Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake Review (PS5) | Push Square

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Years before becoming a household name thanks to a hilarious, impassioned speech at The Game Awards, Josef Fares — alongside Starbreeze — was already releasing quality games. His first venture, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, is an emotional excursion that sees two brothers set out on a dire journey. Now, Avantgarden Games has taken up the task of remaking the 10-year-old game. But has it held up? In a contemporary setting, does Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake still offer the same level of emotional weight and mechanical mastery that the original did all those years ago? Well, the answer to that is: sometimes.

You play as a pair of brothers — Naia and Naiee — whose father is on death's doorstep with some sort of ailment. A healer in your village tasks you with adventuring to the Tree of Life in hopes of finding the means to save your dad. Along the way, as the two siblings stray farther and farther from civilisation, you'll encounter progressively more eccentric individuals, some of whom are happy to lend a helping hand. Across this harrowing journey, Naia and Naiee must solve a collection of puzzles as they proceed on their quest of salvation. The story is a simple one, yes, but it's emotionally resonant, and the vast majority of narrative elements that were effective back in 2013 remain so today. Telling an intimate, familial story like this is an easy thing to mess up, so we're delighted to see that this is one area where the game has aged well.

Mechanically, the controls are the most unique feature of the title. You use the left stick to move and the left trigger to interact as Naia, the older brother, and the right stick and trigger to control Naiee. Naia, being older, is stronger and more adept at doing anything that requires height or strength to accomplish, whereas Naiee is more elusive and better suited to stealth or tasks that call for a smaller frame. These controls work brilliantly for the most part, but there are occasional sequences that call for