Game Review: Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons

By this point in his career, Josef Fares has cemented himself as a industry icon for his unique approach to co-operative video game experiences. I was introduced into his style of games through his 2018 title No Way Out, which saw you and a fellow player try to escape a prison and go on a mission of revenge together. Following on from that, my next dabble in his works was in It Takes Two in 2021, which has you and a fellow player shrunk down to size and made to navigate a variety of fun and engaging levels within your home. The core concept Fares plays with in his games is the sense of co-operation and tying the gameplay and narrative together to form a definitive experience. I mention all of this because when looking at his modern day offerings, you can see all of these concepts and ideas embedded within the blueprint of his first video game title; Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. 

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, which was released in 2013, was the very first title developed by Josef Fares. It follows a pair of brothers; Naiee and Naia who venture on a journey across the land to collect water from the Tree of Life in order to heal and save their dying father. Their journey across the land takes them through a variety of locations with each one offering interesting narrative and gameplay elements to work through. 

In terms of the narrative aspect of the game, I honestly can't praise this title enough. Dialogue isn't a  factor in the story, as Fares ensured the brothers and all other characters spoke in a custom language based loosely on Lebanese Arabic. I'm noting the dialogue because despite the inherent barrier in understanding, it makes the game rely more on visual storytelling instead which I feel really benefits it. You can easily understand and empathise with the brothers plight and the personal relationship that ties them together throughout the journey. Their journey to save their father is an honest and endearing goal and it makes it easy to get invested in the game's story quite easily. There are many moments in the game which reflect the deep bond the brothers share and while I won't spoil the ending of the game, I will note this game holds a lot of emotional weight which I was not expecting; it was a wonderful and heartfelt surprise.

Gameplay is a double edged sword in my view. As I noted prior, it holds the inherent blueprint of co-operation which is common-place in all of Fares' games after it, but being the earliest game in his timeline, you can see how he was working out the initial concepts in their raw form here. This comes down to the core control scheme. Each brother is controlled by an individual analogue stick and their actions are controlled by an individual trigger. This gives each brother their own sense of independence for the player to govern, but configuring them and positioning them can be really disorientating because of this. I found navigating the environment with this control scheme more finnicky than enjoyable and despite trying to be distinct and original, it's just not enough for me to forgive the  hinderance it presents. Where the gameplay does work though is in the encounters and puzzles for you to overcome. The idea of co-operation is baked into each location, and I like how the core concept of the brothers working together is tied into every situation, it helps reinforce the core concept of the game constantly. The puzzle design is smart and consistent too, I never felt there was any barrier of entry when it came to working out a solution, and often at times the game was so imaginative and creative in how it would approach it.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Songs is a very fun experience to work through. I think it's let down somewhat by a control scheme that never felt all that easy or responsive to utilise. Despite it's weaker elements however I think this game showcases why Fares went on to become such a icon in the industry. It's embedded with an experience that feels truly unique and uncompromised from beginning to end. It served as the foundation for all of his future titles and it's a strong standout that I'd recommend any player to pick up and try at least once.