What you need to know: The adventure video game Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons has been released in the UK. The game was developed by Swedish Starbreeze Studios, creators of The Chronicles Of Riddick, for Xbox, PlayStation and Steam. In this story driven game, two sons, desperate to cure their dying father, must embark on a journey to find and bring back the "Water of Life". Each brother must rely on the other to survive, using his strengths and compensating for the other's weaknesses. Gameplay revolves around directing the brothers to explore, overcome obstacles and solve puzzles by working together. The player can direct the brothers to act individually or simultaneously using linked but autonomous controls. What the critics like: This "emotionally powerful, visually sumptuous video game" is one of the best titles of 2013, says Erik Kain at Forbes.com. It's an epic, beautiful world full of magic and danger, miraculously packaged into just a few of hours of gameplay. Brothers is "an enchanting and emotionally challenging adult fairy tale", says Dan Silver in the Daily Mirror. The strength of the storytelling results in a rare video game narrative that will both warm and wrench your heart, in equal measures. "The worldless storytelling is some of the most compelling of the year," says Roger Hargreaves in Metro. Superb characterisation is achieved almost entirely through gameplay and the deceptively dark plot leads to a memorable final act. What they don't like: In general it works well, but "at times, handling each brother is akin to patting your head while rubbing your stomach", says Michael Plant in The Independent. Source: The Week UK
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