Game Review: My Brother Rabbit (Xbox One)

We here at Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life have a lot of time for the developer and publisher Artifex Mundi. Their brand of point and click/hidden object adventure games are always fun, interesting and satisfying.

We’ve reviewed quite a few of their games on Xbox One to date and you can read all them below.

Clockwork Tales: Of Ink & Glass
Nightmares From the Deep: The Cursed Heart
Enigmatis: Ghosts of Maple Creek
Nightmares From The Deep: The Siren’s Call
Dark Arcana: The Carnival
Enigmatis 2: The Mists of Ravenwood
Lost Grimoires: Stolen Kingdom
Grim Legends 2: Song of the Dark Swan
Eventide: Slavic Fable
Eventide 2: Sorcerer’s Mirror
Abyss: The Wraiths of Eden
Lost Grimoires 2: Shard of Mystery
Nightmares from the Deep 3: Davy Jones
Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala
Eventide 3: Legacy of Legends

My Brother Rabbit is the latest game from the indie developer and sees them branch out with a game that sticks to the point and click/hidden object puzzle aspect but is done in a new and fresh way.

The story centres around a family of four. Two parents and two young children, a boy and a girl. The girl falls ill suddenly and the adults do everything possible to save her life. The young boy though, he turns to his imagination to cope. The journey to cure his sister is told through the fantastical and surreal world he creates.

Five different lands with incredible and beautiful hand-drawn imagery, the imagination used in My Brother Rabbit is very impressive. It’s gorgeous to look at and every new screen reveals new wonders to marvel at.

Gameplay comes from the environmental puzzles, mini-games and hidden objects. Each one offering up a unique challenge that gets tougher as you progress but never to the point of frustration. There is plenty of variety in the puzzles but long time Artifex Mundi players will recognise much of their signature offerings.

With so much detail on screen, it’s often the hidden objects that need to be found that cause the most challenge. The game does as much as it can to help though. Showing you what objects, you need, how many you need to find and which location has items to find. Even with that though, it’s easy to overlook a small object and with no visual indicators, you might find yourself clicking all over the screen desperately trying to find one last item so you can progress.

It’s a small complaint in what is the best Artifex Mundi game in a while. Its story is emotional and touching. It’s an absolute visual treat and gameplay is very enjoyable. It doesn’t overstay its welcome coming in at around 2 hours long and has some really effective music. In fact, its soundtrack (by Arkadiusz Reikowski) is incredibly well done. It’s dream-like, upbeat at times, mournful at others and fits the visuals and story told perfectly.

The music is the cherry on top of what is a spelling-binding experience. One you won’t regret picking up and playing.