How the Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons remake resurrects an indie classic
Originally developed by a small team at Starbreeze Studios led by director Josef Fares, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a narrative puzzle adventure in the tradition of Ico, Journey, and Limbo. Set in a picturesque fairy tale world, the game puts you in control of two brothers who venture outside their sleepy village in search of a cure for their father's rare sickness.
Fares, who now runs Hazelight Studios, cites his love of early top-down RPGs as the genesis for Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons—but he didn't just want to make yet another imitator in that mold. He wanted to create something that "wasn't your typical game," especially considering his background as a film director. Fares came up with Brothers' unique hook: While the two titular brothers might make you think the game's played co-op, you in fact control the pair using a single controller, with one stick dedicated to each brother.
As Fares recalls, the concept took a lot of trial and error, with the team creating two demos before beginning on full production. "It meant everything. That was the whole vision of the game, the whole concept," Fares says. "The whole idea was that you control the big brother with the left stick and the little brother with the right stick…It was very challenging, obviously, to figure out how to control the brothers, and the camera, and so on and so forth."
To Fares, the idea of controlling two characters with two different sticks was natural, perhaps even more intuitive than the usual dual-stick setup that third-person games have leaned on for years. But giving up direct camera control via the right stick produced a lot of problems for the team, and it was something that they had to work on throughout development of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons.
Fortunately, the unusual control method provided fertile ground for the team to craft puzzles around, since even the most mundane interactions felt a bit uncanny with the unique control scheme. Fares compares the approach to puzzle design in Brothers to trying to tie your shoelaces with a stranger's assistance—it's normally an easy task, "Juegos de 20" but putting a new spin on it can complicate things.
"To be honest, in the beginning, I didn't think that [controlling two characters] was that unique, because it felt natural to me," Fares says. "You have two sticks, you can control two things. But I realized afterward that it was pretty unique, and it was important, because that mechanic really worked well with the story. And because the story and the gameplay could combine in a great way."
Ivan D. Casaril, Lead Game Designer at Avantgarden, says he has fond memories of playing Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons when it first released. He describes it as a "big part" of that era of Xbox Live Arcade, when downloadable indie games were coming to consoles for the first time, and he compares it to fellow standouts like Braid and Limbo. As a longtime fan, he was in a good position to consider what aspects of the original Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons could be improved after a decade of technological advances, while still remaining true to the game's roots.
"At every stage, we needed to carefully consider what would enhance the player's experience while staying true to the essence of the original version," says Casaril. "We delved into experimenting with new mechanics using prototypes, although not every idea made it to the final game. It was crucial to assess how these changes could potentially affect the original game's pacing."
Casaril notes that in addition to a total visual overhaul, Avantgarden also redirected all of the cutscenes, made subtle tweaks to mechanics and puzzles, and introduced a number of new sequences to the game. As a whole, he says the team primarily focused on the presentation of the game, especially in terms of fine-tuning the controls and improving the animations. The remake also features a new co-op mode, though he recommends playing Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons in the classic singleplayer mode for your first playthrough.
"For us, Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons is more than just a game. It's an emotional journey for the player," says Casaril.
Though Fares was not directly involved in the production of the remake—he and the rest of Hazelight are hard at work on the follow-up to It Takes Two, which won Game of the Year at the 2021 Game Awards—he did consult with the creative team a number of times during the process. Fares says that he's "super happy" that the remake is coming out, and that it's only natural for creatives to want to improve almost every aspect of a game, even years after it first releases.
"You want to change a lot of stuff," he says. "You're always like, 'Oh I could've done this better, that could've been better.' You have to remember, the team we had at that time, we weren't that experienced, and it was my first game as well…I would like the brothers' interactions to be more responsive, I would love the camera to be better, I would love the art to be a bit better, everything. But in the remake, a lot of this stuff has actually become better. So hopefully, people will enjoy the remake of Brothers even more than the original."
For his part, Casaril views Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons as not only an iconic indie hit, but an important milestone for gaming in general. He points to the gradual shift in the game's tone as one of its major strengths—it begins with the light-hearted whimsy that many expect from modern fairy tales, before darkening into something out of the Brothers Grimm canon. Like many others, he particularly admires the way that Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons integrates its unique controls into the twists of the narrative, producing powerful emotions that would be impossible outside of the medium of video games.
"Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons distinguishes itself as one of the pioneering games of its era," Casaril writes. "It marked a significant shift in viewing a game not just as a 'fun' recreational activity but also as a powerful medium capable of emotionally connecting with the audience."
Since some of the core team that worked on Brothers still work with Fares at Hazelight, Fares considers Brothers a "Hazelight game" in a sense. He feels that you can see the DNA of Brothers in the studio's other projects, such as the prison break-themed co-op thriller A Way Out. For instance, Fares initially got a lot of pushback from his fellow developers for wanting to include a wide variety of mechanics and mini-games in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, but he now considers it one of Hazelight's signatures.
More than anything, Fares is proud of how the Brothers team was able to depict character growth in a way that took full advantage of the game's unique control scheme, as well as the strengths of games more generally.
"You can't do that in a movie…I think that was a huge 'A-ha!' moment for a lot of players when they realized, 'Wow, in an interactive way, I'm actually growing as a character,'" Fares says. "Even today, I get fan mail from people playing the game, saying they love it. I'm very proud of the first game I did. I couldn't be more proud, actually."
The games industry has entered an era where it seems that almost any acclaimed game could get the remake treatment if the stars align properly. Though Fares acknowledges that the "remake era" has been good for gamers, he says that he personally prefers "reimaginings" of the mega-games of yesteryear, citing the ongoing Final Fantasy VII Remake series as a prime example. Still, Fares acknowledges that straightforward remakes of classics like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time allow new players to experience them for the first time.
Casaril offers a similar perspective, emphasizing that remakes offer an important means of preserving the history and legacy of games in general, while also improving on certain aspects that designers like Fares would love to revisit with the experience they've gained over the years.
"Games like Braid, Fez, and Soma indeed left a lasting impact on the industry, each contributing unique elements to the gaming landscape," says Casaril. "The idea of remakes introducing these titles to new generations is a compelling one…Remakes can serve as a bridge between gaming generations, ensuring that the innovative and impactful experiences crafted by these games continue to be recognized and enjoyed. As the gaming industry evolves, remakes become a valuable means of preserving and celebrating the legacy of these influential titles."
As a whole, it's clear that Fares views Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons as the game that put him and Hazelight on the map, and it'll always have a special place in his heart.
"I know for sure that the people who made A Plague Tale were inspired by Brothers, because they said so in an interview," Fares says. "I'm super proud of that. I hope that Brothers has had an impact on other developers, and the way they look at games. That's actually the best thing you can get as a developer, to inspire each other, and to do something better for the whole of the gaming industry…If I can be a part of pushing the creativity forward, I couldn't be happier."
"Brothers is a game I'm immensely proud of," he continues, "It made it possible for me to have my own company with my awesome team, where we're making great games that people love. It couldn't get better than that."
While we don't know when Hazelight's next game will come out, it's clear that they're working hard on it. And now, thanks to Avantgarden's remake, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons gets the chance to reach a whole new generation of players, including those who might have played It Takes Two and are curious about the studio's origins.
The Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons remake releases on the Epic Games Store on February 28.