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Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons really is an amazing experience and was well deserving of being brought into the new decade with this remake.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake Game Cover
77%Game Brain Score
graphics, story
optimization, stability
73% User Score Based on 352 reviews
Critic Score 81%Based on 22 reviews

Platforms

Xbox Series X|SPCPlaystation 5XboxSteam DeckWindowsPlayStation
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake Game Cover

About

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake is a single player and multiplayer casual action adventure game. It was developed by Avantgarden SRL and was released on December 8, 2023. It received positive reviews from critics and mostly positive reviews from players.

Guide two brothers on an epic fairy tale filled with discovery, loss, adventure, and mystery. With their father suffering from a deadly illness, two brothers must bravely set out to find the “Water of Life,” the one cure that can save him. With no option for failure the brothers must rely on each other using their individual skills to protect one another and overcome the obstacles ahead in this un…

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73%
Audience ScoreBased on 352 reviews
graphics59 positive mentions
optimization17 negative mentions

  • Beautiful and emotional storytelling with a unique narrative style that conveys deep themes of sibling bond, grief, and resilience without traditional dialogue.
  • Visually impressive remake with significantly enhanced graphics, detailed environments, improved character animations, and a re-recorded orchestral soundtrack that elevates the emotional experience.
  • Innovative gameplay mechanic where players control two brothers simultaneously, supported by the addition of local co-op mode allowing shared play experience.
  • The game is very short, with limited content and few new additions beyond graphical upgrades, which may not justify purchase for those who own the original.
  • Control scheme can be awkward and clunky, especially for the second character or in co-op mode; some players find coordination challenging and controls unresponsive or difficult to remap.
  • Performance and optimization issues including bugs, graphical glitches, unstable frame rates, lack of widescreen support, unskippable cutscenes, and occasional game-breaking bugs that impact enjoyment.
  • graphics
    163 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The remake offers significantly enhanced graphics with more detailed environments, improved lighting, and updated character models that bring the world to life, creating a more immersive and emotionally impactful experience. However, some users feel the new visuals lose the original's unique art direction and atmosphere, with occasional bugs, performance issues, and inference in cutscene quality. Overall, the graphical upgrade is a clear improvement for newcomers and those seeking a modernized revisit, though it may not fully replace the original's charm for longtime fans.

    • “The upgraded visuals, reworked cutscenes, and much-improved character models really make the world feel more alive than ever.”
    • “Moving from a small downloadable 2013 Unreal Engine 3 game to a modern and seemingly slightly higher budgeted Unreal Engine 5 title, the visuals get a huge boost.”
    • “Brothers ticks all of the same boxes of its 2013 predecessor, with the same powerful story beats, simple control system and stunning upgraded graphics, but fans of the original will be left mourning what could have been if more had been added to its luscious and varied world.”
    • “The remake is obviously much more advanced on a technical level, but it fails to capture the aesthetic of the original art direction.”
    • “This game is horribly optimized; I can run Marvel Rivals, Deathloop, Dishonored Definitive Edition, Palworld, and more all on max settings, but this game stutters unless in the lowest graphics setting and now when I try to boot it today it crashes on startup every time.”
    • “The pre-rendered scenes are limited to 30 fps, and the overkill game's demanding graphics require users to tweak settings and use scalers for a playable, albeit not optimal, experience as it lacks developers' optimization.”
  • story
    159 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of "Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons" is widely praised for its emotional, heartfelt narrative that explores themes of sibling bonds, loss, and sacrifice without traditional dialogue, relying on expressive visuals and music. Although the story is short, typically around 3-5 hours, it leaves a lasting impact through its universal and touching delivery. The remake maintains the original’s powerful storytelling while enhancing it with updated graphics and a live orchestral soundtrack, offering both new and returning players a deeply moving experience.

    • “Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons remake delivers a beautiful and emotional experience that stands out through its atmosphere, storytelling, and music.”
    • “The game’s story remains as powerful as ever—a deeply moving tale of two brothers embarking on a quest to find a cure for their ailing father.”
    • “Story is fantastic, told without uttering a single line of dialogue (beyond gibberish), brought us to tears.”
    • “I didn’t like the story either.”
    • “The plot of the first half is terrible.”
    • “The story is irrelevant because there is no text, no dialogue, no nothing.”
  • gameplay
    88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons remake remains faithful to the original's unique mechanic of simultaneously controlling two brothers, offering a simple, accessible, yet emotionally engaging experience. While praised for its charming puzzles and storytelling integration, it is also noted as short, somewhat limited in depth, and occasionally clunky—best enjoyed cooperatively, though performance and control issues may impact solo play. Overall, it delivers a heartfelt, innovative gameplay experience but offers little new content for returning players.

    • “For sure the harmony of the controls truly sets the game apart; the innovative mechanics have you maneuver two brothers simultaneously, forging a connection between player and characters that is rare and profound.”
    • “The puzzles are designed around this dual-control mechanic, making you physically feel the cooperation between the two characters.”
    • “Gameplay in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons remake continues to innovate with its signature mechanic—controlling both brothers simultaneously using the two thumbsticks.”
    • “3 hours gameplay, without even hard puzzles.”
    • “Game has unplayable gameplay.”
    • “Whatever little gameplay there was, now feels simpler as well, resulting in an oddly unsatisfying experience.”
  • emotional
    84 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons remake delivers a deeply emotional and heartwarming experience, enhanced by modernized visuals, expressive character animations, and a re-recorded orchestral soundtrack that heighten the story's emotional impact. While short and sometimes featuring clumsy controls, the game’s unique gameplay and poignant narrative about brotherly bonds and grief resonate powerfully, leaving a lasting impression on players. Overall, it stands as a touching, beautifully crafted journey that both honors the original and invites new emotional engagement.

    • “Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons remake delivers a beautiful and emotional experience that stands out through its atmosphere, storytelling, and music.”
    • “The world is crafted with great attention to detail, and the emotional journey of the two brothers remains the strongest element of the game.”
    • “The remake also introduces a re-recorded soundtrack, performed by a live orchestra, which adds even more emotional depth to the story.”
  • optimization
    44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization is widely regarded as poor, with frequent performance issues such as stuttering, crashes, and texture pop-in even on high-end hardware. While the remake offers impressive visual upgrades and new features like co-op, these enhancements come at the cost of heavy system demands and unstable performance, making it frustrating for many players. Many hope for future patches to improve stability and optimize gameplay.

    • “I run on RTX 2070 with highest graphics settings + DLSS and perfectly fine in 1080p, no stuttering, just some hiccups on loading since I'm using HDD.”
    • “Game runs smoothly, I didn't face any technical issues, the game runs on ultra settings DLSS 50-60 fps, with DLSS (quality) 80-100 fps.”
    • “The original game still delivers the same emotional impact and narrative depth with a lighter system requirement, making it a viable option for those who prioritize performance over visuals.”
    • “This game is horribly optimized. I can run Marvel's Midnight Suns, Deathloop, Dishonored Definitive Edition, Palworld and more all on max settings, but this game stutters unless in the lowest graphics setting. Now, when I try to boot it today, it crashes on startup every time.”
    • “The only thing that took me out of the experience was the texture pop-in that gradually got worse as the game progressed; I'm playing on top-of-the-line hardware, so it's odd that this couldn't be better optimized.”
    • “As of now—do not get this game; poorly optimized. Co-op with remote play was very jank and my friend could not even move his character.”
  • music
    41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The remake of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons features a beautifully re-recorded orchestral soundtrack that enhances the game's emotional storytelling and atmosphere, preserving the haunting and evocative music of the original while elevating it with modern production. Reviewers praise the music as a crucial element that deeply connects players to the narrative and enriches the immersive experience. Despite some minor critiques about changes in tone, the soundtrack is widely regarded as stunning, moving, and integral to the game's memorable impact.

    • “Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons remake delivers a beautiful and emotional experience that stands out through its atmosphere, storytelling, and music.”
    • “Targeting modern PCs and current consoles, Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons remake was rebuilt using Unreal 5 to offer striking visual upgrades as well as a newly recorded soundtrack with a live orchestra that elevates the emotions of this game to new heights.”
    • “The remake also introduces a re-recorded soundtrack, performed by a live orchestra, which adds even more emotional depth to the story.”
    • “But most crucially, they changed the bittersweet, subtle, yearning background music to something happy, cinematic, and oblivious.”
    • “Music is radically different; some tracks hit a lot less hard during the most important scenes.”
    • “- More missing atmosphere, replaced with music (the music gets better).”
  • stability
    16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers generally smooth performance, especially in co-op mode, but is hampered by numerous bugs, graphical glitches, frame rate issues, and unskippable cutscenes. While some users experienced minimal problems, many report crashes, visual stutters, and control issues that detract from the experience. Overall, stability remains a significant concern that affects enjoyment despite the game's strong visuals and gameplay.

    • “It runs great on a handheld and the chapters are paced perfectly for a train ride, though you might want to hold back tears if you're playing the final chapters while pulling into Manggarai station.”
    • “Despite its potential, the remake is still buggy, especially with graphics, frame rate, self-optimization, and unskippable cutscenes.”
    • “I have a Nvidia 2070 Super with updated drivers and experienced stuttering in early videos, pixel glitches with water reflections, my partner's screen went black 10 times during gameplay requiring restarts, and the final section doesn't work in co-op, needing single player mode for proper controls.”
    • “They made the graphics look good, but it's too buggy and not enjoyable despite the unreal graphics.”
  • atmosphere
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere in Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons remake is praised for its emotional depth, unique storytelling, and enhanced visuals that bring lush environments and characters to life. While some note a shift from the original's bleaker, unsettling tone to a more vibrant palette complemented by improved music, the game's distinctive fantasy ambiance and narrative-rich experience remain strong highlights.

    • “Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons remake delivers a beautiful and emotional experience that stands out through its atmosphere, storytelling, and music.”
    • “One of the highlights for me is the Arabic-inspired language created for the game, which caught me by surprise at first, yet quickly proved itself to be a perfect match for the art style and fantasy atmosphere it was superimposed upon.”
    • “Thing is, the visuals in the original game, with their bleaker palette, created the otherworldly, magical and at the same time unsettling atmosphere that made me love the game in the first place.”
    • “The visuals in the original game, with their bleaker palette, created the otherworldly, magical, and at the same time unsettling atmosphere that made me love the game in the first place.”
    • “More missing atmosphere, replaced with music (the music gets better).”
    • “[Updated visuals, new co-op mode, same story and atmosphere].”
  • humor
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's humor is charming and varied, blending funny NPC interactions with moments that are wholesome, moving, and even accidental comedic mishaps. It creates a lighthearted, enjoyable experience, especially in cooperative play where laughter and playful banter enhance the fun.

    • “Lovely and funny little couch co-op adventure game.”
    • “+ funny interactions with NPCs.”
    • “Sometimes funny, sometimes wholesome, and sometimes sad and moving.”
  • character development
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The character development received mixed feedback, with praise for the original’s strong character design and the remake’s impressive and creative redesigns, such as the spider lady’s unique blend of human and spider textures. However, the updated graphics and UE5 models were criticized for disrupting the art direction and sometimes resulting in uncanny or off-putting visuals. Additionally, changes in cutscene direction and technical issues slightly detracted from the overall character presentation.

    • “Both have their own charms, but really what this game nails is the character design!”
    • “While the original has incredible character designs already, the remake really steps it up with the spider lady re-design with its combination of human and spider-like skin textures; it was very freaky!”
    • “And the new graphics, while they can look good in some very specific moments, have completely messed up the character design, art direction, and for some reason they also changed the cutscene direction as well.”
    • “What happened with the character design here?”
    • “And the new graphics, while they can look good in some very specific moments, have completely messed up the character design, art direction and for some reason they also changed the cutscene direction as well.”
    • “[local play can ruin part of the experience, plethora of audio bugs, uncanny UE5 character designs]”
  • monetization
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Users view the monetization as a cheap cash grab, criticizing the remake for charging despite only rebuilding a short 3–4-hour game with updated assets and soundtrack, suggesting it lacks sufficient new content to justify the price.

    • “This was a cheap cash grab "remake," in every sense of the word.”
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81%Critics’ scoreBased on 22 critic reviews
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4h Median play time
4h Average play time
3-4h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 8 analyzed playthroughs
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Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake is a casual action adventure game.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, Steam Deck and others.

On average players spend around 4 hours playing Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake was released on December 8, 2023.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake was developed by Avantgarden SRL.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake has received positive reviews from players and positive reviews from critics. Most players liked Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake for its graphics but disliked it for its optimization.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

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