Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Lore & Background

The game was developed by Starbreeze Studios and was the first title from their publishing partnership with 505 Games. Its working title during development was P13. The game uses Unreal Engine 3 and was developed in collaboration with Swedish-Lebanese film director Josef Fares. All in-game dialogue is spoken in a fictional language based on Lebanese Arabic, with the story conveyed through actions, gestures, and expressions.

Starbreeze sold the intellectual property to 505 Games for $500,000 in January 2015. 505 Games continued developing the game for additional platforms, including PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions released in mid-2015 with director's commentary, soundtrack, and concept art gallery. Mobile versions followed: iOS on 22 October 2015 and Android on 26 May 2016. A Nintendo Switch version released on 28 May 2019 included a special two-player co-operative mode. The game was released for Amazon Luna on 20 October 2020, and Super Rare Games announced a limited physical release of the Switch version on 25 March 2021.

A remake of the game was announced at The Game Awards in December 2023. Developed by Italian studio Avantgarden, it was released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on 28 February 2024.

Reader's Guide

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons received generally favorable reviews, with the PC version receiving universal acclaim on Metacritic. IGN called it 'maybe the best downloadable title since Journey.' GamesMaster gave it 91/100, describing it as 'Ico meets Limbo in Fable's world' and 'spellbinding.' Edge gave it 7/10, praising the visual style, pace, story, and controls. Joystiq awarded a perfect 5/5, noting it is rare for a game to forge such a strong connection. Official Xbox Magazine UK gave it 9/10, praising its touching story and inventive controls. Both IGN and PC Gamer named it one of the best games of 2013. The game won Best Innovation at the 2014 BAFTA Video Games Awards and was nominated for Best Family Game and Best Story. It also won Best Xbox Game at the 2013 VGX Award Show, competing against Grand Theft Auto V, BioShock Infinite, and Tomb Raider. At the 17th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, it won Downloadable Game of the Year and was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction. The game had sold over 800,000 units by January 2015.

Did You Know?

• The game's working title during development was P13.
• A remake developed by Italian studio Avantgarden was released on 28 February 2024.