Max: The Curse of Brotherhood Review - Game sometimes requires high precision and tight timing

nehashetty (58)in #gaming • 7 years ago (edited)

Young brothers, it's nice to have them, but in your younger years you could undoubtedly also stick them behind the wallpaper. Max is in Max: The Curse of Brotherhood a nice little guy who comes home after school to see his younger brother in his bedroom. His brother, however, makes a mess and demolish Max's toys. He is not happy with that and on the internet he is looking for a way to get rid of his brother. That is not a good idea, because the first best spell ensures that his brother is swallowed up in a wormhole. Max did not want that again and just dived into the gap just in time. Time to save Felix, his brother.

A world full of danger

The world where Felix is kidnapped and where Max ends up is in a different dimension and there is danger in every corner. Max sees that his brother is taken away by a huge monster and thus he puts the chase. After some time, his brother is taken away by a bird and all hope seems lost. However, Max does not give up and continues his way to end up with a mysterious old female. She then gives some explanation to the world and shows that there is a powerful enemy who controls everything in the world and who needs to be tackled.

Before the female disappears she gives Max a magical power, she stops her soul in a felt-tip pen and it turns out to be of great importance in the gameplay, because more than once this stylus will help Max further in his journey. This trip brings Max to all kinds of areas and during the adventure he has to overcome all kinds of obstacles. In the beginning this is easy by just jumping right and looking for the right route, but that gets more and more challenging over time, because you find puzzles that you need your felt pen for. That pen will also be further expanded in terms of forces, making it more and more creative.

Markers

The game has a traditional 2D design in a 3D world where Max has to platform from left to right to get further. You start at first in the desert and then end up in a jungle and you also get to deal with lava and more. Max is a young boy, so he does not have lives. If he makes a mistake, he will die and you may start again. Fortunately, the checkpoints are placed so that you never have to do too much again and that is pretty nice. Especially because it can be quite challenging later in the game.

In addition to standard jumping and climbing, you gradually need your magic marker. In the first instance this starts with the possibility to raise platforms from the ground, which you draw as true. This gives Max the opportunity to bridge or reach certain places. Later in the game you can draw branches with that same marker that you can also cut off and use to climb on top, provided they have the right shape. You will also find the possibility to start an air flow, for example, so that Max can move quickly without falling into a hole.

The way of playing with this magical marker is nice and reminiscent of the magician of Trine, with which you could draw platforms and cubes. The result is that you regularly find locations where you have to think carefully about how you can use the environment to get further and that is very nice on the one hand, on the other hand it can sometimes be just as good looking for the solution. However, it is never too complicated, so you will not really get stuck and that is of course good for the accessibility. The game is never extremely difficult, but make no mistake in the friendly appearance.

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Beautiful style

The entire world of Max: The Curse of Brotherhood has a very pleasant visual style. The different areas are very colorful and look great and detailed. It is really enjoying during the adventure, purely because of the colorful interpretation and the pleasant style that is in some way soothing. The music is also very nice and fits well with the overall vibe of the game. With that, the developer technically knows how to deliver a decent adventure that is also good for roughly an hour or six to eight gameplay and that is not surprising for a 2D platformer. What you have to take for granted is that the story is not that interesting, but that makes the gameplay happy again.

The game has many positive aspects, but we would like to draw your attention to a few lesser points. So you occasionally have a chase where you have to be very accurate in your movements, because the smallest mistake can mean the end. That does not interfere with accessibility and if you also have to work with your marker, it can be done by a panicky moment, because suddenly it has to be very difficult. Your timing must therefore be in order and where you can take all the time during normal platforms to determine your moves, it is in chases or near enemies at times in a hurry, which increases the difficulty level unintentionally. Furthermore, we also noticed that the use of the pen - although very nice found - regularly limits the tempo and that is not always nice.

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Conclusion

Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is a pleasant platformer that is worthwhile, especially when you look at the price-quality ratio. The audiovisual style is very pleasant and fits perfectly in the street of Pixar. The platforms are generally smooth and entertaining, especially in combination with the pen that automatically brings new puzzles. Do not let yourself be deceived by the visual style, because even though the game is never impossible, it does get challenging every now and then. You also sometimes to have really phenomenal timing to escape a chase, especially if you have to use your marker and that does not always work smoothly. The story is not interesting, either, it could have been more creative. Nevertheless, Max is:

➕ Audiovisual style
➕ Varied environments
➕ Fun and challenging puzzles
➕ Fine platform work

➖ Game sometimes requires high precision and tight timing
➖ Tempo is somewhat hindered by the marker
➖ Story not so fascinating

Thanks for reading.