Good day, dear readers. On this Sunny May, almost June day, some invisible force pushed me to write a review of the Reension for a very interesting and very ambiguous game. The word "masterpiece" in the header can and it seems a little curious, but I could not choose another laudatory word. Still, I consider myself responsible for writing and promoting this indie Taile. It seems that it seems that the purchase of the game in 2013 I did not thank the developers of this game for the work done. Without unnecessary delay, let’s start a review and plunge into this fabulous, at times fun, interactively diverse and heartbreaking world.

The history of the creation

Game of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons became a debut project made under the leadership of Joseph Fares and went on sale in the summer of 2013. The cooperation of the film director and Studio Starbreeze immediately gave their fruits, many awards, enthusiastic reviews and tons of OD in the direction of the creators eloquently talk about this. Fares himself, in an interview with BAFTA Award, said that he always dreamed of making such a game. Video games always seemed to him the next step in the evolution of art, and he considered the conjugation of digital technologies and film drama to something amazing. Moreover, the story told in the history of the Brothers was very familiar to the director, as it resembled a difficult childhood under the oppression of the civil war in Lebanon. “Interactiveness” – it was this characteristic that he held in his head during the creation and gameplay mechanics and the whole history. Despite his experience primarily in the cinema industry, Fares did not forget about the fundamental component of the video game. He really did not want to tell an interesting, exciting, sensual story without any interactive of other activities. Therefore, the game, despite the contented modest timing and the lack of an interface, seemed as lively and functional as possible. The creators of the game paid special attention to musical accompaniment, I will talk more about this later. This was quite characteristic to the director, because in his past films, music also played a very important role (Zoso – 2005, Leo – 2007).

The budget of the project was quite modest, but it did not affect the final result in any way. Being essentially an indie game Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons took on the premiums in the premiums and attracted great attention, especially if you take into account that 2013 was very tough in terms of competition. The game was released on Xbox 360, PC and PS3. Next, the game covered other platforms. Even on their pocket device, players can enjoy this "masterpiece project". To make it more convenient for you, I collected all the price tags from all available platforms (at the time of writing blog).

And believe me, the game fully deserves all the money spent. Without any exaggeration, this is diamond in the gaming industry, the real Piece of Art.

Game mechanics and genre

Speaking directly and without any liquid, the game is an isometric adventure in a fabulous, medieval setting. The player for control is given by two characters at once, and they will have to command them synchronously. If you have a keyboard or a touch screen, then first of all accept my condolences, because so the management becomes quite uncomfortable, switch between characters and work at one pace is another test. Of course, you can get used to, but not really want to. The owners of game controllers will be able to properly enjoy the playing mechanics, all vibrations, responses and intuitiveness work well on the gamepads, this is not an insult to the owners of certain devices, just this game has an unusual control mechanics and everything. On the way, the main characters will need to interact with different obstacles and opponents, and the gameplay works very well in these situations, sometimes it seems that this is an exclusive project for the Nintendo platform, where mechanics are honed to perfection. Testing for the most part simple, casual and intuitively understandable, but no less interesting. Each component works as it should, aspects complement each other, and mechanics clearly show all the charms of the game. Ordinary levers can be simple examples when the older brother controls and helps the younger overcome the obstacle, so that he will then let him a rope, or simultaneously dragging the poles, logs and so on. Complex examples include combat situations when one serves as a bait and the other puts traps. Familiar with the work of Fares, players know about the game design of the director.

This is essentially his other www.casinocasino-com.uk works (“A Way out” and “Its Takes Two”). But alas, this game is not local-cooperative, to play alone, although you can mock common sense and try to play on the keyboard with a friend :).

The game during the passage will not torment all sorts of heavy puzzles, multi -level and constant obstacles, the same mechanics. The latter here are well diluted according to the timing, the same action will meet a maximum of two or three times, which is really very pleasing. It can be seen with the naked eye that the developers wanted to create an interesting, interactive trip for more than three hours.

Whether they got it? I will prepare a separate vacancy in the seventh round of hell, if I say no. To take control, albeit uncomfortable, but extremely exciting, as if both hemispheres of the brain come into business at once, and during the tests you get the most delight. Go along the rocky rocks of the village, swim a large lake, helping each other, saddle mountain wild boars, fly on a huge, abandoned castle and so on on the list. All these moments really brighten up the general impressions of the game and give the gameplay experience we need.

But not only mechanics are good this game, as many have already celebrated earlier, whether it is critics, online platforms or gamers, the game captures its history and fairy tale. But first I would like to devote several lines of my blog by the visual component of the project, because there is something to talk about.

Visual component and style

Brothers’s stylistics: A Tale of Two Sons is quite unusual, while extremely thoughtful. During the creation, artists primarily sought to create the most fabulous and cartoon atmosphere, and they turned out to be. Many years of experience have already shown that such a visual will not be outdated over time and such games will remain relevant after several generations. In 2013, this was no longer a great revelation and many perceived the project, as something from the category of indie, but many noticed a honed and very beautiful schedule. Work with shadows and reflections was done at a decent level, and the textures did not cut the eyes even then, because these were the times when the developers themselves were engaged in optimization, not players. The surroundings are felt on all locations and this is not only thanks to musical accompaniment and mechanics, but also to the visual. Birds fly, bushes rustle, locks fascinate in size, forests with their density, sunsets with their warmth, and NPS and opponents with external views.

Separately, I would like to praise the appearance. It is quite difficult to meet such a beautiful and peculiar visualization of liquid textures in our time, even in modern aaa-game is a rarity. Moreover, it is made not highly polygonal, but simply beautiful and tasteful. Contrary to cartoon and fairy tale, the game can not be called a children’s or family game in any way. The semantic load of the plot immediately makes it clear that it should be held alone to a closed kennel (you can also in another place).

Musical accompaniment

Speaking of musical accompaniment, I would like to immediately note that a very big accent was originally placed on it. In short, the music is made at just an elegant level. Hero village of Heroes, an abandoned village, a river with dead trolls, a huge lost lock – each location has its own surroundings and therefore, its own musical theme. Composers skillfully manage the timing of the game and play on the player auditory apparatuses. Where there should be suspicious silence, they do not launch any melody, and when something key and important for history happens, they launch the entire orchestra with sharp changes in tone. Moreover, not only the soundtrack, but also the smallest background sounds, the voices of the characters, the groans of opponents and other NPS are in their places. The main topic makes the eyes to let a tear about and without. It is difficult to overestimate such sensual and mental work of the composer. Just listen to this compositional masterpiece without exaggeration:

You might think that the author is already sickly sentimental in this regard and pulls the owl on an entire orchestra, but you must agree, be it a work of the famous composer of the twentieth century, the full of solo on the piano, then it would unconditionally be considered a masterpiece. And this music is recorded for only one game. Sharply, sincerely, sadly, fabulously, anxiously, naturally and sensually – these are the words come to mind, when listening to this composition. Not only the main soundtrack, the game takes its well -deserved odes, because background support also create tons of certain levels. Very sad and lost in the initial location, mysterious and burdensome in the caves, lost and frightening in the frozen village. Approximately 60-70% of the useful immersion coefficient along with the overall atmosphere creates the soundtrack. When I wrote about the importance of music, I meant precisely the conjugation of what was happening and background.

The chief composer acted Gustav Grefberg. Previously, his work was also done at a quite decent level, but he did not receive particular glory. He wrote music mainly for video games, you could hear his developments in games such as: “The Darkness”, “The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay”. Summarizing this submachine, I will only add that the music of the game can be considered a reference and an example for future titles of this segment.

Plot and inter -line meaning

And finally, we came to the main component of the game. Like sugar at the bottom, cream or jam in a bun, I decided to leave the most interesting closer to the end. The plot may initially seem a little naive and quite understandable to you, but in reality this is not so, old Fares pumped up the story of a noticeably large amount of meaning and subtext. As you know, the director has a brother who also has successes in show business, and their relationship is very close, he himself repeatedly noted in his interview. He also spoke many times about the importance of family ties, “Its Takes Two” is clear confirmation of this. And this game primarily reveals precisely the family values ​​and grief of the loss of a loved one. I will not spoil here once again, I will just go through the key moments. The main towns, or rather the NU brothers and Nai are going on a long journey for the medicine for the sick father. The mother of growing fellows died until recently, the heroes could not come to terms with loss. So, the heroes begin their way in their village and slowly go to their goal. On the way, they will meet with a variety of characters and opponents, they will help someone, save someone, join the battle with someone and so on. Even in the most difficult situations, the brothers do not lose their grip and motivation, periodically help each other, both physically and mentally, support the conversation in their fictitious language (but understandable for the player). The elder brother Naya is more sustained and racks for upcoming dangers, while the same is more sentimental and good -natured. They complement each other in their own way and create in some sense of one very character who overcomes all obstacles.

As for the semantic load, then on the one hand it lies corny on the surface. Family is an important component of a person’s life, the very hearth that will always accept it, feed and give love. Close people need to cherish while they are and not lose their spirit if they suddenly leave you. The death of a mother for sons is a very terrible blow, the player throughout the passage indirectly feels this very pain. While the eldest suppresses his feelings, the younger cannot forget the horrors of that terrible night. There is a constant anxiety that does not allow to relax and focus on a common goal. The younger brother begins hallucinations, he with a certain skepticism belongs to the girl, which raises doubts about her feelings in relation to his brother. On the way, the brothers will save a man, a love pair, griffin. This actually shows the purity of their intentions and a little of their naive attitude to everything that happens. Of course, it is necessary to help, but each one is still not worth it, because the knife in the back will stick the most unusual ally. The director immediately envelops the players with a lost and frightening Web, as if the journey of the brothers would end with sharp changes for both. And if you take the last scenes of travel along with an extremely atmospheric chord, then all doubts are instantly dispelled. This is the history of salvation, the story of atonement, overcoming, loss and achievement of the goal of all possible forces. The player empathizes with the characters literally from the first minutes of gameplay. Its slightly naive, simple graphics and setting and at the same time a very cruel, sad plot, the game causes a curiosity in the perception of a passing. And she holds this bar until the finale.

Results

I extremely recommend going through the game Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, if by some miracle you still haven’t done this. “A Way Out” and “It Takes Two” are different, but Fares released the real game work in 2013. Of course, without the help of talented developers from the studio and an excellent composer. The game will not strain you during the passage, will not torment puzzles, will not be a great revelation in terms of the plot, but it will definitely leave an unforgettable game experience and a lump in the soul. You can go through it in one or two swaying and I think that this is just an excellent timing for such a story. Time management is important literally in every game, and in the games of the category indie, even more so. It is enough to increase the travel time extra hour to kill all the advantages of the project. In the same game, everything is done as competently as possible, the timing was no exception. On this I have everything. Protect yourself and your family. Thank you for reading)!