Official Score
Overall - 40%
40%
For a game that relies heavily on its storytelling, my brother lives in a canyon fails to engage players. The acting and plot simply aren’t there, and this tale of brotherly love simply lacks the punch of the better walking simulators on the market today.
If Vin Diesel taught us anything, it’s that family comes first. Kenneth Dodrill takes this ideology to heart with his new walking simulator my brother lives in a canyon. Featuring two brothers, a walkie talkie, and plenty of nature, should players get to know their sibling?
my brother lives in a canyon Review
Set in the American southwest, this title tells the story of the brothers Tom and Jake. With a walkie talkie in hand, players take control of Jake as he walks a path, talking with his brother Tom on the other end. The low poly area is full of trees and hills, and it proves to be a fine day for a walk.
Since titles like these have players using a WASD walking style and nothing more, the genre must be propped up by its storytelling. Unfortunately, the story here leaves something to be desired.
As players go down the hill and into the cave, these two will chat about different topics. The thing is, while these candid conversations were designed to add some background to these brothers, they simply don’t go anywhere. While it’s great to know that Jake’s partner Beth is asking how Tom is doing (the answer is fine), other mundane topics like one’s love of root beer and one’s desire to listen to reggae music don’t really engage players. The intention is clear, but the delivery leaves something to be desired.
The same goes with the acting of these two. Jake sounds positively bored throughout his journey, like this conversation is more of a mandated conversation by his mother than a bonding time. The script says otherwise, but in a game that places so much weight on its dialog, it’s a huge misstep that takes away from the experience.
The walking part of the walking simulator isn’t too engaging either. Most of the game can literally be played with no interaction from the player. Most of the dialog goes off without the player doing anything – players can go off and make a cup of tea and progress through much of the game. When players aren’t talking on their walkie talkies due to radio silence, one can run forward with a press of the Shift key. However, there’s not much variety outside of the odd object one can interact with – it’s a winding singular path that allows for no exploration whatsoever.
It’s not like this title will keep players going for hours on end; my brother lives in a canyon wraps up in a little more than 10 minutes. There’s no alternate routes or differences between playthroughs; what you see is what you get.
For a game that relies heavily on its storytelling, my brother lives in a canyon fails to engage players. The acting and plot simply aren’t there, and this tale of brotherly love simply lacks the punch of the better walking simulators on the market today.
