Backlogtober 2015 - Day 2 Update

Hey there folks, Dan here with my first proper update for Backlogtober 2015. I'm pleased to report that so far I'm one for one in one day, which is about the best sort of progress one can hope for in an initiative such as this. As predicted, I ended up finishing Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons in one day, across two ninety-minute sittings (one before work, and one after). It's a stunning game that makes a huge impression in spite of its short running-time. In that spirit, I'm going to do my best to articulate the impact it had on me in a reasonably concise manner.

The first thing that struck me on booting up the game was its beautiful aesthetic. Maybe that's because I've just acquired a new, much larger TV which makes a lot of the smaller details more noticeable, but I don't think it's up for dispute that Brothers is a gorgeous game. Its environments in particular are breath-taking, and I found myself stopping at every bench I passed just to sit down and drink in the atmosphere of each new vista. What impressed me even more than the game's pure beauty, though, was how the aesthetics of its world are almost wholly responsible for revealing its workings and dynamics. From caverns filled with rusting machinery to the aftermath of a battle fought by giants, the locales that the two eponymous protagonists explore go a long way towards fleshing out the game's world and lore through inference alone. The world of Brothers is one of the most beautifully realised I've visited this year, and the game achieves that without ever having to fall back on explicit, verbose exposition.

This approach extends to the game's characters too. Given that the two brothers under the player's control speak an incomprehensible language reminiscent of Simlish, it was vital for developers Starbreeze to build their characters in other ways, and I think they definitely succeeded on that front. The lads obviously have different strengths and abilities from a gameplay standpoint - Older Brother can swim and is strong enough to pull heavy levers, while Younger Brother is small enough to squeeze through narrow gaps - but they also interact with the world around them in very different ways. Older Brother is usually much more serious and focused in any given situation, while Younger Brother behaves in a much more mischievous, childish fashion. Whenever I happened upon a new object or person I could interact with, I invariably did so with both brothers in turn. This difference goes a long way towards building these borderline silent protagonists into fully-fleshed characters, and does a brilliant job of establishing the dynamic of the relationship between them.

I applaud the game for doing something special with its control scheme, too. Other games which involve taking control of multiple protagonists at once typically involve a mechanic whereby players can switch between those protagonists on the fly. Brothers doesn't do that, instead opting to give the player simultaneous control of both playable characters by mapping the brothers to different sides of the same controller. This makes for a really fluid experience, particularly when having to combine the characters' unique strengths in order to solve some of the game's environmental puzzles. Where it really pays off, though, is at the very end of the game. I don't want to say too much in the interest of avoiding specific spoilers, but the last few minutes of Brothers showcase the game's control scheme in order to drive home one of the strongest aspects of its narrative in a (quite literally) palpable way that more conventional methods of storytelling would struggle to equal.

I loved every second of the short time I spent with Brothers yesterday. Part of me wishes it wasn't over already, but there's another part of me that's really glad it didn't try to outstay its welcome. The whole experience was overwhelmingly evocative of ICO, with its gorgeous art direction, and the decision to forego a more conventional narrative in favour of building atmosphere and empathy through its mechanics and design ethos. If nothing else, it's got me incredibly excited for The Last Guardian, which rocketed back up my list of most anticipated titles following its resurfacing at this year's E3. Here's hoping that manages to hit its speculative 2016 release window.

That's one game down, and hopefully nine to go. It's around 11pm here, so I'm not sure if I'll be starting Pokémon Snap tonight or if I'll wait until tomorrow to get my capture on. Either way, it'll probably be a couple of days before I'm ready to weigh in with some thoughts on the gotta-snap-'em-all cult classic. Until then, thanks very much for reading. Take care duders, and I'll see you around.

Dan

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Currently playing - Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PS3)