My Brother Rabbit is a hidden object /
puzzle game hybrid released by Artifex Mundi. Released on pretty much every
current platform, My Brother Rabbit is a colourful and surreal adventure
through a young child’s imagination. We got hold of a mobile version of the
game, and took it through its paces, and this is what we thought of it.
My Brother Rabbit is the story of a young boy, who finds out that his younger sister is very ill. As her parents struggle with the real-life consequences of their daughter’s illness, the brother uses the power of his imagination to help them both cope with the situation. While the real world is full of harsh truths and difficulty, the innocence of their imagination creates a bright, colourful world, with magical trees, and Salvador Dali type visuals.
Quite impressed they added a storyline as
deep as that one. They could easily have gotten away with it simply being about
this rabbit getting home in a colourful world, but the didn’t. They put more
effort into creating an engaging storyline and I appreciate that.
Unlike many other games, you do not control the main character, your actions will enable him to continue on his journey but you do not control him directly. Instead, you simply tap to use items and change screens in an almost godlike manner.
There are three different gameplay types within My Brother Rabbit, Collection, Item Use, and Puzzle.
The Collection element of the game tasks
you with finding a number of items, such as cogs, butterflys, springs, ribbons
etc.
Item Use is where you use an item on screen with a different item on screen, usually to unlock or reveal a collection item. i.e. tap on the forcet to turn it on, then drag a beaker from the table to the sink to fill it with water. These item puzzles are always contained within the screen you are on, so you don;t have to carry any items with you.
Usually, as gateways to other areas there are Puzzles that you have to solve in order to continue. Whether it’s a jigsaw, a sliding block puzzle, pattern solving, or one of the other types of puzzle. These are fairly distinct and there is very little in the way of duplication here.
Generally, the collections are requirements to gain access to other areas or to gain access to the Puzzles. For example, tapping on a machine, will show that it needs 8 cogs to work. So, you trot off to find the cogs, once you have all 8, you can access the puzzle where these cogs are now a major component. One of these cogs might be hidden behind a bush that you have to drag the shears on, to trim it, gaining you access to the cog. In essence all three types of puzzle often work collaboratively.
I can’t vouch for the other platforms but the controls are very easy on a mobile device. Simply tap or drag objects with your finger. Sometimes your finger get’s in the way but generally, the control method is perfect and I didn’t find it to be much of a hindrance.
Another thing that Artifex Mundi did well
is the difficulty curve, I made steady progress through the game, and wasn’t
stuck for very long. Thankfully, you are shown if there are collections to find
on the screen you’re in, so you aren’t going from screen to screen desperately
trying to find your last item. Though, a smaller screen does make finding some
things difficult. It’s always subjective but I finished the whole thing in 2-3 hours.
There are quite a large number of achievements threading their way through the game. As with a lot of achievements in games, some you will naturally get just by progressing through the game, others take a bit of getting. If you’re a completionist, then the addition of these achievements will encourage you to play through again. However, there aren’t many other reasons, as with many puzzle games, the puzzles won’t change the second time around, you won’t even have the wonder of what’s coming next. On my second playthrough I got through it in around an hour and a half.
I will finish by saying that the use of
colour is perfect. The cut-scenes, which are a realistic, yet washed-out pencil
sketch is the perfect counter-point to the bright, and colourful, almost cartoon
like visuals of the imaginative landscape.
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Jim Franklin
Jim Franklin is a freelance writer, living in Derby UK with his wife and his player 3. When time allows he likes nothing more than losing himself in a multi-hour gaming session. He likes most games and will play anything but prefers MMO's, and sandbox RPG's.
