The game mechanics require players to govern both the younger brother and the older brother simultaneously, so although it is described as a single player game, it is more like a combination of single player and co-op gameplay fused in one. Perhaps this is what Swedish film director and Brothers collaborative developer Josef Fares had in mind during the game’s production: to give players a chance to control their own interactive film, a film that always hinges on realism, and sometimes, directs itself. The distinction between gameplay versus cutscenes is so inconspicuous at times you cannot tell the difference between the two. Brothers launches you into gameplay so gradually that it doesn’t even feel like a game, but rather, a movie that you get to direct. The younger of the two is paying a visit to his mother’s grave, when we are transported to the memory of how he lost her at sea, which already sets the evocative tone of the game.Īfter snapping out of his memory, the younger brother joins forces with his older brother to wheel their ailing father down a grassy ramp. Set in a picturesque world back in the day when cars didn’t blaze down highways and mobile phones where a fantasy of the distant future, players mindsets’ are already significantly geared up towards a game with a more natural, buccolic focus. The story begins on a sombre note, subtly informing the player of the circumstances of a couple of poor brothers. From a glance, Brothers boasts gorgeous aesthetics with a painterly feel, and a breathtaking soundtrack to match, but the tale embedded within this game’s core is so much more than that. And on that note, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is not just a game, it’s an absolutely breathtaking and poignantly designed experience that invites you to explore a world of wonder, adventure, fantasy and magic. I HAVE BEEN DREAMING OF this kind of game for a few millennia now, even though I haven’t been alive that long. The design is tight, and aesthetically it is a stylish and creative treat, with a likeable main duo of characters and interesting areas to explore.Note: This review may contain potential spoilers. The perspective-shifting gameplay never outstays its welcome, nor do you ever encounter anything too frustrating or obscure enough to make you want to pack it in over the 3-4 hours it should take most seasoned gamers to plough through this charmer. Enjoying the gameplay is mercifully unaffected by these small concessions to jittery performance. I am guessing this would look marginally better on the OLED model, or indeed on the more powerful console versions. I played the Switch version, and there are some issues with frame rate and blurriness. Tandem: A Tale of Shadows has a winsome, spooky feel which is hard to dislike. There are some particularly creepy enemies that enter the fray too – anyone with arachnophobia may wish to hand off their controller to someone more resilient at a certain point. New sources of light are introduced along with new objects, environmental modifiers and platforms. You learn new ways to manipulate the light and shadow to execute the bear’s 2D platforming. It may sound odd written down on paper, but in execution it makes perfect sense and becomes intuitive. Fenton is able to walk on these shadows, but will freeze on the spot if the shadow is cast over him. Most importantly she carries a torch which casts stark inky shadows around her. You view Emma from above, and she has the ability to push and manipulate objects around her environs. The aim of each level is to reach a crystal, using a combination of Emma and Fenton’s unique skillsets. The new pals of course decide to explore this creepy old pile, which sees the nicely illustrated cutscenes switch into the core gameplay loop. Aiding her in the investigation is Fenton – the aforementioned teddy bear – who joins her after she sees him being discarded from a horse and carriage as it peels away from her towards a decidedly spooky Victorian mansion. You step into the shoes of Emma, a budding sleuth intent on solving the mysterious disappearance of Thomas Kane – a youngster from a family of magicians. If it sounds strange, that’s because it is. It has real heart, and is quite unlike anything else I have played this year. But these kooky stylings form the basis of Tandem: A Tale of Shadows, a charming French-constructed puzzle game that oddly combines top down brain teasers with a take on 2D platforming. You would be forgiven for thinking I was describing some kind of fantasy/Bioshock mash up. An arcane, steampunk-tinged world filled with puzzles. A haunted-looking teddy bear with glowing white eyes, accompanying a little girl in a blue dress who could have been plucked out of the works of Lewis Carroll or Tim Burton.
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