Max:The Curse Of Brotherhood Review

Lets cut to the chase right from the off! Max is a clever game that wants the player to be just as clever.
Many a time I would face a situation of, you need to get over to the other side but in your path are monsters or a watery grave or hell fire or just a drop to your instant death! So what to do?
This is where Max excels. The developer Flashbulb have done there homework on many of the games of the past generation and taken some of the best puzzle elements and gelled them together in there own special way to form one of the best 2.5D side scrolers I've played since Sonic back in the day.

Max "The Curse Of Brotherhood" as you may have guessed is a story about you, Max trying to find his annoying brother who Max actually 'wished' him to be banished but didn't expect to see him gobbled up by his TV.

And so your quest over 7 chapters start. You are not armed with guns, no knives, no fists. No you are armed with a.............Pen. This is one hell of a magic marker pen. As you progress you will unlock it's powers, the powers of progression. Your pen can grow branches, shape branches, cut branches, attach vines to branches, rock formations that you can rise from the ground. It's, what seems endless combinations will help you navigate the world and get to the end and hopefully rescue your little brother or find the many secrets littered throughout your journey. (You can go back to each stage to unlock secrets that were unreachable without full power of the pen)

I found myself many times scratching my head looking at the TV trying to figure out a way forward. The way forward was only masked by my own imagination. As soon as you click with the way the developers 'think' you'll be on your way, I'd pause, think, then giving a smile and knowing nod towards the TV, then progress and mutter, "very clever" under my breath. Some games these days are just by numbers and treat you like an idiot, reminding you what to press to jump over a log even after playing for over 7 hours, Max will have you using your brain right up until the last.

Max is a breath of fresh air and a wonder to play. The colours pop on the 4K screen in 50" glory. The graphics themselves have a very Pixar look to them, the world kinda reminded me of Sony's Monster House. Sound is done very well with perfect surround sound booming from my wireless woofer.

Where Max excels is from imagination and I urge you to give it a go and if puzzle solving is your thing, you'll come away feeling you've well and truly had your monies worth.

8/10   

Playing on PS4 Pro.
Max is out now on PS4.

Max on PS4 Pro