Chronicles of Riddick developer Starbreeze Studios turned their brilliant minds towards something more alternative and indie-tinged this year, as Brothers tells the story of the titular characters journeying across the land to fetch some medicine for their ailing father. Whilst personally I wouldnt say the story is anything particularly remarkable, it does fall down slightly through some subpar animation depicting key scenes, however the world Starbreeze have created is something Tolkien would be proud of. Brothers also puts you in control of both characters simultaneously, mapping each to an analogue stick, with a trigger each being their action button. Cue many instances of tag-teaming to defeat enemies, or a genuinely mind-melting example of hand-eye coordination as you scale a castle embankment with both characters, alternating movement and the action of holding onto the wall intermittently. Being a completely original story set in the fantasy genre, featured across the games short runtime are levels ranging from traversing a battlefield of felled giants, navigating the catacombs of a troll-infested mine, and piloting a small kayak across an icy expanse, to name but three. When all is said and done, Brothers is a beautiful tale told in the most exquisite of ways, from a developer known for their more adult work. This is a passion project through and through, yet one that will ask more of you as a person that just to physically finish its journey.
