Max: The Curse of Brotherhood Reviews

Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is ranked in the 40th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Adam Riley
Top Critic
8 / 10
Jan 19, 2018

Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is a triumph in design, both in terms of how stages are crafted and the way the smart puzzles contained within each world are put together. Held back by its control scheme in the past, the shackles have now been removed, making this the superlative edition thanks to the excellent touch screen system now employed on Nintendo Switch, leaving Cubed3 now hungry for an upgraded version of Max & the Magic Marker in the future.

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8 / 10.0
Jan 18, 2018

While PlayStation players had to wait several years for it Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is definitely worth playing.

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6.5 / 10.0
Jan 26, 2018

Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is a solid puzzle game with some platforming elements, even if it isn't a particularly great platformer on its own. If you can look past the occasionally clunky controls and its inherent frustrations, you're in for a treat with the great level design.

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B+
May 31, 2018

Overall, Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is a great game that feels like it's really found a home on Switch.

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Digitally Downloaded
Nick H
Top Critic
Jan 14, 2014

Max: The Curse of Brotherhood has a handful of funny moments, plenty of fairly easy but entertaining puzzles and platforming/chase scenes all wrapped up in lovely visuals. The adventure doesn't have great replay value, but the first time through it's long enough, and the price of admission is absolutely worth it.

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8 / 10.0
Feb 25, 2014

In the end, Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is a fine game for puzzle platforming fans. The length is just about right, the presentation is great, and the amount of hidden collectibles gives the title some considerable replayability. Though the freedom to construct your own solutions is sorely missed, the puzzles are well thought-out and certainly make up for the few puzzles that are ruined due to misbehaving camera angles and other issues. Fans of the genre will thoroughly enjoy The Curse of Brotherhood.

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Dec 27, 2013

Press Play squeezed more than its fair share out of the simple yet powerful drawing mechanic originating from 'Max and the Magic Marker.' Expanding that idea in 'The Curse of Brotherhood,' with narrative focus and tighter puzzle creation, a wonderful Xbox One title emerged, fresh and new. For anyone with the new console and desperate for something that doesn't involve pointing a gun or a car, Press Play's latest is absolutely worth the time. Without more surrounding polish, however, and leaning on traditional dressings in most areas other than strict puzzle design, this is no classic. Here's hoping Press Play keeps on going with this apparently endlessly fruitful idea and finds something more to say with it in further iteration; there's still fertile ground here.

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9 / 10.0
Dec 20, 2013

Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is a great side-scrolling puzzle platformer. Max's marker has come a long way since the original game and you'll have a blast exploring the game's world and using all the different abilities. There are a few bugs in terms of gameplay and the visuals don't scream next-gen, but it's still a great investment.

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Jan 7, 2014

Max: The Curse Of Brotherhood is a handsome and surprisingly sharp platform puzzler. Though stronger characters, storyline and controls could have made it truly special, it's still well worth exploring if you're looking for something fresh to play on your Xbox One.

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8 / 10
Feb 11, 2014

It will not be the most compelling thing you play all year, but it does what it set out to do very well. It is a clever game, with a simple idea at it's core, that consistently brings enough clever ideas to the table as it goes to remain captivating throughout.

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NZGamer
Top Critic
6.8 / 10.0
Mar 7, 2014

Max: The Curse of Brotherhood offers a decent amount of entertainment for the price-tag and could appeal to fans of games like Limbo (including the similar, dark, horror-like themes.) It will take casual players around seven hours to complete, but there is little reason to come back to the game after the climactic finish, which makes this title difficult to recommend to everyone.

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8.5 / 10.0
Jan 1, 2014

Simply put, Max is a fantastic indie game and a far better purchase than many of the others currently available for download. In Curse of Brotherhood, Xbox One has a fun, good-looking platformer at a budget price. Highly recommended.

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6 / 10.0
Jan 5, 2014

Max The Curse of Brotherhood is a mixed bag. It looks fantastic, it can be fun, even exhilarating plus some of the puzzles are totally wicked (in a good way). Sadly though it is unable to be anymore than something reasonably priced to play on your Xbox One over Christmas if you have completed your Xbox One back catalogue from launch day. Platforming/puzzle nuts will easily overlook the issues and the difficulty that these present, and if you are one of them, Max will satisfy.

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AusGamers
Jickle
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
Jan 16, 2014

It's not the kind of game that will be remembered down the track, but in the here and now it's filling a certain gap in the One's line-up more than adequately.

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7 / 10.0
May 7, 2018

It's easy to overlook Max: The Curse of Brotherhood when searching for a good platformer, but don't. Some frustrating moments aside, it's a well-designed twist on the genre that's quite at home on the Nintendo Switch in terms of visuals and controls. Those who didn't complete it on other platforms will find the Switch's touchscreen eases much of the difficulty, and the $15 price tag ($30 for the physical copy) makes it a game that's easy to pick up between bigger releases. And if there's a lesson to be learned here, it's that you really shouldn't mess around with spells you find online. You never know which ones will actually work…even if they don't begin with “I wish…”

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3.5 / 5.0
Dec 24, 2013

Max: The Curse of Brotherhood doesn't break any new ground, and should have had the option of using the Kinect for the drawing mechanic, but still delivers. It has rough edges, but overcomes most of them because the platforming is done well.

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5.5 / 10.0
Jan 22, 2014

It's got gorgeous visuals, and it's some fun, occasionally, and it's also got some great level design.

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70%
Dec 27, 2013

For what it is, Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is a charming, yet rather restrictive 2D, puzzle-platformer. Despite its limited scope, lack of replayability and depth, there's some fun to be had here, if only for a while.

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7.6 / 10.0
Dec 26, 2013

In a raw battle between pros and cons, the pros for Max: The Curse of Brotherhood win the day, but the cons deliver ample opportunity for frustration. At the end of the day, this is a good addition to your digital collection.

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5 / 5.0
Jan 16, 2014

Overall, I feel like Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is the fresh, simple platformer that the industry has missed since the days of the genre's prominence. While it's too small to ever win a Game of the Year award, the game is more than worth your time, especially when only for $15.

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