When comparing Undertale vs Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, the Slant community recommends Undertale for most people. In the question“What are the best games on Steam with a rich story?” Undertale is ranked 16th while Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is ranked 20th. The most important reason people chose Undertale is:
Just like the simple but pleasant graphics in the game, the music matches this with a retro-sounding score that fits right in with the art style. There are a lot of catchy tunes that only use a few sounds to make up memorable songs. The simplicity really adds to the charm, with some of the songs easily able to get stuck in your head for days at a time. It's nostalgic enough for older gamers who grew up in the early eras of gaming, while still having enough to pull in newer gamers who aren't as familiar with games from the 1980s and 90s. There's something here for everyone.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Incredible soundtrack
Just like the simple but pleasant graphics in the game, the music matches this with a retro-sounding score that fits right in with the art style. There are a lot of catchy tunes that only use a few sounds to make up memorable songs. The simplicity really adds to the charm, with some of the songs easily able to get stuck in your head for days at a time. It's nostalgic enough for older gamers who grew up in the early eras of gaming, while still having enough to pull in newer gamers who aren't as familiar with games from the 1980s and 90s. There's something here for everyone.
Pro Amazing characters
The characters in the game are written well, each with their own unique personalities. Some may be too shy, and will lower their hit points when you attack them in battle, just to avoid offending you. Others are deeply caring and do their best to help and protect their friends and family, including you as the player. Many of the characters are quite funny in their dialog and the unexpected choices they make throughout the story, including the ways they react to your choices. Almost every character is incredibly memorable and enjoyable to get to know better.
Pro Many interesting secrets to find
There are many secrets to discover in the game, like hidden mechanics that might take you by surprise. It may take a couple of playthroughs to find them all, but once you do, it may completely change how you see the story, the characters, and a lot more. There's a lot more to Undertale beneath its simple-looking surface.
Pro Your choices lead you down different story paths
Depending on your choices, your playthrough can change in drastic ways. If you don't want to kill enemies in battle, you can choose to have a dialog with them instead. Doing this consistently is basically a pacifist playthrough where you don't kill anyone, and characters respond to you in certain ways based on that. Or you can go for a genocide playthrough, which is basically what it sounds like, where you kill everyone you come across whenever you get the chance. This can have serious consequences, since the game does its best to make you feel bad about this approach, by having certain characters hate you. It's an interesting way to get to see the world and story from different angles.
Pro It's a short game worth your time
This game takes you through an amazing world and tells a unique story, without any dialogue or text.
Pro Meloncholy/beautiful artwork and atmosphere
Pro Uniquely tells much of the story through gameplay mechanics
The story is told silently without text and it is through the games puzzles/gameplay that one learns the story of the game. This is quite a departure from many games where the story is told to the player, here is is learned through playing.
Pro Innovative control scheme
The controls for the game work through the player controlling two different characters simultaneously with the two analog thumb sticks on ones controller. A unique feature that creates a fun way to interact with the game that makes for a memorable experience.
Cons
Con Replaying can be a chore
The first time going through the game it's a nice experience, especially when you know nothing about the characters, story, mechanics, etc.. By your next playthrough, you already know all the jokes and plot points. Even when taking a new route, it can take a while for you to notice anything different from one playthrough to the next, making things feel like a drag.
Con The visuals could be better
Much of the game is plain-looking with simple graphics, but sometimes the visuals are just awful. The pixel art can be charming for some players, though it's hard to ignore when certain areas are barren or have ugly textures. It's notable that a single person created the whole game; it would have been nice if they'd had more time or resources to clean up some of the visual problems.
Con Community
The community is not very mature. That's all.
Con Punishes you for playing an RPG game like you would normally do
Remember when you accidentally killed that monster? Well, we're going to make you hate yourself for it.
Con The controls takes some time getting used to
It might take some minutes of struggling before getting the hang of it.
Con Slow for the sake of being slow
That pulley lever at the start took almost 3 minutes to raise,.. definitely does not need to take so long,.
Con Puzzles are on the easy side
While the story and environment of the game are a pleasure the puzzles themselves are pretty easy and casual offering little challenge. While it can be a good game for those that like casual puzzles, those that enjoy a more difficult gameplay will be at a loss.