Even the best of younger brothers can get irritating, playing with all your stuff, messing in your room. So, when Max comes home and finds Felix in his room he loses it and searches online for how to get rid of him for good. When Max speaks aloud the enchantment he finds, a monster’s hand reaches through a portal and drags him away. In a fit of guilt Max chases after them into a hostile world...

Max: The Curse of Brotherhood, is a single player puzzle platform game, developed by Press Play, which has now been released for the Switch. Even though the game was originally released in 2013 this remains a very decent port.

First off, this game looks great on the Switch with richly detailed 2.5D environments. Max travels through numerous locations from deserts, through ancient ruins and lava filled caverns, often chased by monsters or having to overcome monstrous denizens.

Although the game is mainly a platformer, it does come with a twist in the shape of the magic marker which Max acquires. The marker can be used to create objects which allow Max to progress, from rope to tree branches, as well as rising and dropping platforms. As you progress through the levels the marker continues to extend its abilities, which leads to some interesting puzzles.

Later, in the game, the assorted options from the marker must be combined together to traverse the levels. The idea of the magic marker is a good one, but its execution is not as exact as it needs to be. The marker works best when using the Switch in the dock, it becomes more inaccurate as a handheld.

For all its visual flair the game does have a few issues which may delight or not. The first thing is the degree of precision required to progress. This is not a very forgiving game and you're going to fail a lot, but on the plus side it only places you back just before you fell or failed. Max lacks a lot of the controls one would expect, like a double jump, don’t get it right first time and your back to square one.

Overall, it’s a good port which still looks great on the Switch and if you can come to terms with the control issues this remains a challenging puzzle game.

7

Charles Packer