilous journey through a fantasy countryside torn asunder by flora and fauna that’s become commonplace in many fairy tales. The story opens with a flashback; one of the brothers witnesses the death of his mother. And, as is necessary in any of the truly great tales, there will be several instances of drama ahead that harken back to this pivotal moment. At present, the brothers’ father is ill—dying, actually. His only hope for salvation rests deep in the woods, over the mountains, through the rivers, and beyond. In broad strokes, it’s a quest for the Tree of Life, or The Fountain of Youth, or Mount Penglai. Whichever you find most palatable. But perhaps more subtly, it’s about the journey of boyhood to manhood and the harsh finality of youth.
So it is there the brothers must go, chasing after their father’s miracle cure through a country replete with danger. With no provisions. No weapons. Nothing. Just each other. And their intrepid will, possibly.
The main intention of the game is to simply venture forward. And this is what the player will do. The brothers are given a map early in the narrative that guides them. Along the way, there will be several enticing incidents where the brothers may leave the trail for a while and interact with denizens populating the countryside. The game encourages you to do this (via achievements). These interactions with NPCs run the gamut of unrelenting grief, cruel treachery, momentary triumph, or heartwarming respite. But more of the former than the latter. The world of Brothers, and most fairy tales, is a harsh one. So also may it be true in real life as it relates to the pursuit of adventure. This appears to have been game director Josef Fares's intention—life often appears straightforward, but is also stuffed full of relative trivialities that steal focus. And sometimes that’s a good thing.
What’s life without laughter, after all?
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The titular brothers, and indeed any humans encountered among the aforementioned wilds, communicate using a fictional language based on Lebanese Arabic. I, and I would suspect most players coming to this title, will scarcely understand the words. But it hardly matters. Brothers articulates, underlines, and highlights the universality of humanity in other ways. The inflection of the characters’ voices, the gesturing, laughing, and crying are all easy tells. But even deeper still, the characters’ fear, hate, love, desire, hope, and despair are still clearly conveyed through their gestures without issue.
And to the game’s most obvious point, there’s an aggregate of humanity that does away with national barriers, religious strife, or whatever malady is currently dominating the zeitgeist. In the end, we’re all just struggling flesh and blood. We all “speak” a universal language.

”Make Voyages. Attempt Them. There Is Nothing Else.”

Brothers’ gameplay is equal parts a puzzle game and a platformer. Distinctively, the main puzzle is frequently figuring out how to reach a platform. The areas are typically long, (mostly) linear paths that lead to vertical set pieces that must be scaled or descended. As the game’s store page suggests, Brothers suggests a controller to play. And while you’ll be controlling both brothers simultaneously, the gamepad itself will only ever make use of six buttons. The left and right joysticks each control a separate brother, as do the left and right triggers. The joysticks, naturally, control their movement. The triggers exist as their action button (all interacting, grasping, jumping, etc. is controlled by either trigger for the corresponding brother). You can also rotate the camera with the subsequent trigger/bumper. But you’ll rarely need to do this, as the camera is accurately dynamic in showing the player the correct angle for advancement—as well as at framing the most aesthetically pleasing picture.
And Brothers is an aesthetic wonder. It layers picturesque landscapes enriched by some of the more moving instrumentation you’ll hear in gaming. The combination does homage to your senses, easily setting the mood and carrying you away in fantasy bliss.

The puzzles are objectively easy. Most adults will breeze through them. I was held up only briefly early on when I was unaware that the older brother can do some things the younger simply cannot. Whether or not its ease is preferable will depend on the player’s own tastes. It’s certainly a deliberate choice by the creators. Either by animations, points of interests, or tricks of the camera, I was almost never stumped on where to go next. And as this is also a platformer, knowing where to go accounts for nearly the entire endeavor.
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This also makes for a game that’s incredibly short. But also dense. The game can be completed on the first attempt in around three hours. That kind of length, at any price tag, will eliminate many potential consumers. And that’s okay! Brothers, in the way it tells its story (down to how you literally control the characters), is simply not going to be a game for everyone.
But I would risk countering objections to its length in consideration of the genre it represents. Puzzle/platformers by their nature tend to have a shorter shelf life. Running around looking for the right thing to click on over long stretches of time simply wouldn’t appeal to most tastes.

In Quick Summation…

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a short, dense, incredibly well polished puzzle/platformer that relies on storytelling, setting, and clever audio-visual flavoring to enhance its resonance. Owing to its short length, unique control scheme, and relatively linear pathway (despite several short achievement-unlocking side quests), the game will own detractors.
But for those to whom it does appeal, it’s easy to see why it’s been exalted as a categorical trailblazer for the past decade. It’s moving, but never emotionally manipulative because despite the fairy-tale environment it's set in, its themes are universal and recognizable: young boys can’t be boys forever. It’s a tale as old as time. But due to its aptitudes, it effortlessly rebuffs the tired coming-of-age narrative.
When the disasters come knocking at your door—and they most assuredly will—young boys must become men.

Rating: 8/10 (Great)