Fine game, but I don't understand "GOTY!" comments here. Yes the game is beautiful looking and has some great soundtrack and exciting and sad moments. But it has slightly more gameplay than Journey and it's 2.5 hours long. Movie costs less than the game, you might as well not waste money. I'd give it 6 out of 10 (Journey is 3/10)
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Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons |OT| We are One (PC and PSN, Out now)
- Thread starter Vert boil
- Start date
Audioboxer
Member
Really struggling to feel happy with the way the controls work...
Make a game 2 hours short, few interactions with the world, pretty graphics and music, call "experience", get profit.
I mean some people, myself included, actually like that type of stuff. Not like they charged 60 bucks for it.
Games like this and journey are trying to push out at the edges of what games can be.
And obviously that won't appeal to everyone.
SteveWinwood
Member
I'm trying to just finish up this game and I can't get the younger brother to swing up to where he's supposed to be.
It's this one right here: http://youtu.be/qju2fEjzRwc?t=7m19s
I looked it up to make sure I wasn't missing anything.
This part has already bugged out on me 3 times with the rope and the checkpoints are terrible so I just want to get it over with already.
Any ideas to what I'm doing wrong? It will never got past the older brothers waist.
Edit: no seriously ive been swinging back and forth for 5 minutes now
2nd edit: 10 mins, I'm about to delete this game and watch the ending on youtube. It's not like I enjoyed it up to this point anyway.
It's this one right here: http://youtu.be/qju2fEjzRwc?t=7m19s
I looked it up to make sure I wasn't missing anything.
This part has already bugged out on me 3 times with the rope and the checkpoints are terrible so I just want to get it over with already.
Any ideas to what I'm doing wrong? It will never got past the older brothers waist.
Edit: no seriously ive been swinging back and forth for 5 minutes now
2nd edit: 10 mins, I'm about to delete this game and watch the ending on youtube. It's not like I enjoyed it up to this point anyway.
This is one of the rare games where watching the ending on youtube is not comparable to playing the ending, because of the way the game themes explicitly interact with the control interaction mechanics.
On the swinging, you can use the sticks to gain momentum, should be able to get as high as you want?
On the swinging, you can use the sticks to gain momentum, should be able to get as high as you want?
SteveWinwood
Member
I can get through the whole thing in seconds. That specific swing doesn't go as high as it should for me. I have no clue what I'm doing wrong.
I can't get past that part. I'm done with the game for now. I might return, but I have no clue how to get past it as it seems like it's bugged, I've tried everything.
what the this game just got way more unexpectedly dark
fucking
fucking
lynchings, maybe some guy trying to commit suicide 'cause his family was burned to death? Or did someone else burn his family to death and then try to hang him? Either way, I was a little surprised at this level of bleakness. I mean it's cool, but I just didn't expect it lol
The game bugged out on me in chapter 2, something I had to do just wasn't working. Restarting the chapter solved it. Might be worth a try.
SteveWinwood
Member
Yep, the xbox controller for pc. I can try with keyboard.
I literally just go left and right on the stick right? Back and forth? I've tried changing the timing, I've tried doing it at different times of the swing. I've tried going down on the downswing and up on the upswing. I've tried holding the trigger the whole time, I've tried only pushing it at the top. Nothing seems to work. Also with a title like Brothers it's hard to search for a similar issue on google lol.
Dragon1893
Member
Played a bit today, game is beautiful and controlling 2 characters simultaneously is interesting.
Loved this game...reminded me of an easier and shorter version of ICO.
+ Beautiful environment visuals
+ Great controls...even though I had a hard time with them, but that's because it required a new and unique way to control your characters
+ Touching side stories that were very subtle
- character design wasnt that great but it didnt detract too much from the game to me
- some odd sequences
and then a solution to another puzzle that didnt make much sense (cant remember it right now).
Oddly enough...I finished the game with only 1 acheivement (blowing the horn) and felt like I explored a lot.
Also Loved how
+ Beautiful environment visuals
+ Great controls...even though I had a hard time with them, but that's because it required a new and unique way to control your characters
+ Touching side stories that were very subtle
- character design wasnt that great but it didnt detract too much from the game to me
- some odd sequences
none of the guys tried to attack when you try to rescue the girl from sacrifice
Oddly enough...I finished the game with only 1 acheivement (blowing the horn) and felt like I explored a lot.
Also Loved how
the game kind foreshadowed something strange was up with the chick by showing her being incredibly nimble and creature-like in some of her movements, didnt realize she might be evil until just before going into her cave.
Rogue_Ledr
Banned
I've been so busy with my other games I still haven't gotten around to playing this. Gotta make time for it.
CouldBeWorse
Member
Everyone needs to play this. The lack of hype is disturbing.
iNvid02
Member
yeah it was a really dark game indeed, had no idea some of themes it would deal with going in, its all just masked away by its fairytale persona.
i think the biggest clue was the score, hauntingly beautiful and wouldnt mesh well with typical fairytale stories
i would guess they were like
i think the biggest clue was the score, hauntingly beautiful and wouldnt mesh well with typical fairytale stories
i would guess they were like
"holy shit its our god"
GrumpyOutlander
Member
I want to get this, but is it worth $15? I've heard it's very short. Usually I don't care about the length of a game if the experience is good, but $15 for 3 hours is a bit steep.
civilstrife
Member
Yes. More than worth it.
HawksWinStanley
Member
It's definitely a must-play. Do these types of games typically drop in price over time? It seems like most of the arcade games on both systems that I've had my eye on seem to stay at the same price outside of the occasional sales (looking at your Meat Boy).
Rogue_Ledr
Banned
Journey was the same price and even shorter and it was WELL worth it.,
I actually am digging these short, but sweet titles.
They create very memorable experiences over a short duration.
Quality over quantity.
LiquidMetal14
hide your water-based mammals
Yes but you can walk in there and they still don't do nothing but if you touch any of them it's game over. There are a few questions I have but I may have to play through it again to get more exposition.
Just finished this game. Overall, i've got mixed feelings but the least i can say is that is was a surprising an rather unique experience.
Some thoughts:
+ absolutely loved the soundtrack. I wish i could buy it.
+ great sound effects that help create a unique atmosphere
+ game looked stunning at times (superb art direction and texture work)
+ surprisingly rich world and environments
+ surprisingly dark and emotional themes
+ benches
- game breaking bugs that could have been fixed in the month long wait (i had to restart an entire chapter to be able to continue the game)
- poor technical performance on ps3 (unreal engine): texture popin/loading, framerate issues (especially while saving), tearing and somewhat unpolished feeling overall. I would really like to see this game on pc.
- not too fond of the fictional language and voices (fictional languages have been done better in the past)
- character design was so so
- my brain could not accustom to the controls at all. And this is the biggest problem i had with this game. I'm bad at orientation and directions in real life and it showed in this game. From the moment that the characters weren't positioned as my sticks, i got confused, each and every time.
- puzzles were very easy
- there was little room for exploration
- limited camera (would have loved to have a free and full directional camera)
As a game, it was a bit lacking for me, mostly due to the controls and the easy gameplay (which was mostly there as a means to progress through the story).
However, as a game experience, this really surprised me in a good way. I truly wish games like this will continue to be made. Well done Starbreeze Studios! You've created a memorable game.
Some thoughts:
+ absolutely loved the soundtrack. I wish i could buy it.
+ great sound effects that help create a unique atmosphere
+ game looked stunning at times (superb art direction and texture work)
+ surprisingly rich world and environments
+ surprisingly dark and emotional themes
+ benches
- game breaking bugs that could have been fixed in the month long wait (i had to restart an entire chapter to be able to continue the game)
- poor technical performance on ps3 (unreal engine): texture popin/loading, framerate issues (especially while saving), tearing and somewhat unpolished feeling overall. I would really like to see this game on pc.
- not too fond of the fictional language and voices (fictional languages have been done better in the past)
- character design was so so
- my brain could not accustom to the controls at all. And this is the biggest problem i had with this game. I'm bad at orientation and directions in real life and it showed in this game. From the moment that the characters weren't positioned as my sticks, i got confused, each and every time.
- puzzles were very easy
- there was little room for exploration
- limited camera (would have loved to have a free and full directional camera)
As a game, it was a bit lacking for me, mostly due to the controls and the easy gameplay (which was mostly there as a means to progress through the story).
However, as a game experience, this really surprised me in a good way. I truly wish games like this will continue to be made. Well done Starbreeze Studios! You've created a memorable game.
iNvid02
Member
ahh yeah you could just waltz through if you avoided them, come to think of it those guys were
alright
GrumpyOutlander
Member
I'll give it a try then, and report back my experience.
tinfoilhatman
all of my posts are my avatar
I really don't want to turn this into a console war but I have both PS3 and 360, is there a clear winner on this one on resolution or framerate?
thanks
Also here is my sad PC specs, if I can play at 1080p on my PC with a 360 controller I'll do that instead
Core 2 Quad CPU Q8200@2.33GHz
Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce GT 430
DirectX 11
RAM 7.7 GB 2 GB
OS Windows 7 Enterprise (SP1)
Free space 2.6 TB
thanks
Also here is my sad PC specs, if I can play at 1080p on my PC with a 360 controller I'll do that instead
Core 2 Quad CPU Q8200@2.33GHz
Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce GT 430
DirectX 11
RAM 7.7 GB 2 GB
OS Windows 7 Enterprise (SP1)
Free space 2.6 TB
CouldBeWorse
Member
Did things get misty?
LiquidMetal14
hide your water-based mammals
More games from Josef Fares.
d00d3n
Member
I just finished the game and I have to agree with the majority here that it is a great experience. The very first part of the game looks generic and is quite restricted for story reasons that the game will return to, but damn does the game pick up speed after that. Some of the gameplay challenges are simplistic, sure, but you have to give the developer credits for introducing a novel control scheme and still being able to deliver this quality of gameplay. The visual design of the environments after the village is truly stunning. This might be the best looking game of the year, even compared with TLOU and Metro:LL.
I definitely had something in my throat.
But for the typical wet blanket Amir0x moment for a second, I did have an issue with a few things.
In specific terms to the story, I felt the use of ghosts to depict his mother and brother was really ham-fisted, reinforcing an obvious theme where subtlety would have worked much better. It's not about how realistic it was, it just felt like an obtuse narrative technique.
That complaint aside, though, I enjoyed it well enough. The gameplay is very simple and it was hard to get engaged at first, but it did pick up by the end and I really felt like the height was when the brothers
tied a rope around each other and did those navigational puzzles. Really felt like the game was hitting its stride at this point, but it ended pretty soon after that segment.
Rogue_Ledr
Banned
Who made this again? Starbreeze?
SteveWinwood
Member
Yep, I had tried that. Had to use a keyboard to get it to work. No clue why the controller didn't want to play nice with that one swing. Thanks for your help though and wading through my ramblings.
Anyway I beat it. My thoughts:
I feel like the game is very slow and actually straight up boring for the first 3/4ths. It didn't actually get interesting for me until the
giant battlefield
the orcas, the turtle, the spider lady
The puzzles were repetitive slog-fests of stuff we've seen a million times before and I didn't need to experience again. The story stuff was okay at best, I thought it was trying really hard for some of the stuff though specifically I thought the ending
was mad cheesy
part where he drowned and saw the visions of his giant mother.
end part
Anyway, I'm glad for you all and Starbreeze that y'all are enjoying it immensely, but I just didn't appreciate it I guess. I think I should have waited for it to hit 5 dollars.
If I was rating this on how much of the game I actually liked I'd give it a 1/4, but since it's modern video game reviews I'll give it a 6/10.
Finished it. The
Don't know why I impulse bought this on psn. There's a bunch of pop in, slowdown, tearing, the works. PC version looks miles better. I'll gladly double dip when this is on a steam sale.
The dark tone of this game at times is its strongest point, there are definitely some memorable moments to be found here. Overall though, it didn't grab me like it did some of you.
And what was with the boat controls? Any more people who struggled with them?
spider boss out of nowhere was the best moment in the game. That, and the giant graveyard.
Don't know why I impulse bought this on psn. There's a bunch of pop in, slowdown, tearing, the works. PC version looks miles better. I'll gladly double dip when this is on a steam sale.
The dark tone of this game at times is its strongest point, there are definitely some memorable moments to be found here. Overall though, it didn't grab me like it did some of you.
And what was with the boat controls? Any more people who struggled with them?
microtubule
Member
About two hours in and so far I am impressed!
A bit of a bummer that the game fell off the top ten sales on Steam but I think once it goes on sale it will jump up again.
A pretty good GameReactor interview with Josef Fares. It's from last year but still interesting nonetheless.
A bit of a bummer that the game fell off the top ten sales on Steam but I think once it goes on sale it will jump up again.
A pretty good GameReactor interview with Josef Fares. It's from last year but still interesting nonetheless.
LiquidMetal14
hide your water-based mammals
It's easy when you figure out that each hand controls each character.When you want to maneuver left you control the little brothers right side and opposite with the older brother. You do both for forward spurts. Once I got it things went surprisingly smooth. I really liked that part though.
I enjoyed the scenery greatly and on PC this looks very sharp. I didn't have to do any downsampling or SweetFX type things since the game really carries itself well.
I watched that and a few interviews after I beat the game yesterday. I even ran into some videos from 3+ years just to see if he talks about the game.
Oh by the way, has anyone mentioned how much more affecting the experience is if you play with someone you're close to and they use one half of the controller while you use the other?
I did this with my sister, and as a result the experience had far more impact. The way it worked, it really felt like we had to work together, and being that me and my sister are close, the themes between the two brothers resonated with us. Additionally, when the ending came
It also worked completely perfectly, so it actually felt in a way like true co-op.
I did this with my sister, and as a result the experience had far more impact. The way it worked, it really felt like we had to work together, and being that me and my sister are close, the themes between the two brothers resonated with us. Additionally, when the ending came
and you lost control of the older brother, my sister was extremely emotionally moved by this - she started crying and said when I was unable to control my character anymore, it was like she lost an arm. The game no longer felt right to her and it was like she really lost someone important to her. She cried a lot. I had to agree, too... there was a certain punch to the experience that playing in close proximity with someone you love on the same controller really adds to.
It also worked completely perfectly, so it actually felt in a way like true co-op.
I don't know if anyone else tried like that, but it's interesting. It still works just as much solo because
as you get used to the controls, right after that part the whole half of the controller is still 'dead' to you. Like you just lost a part of yourself, and it made the LT swim part a stroke of genius. What was your experience with that?
It really couldn't have worked out better. By that point,
I had conceded the controller entirely to my sister and was just watching. Then when she figured out how to swim, because I wasn't using the controller, it really WAS like she was reaching out and learning from me as an individual - albeit from my side of the controller, if we are to use it as a metaphor for a second here.
Really, we both grinned at each other and then went back to <ending>
sadly glancing at the screen 
GrumpyOutlander
Member
Wow, just finished and it was excellent. I was wary for the price, but it was well worth it.
It was like a great fairy tale that had elements from so many stories.
If anyone is thinking about which version to get, I played it on the 360 and it ran perfectly except for one part near the end where a cutscene caused it to cut to black and I had to restart. So you may want to consider that.
It was a great experience, and I'm glad that I purchased it.
It was like a great fairy tale that had elements from so many stories.
By the time I got used to the controls the older brother died and it was strange not being able to use the left side of the controller.
If anyone is thinking about which version to get, I played it on the 360 and it ran perfectly except for one part near the end where a cutscene caused it to cut to black and I had to restart. So you may want to consider that.
It was a great experience, and I'm glad that I purchased it.
I like that it was like the true Grimm fairy tales, dark and with horrible things happening all the time. The way fairy tales should be >
mullet2000
Member
I just beat the game today too and I thought the exact same thing about your first point.
Once I hit the ending I was really worried that
when the younger brother and the father were standing in front of the gravestones that ghosts of the older brother and mother were going to appear.
I'm really glad that didn't happen.
Oh, also general comment: I played this on PS3. The performance isn't the best. Lots of screen tearing too. Not the worst performance I've ever seen but it's a bit sketchy.
Hah, I thought the same thing was going to happen. Me and my sister was all ready to facepalm too lol
I got the PC version. Definitely the recommended way to play I can see... it looked stunning artistically, was smooth as butter and had no hiccups at all like tearing.
Just finished. Really enjoyed it. I downloaded this a few nights ago, played Chapter 1, thought it was cool, and turned it off. Turned it on tonight and finished the rest of the game in one sitting. PS3 version here as well and it definitely has that Unreal Engine-on-a-console touch; stuttering when saving, texture pop-in, etc. Overall, these UE-console issues weren't overbearing unlike how most UE games run on PS3. It's probably a safer bet to just play it on PC/Steam if you're one of those crazy performance guys.
With that said, I thought the game was pretty perfect. Easily one of the most memorable games I've played all year. I'm really close to my brother in real life, so this game definitely pulled on the right chords. However, I gotta echo the sentiment that a lot of the game was just moving forward, shimmying across gaps and such. The puzzles were extremely light and didn't require too much attention. I feel like everything was presented in a way to simply highlight the relationship between the brothers, which is cool, because that's what the game was going for.
My only major complaint, really, is one particular gameplay segment that sort of bothered me. It has to do with a rope, about mid-game...
...Some other side notes...am I the only one that got Secret of Evermore vibes at times?
. Also, Heart of Darkness (that PSone adventure game) crossed my mind during a particular segment early on. But yeah, cool game. Definitely not my GOTY, but a very, very nice surprise. Never would have expected Starbreeze to produce/create a game like this either.
With that said, I thought the game was pretty perfect. Easily one of the most memorable games I've played all year. I'm really close to my brother in real life, so this game definitely pulled on the right chords. However, I gotta echo the sentiment that a lot of the game was just moving forward, shimmying across gaps and such. The puzzles were extremely light and didn't require too much attention. I feel like everything was presented in a way to simply highlight the relationship between the brothers, which is cool, because that's what the game was going for.
My only major complaint, really, is one particular gameplay segment that sort of bothered me. It has to do with a rope, about mid-game...
I really didn't care for the entire scenario where the two brothers tie a rope around their waists and traverse that castle. For one, the swinging animation looked/felt so sudden and magnet-like. Second, would a rope like that really hold the two brothers? Like, I feel like when the older brother would let go and swing from his younger brother that the momentum from falling would yank the younger brother's grip right off the ledge. It just felt/looked weird as shit. I would have been more convinced it was a chain link...maybe, I don't know, the whole part just rubbed me the wrong way.
...Some other side notes...am I the only one that got Secret of Evermore vibes at times?
Particularly, the inventor's mountain area with the glider