Game Review: ‘Bramble: The Mountain King’

April 28, 2023

Written by Daniel S. Liuzzi

At first, it looks like a children’s game, and the plot sounds like a fairy tale, but dude, you are NOT ready for what’s ahead of you in Bramble: The Mountain King! After the demo went viral on Halloween 2022, the hype was indeed real for Merge Games and Dimfrost Studios’ dark adventure inspired by dark Nordic tales. I would like to give a big thank you and Tack to Merge Games and Dimfrost Studios for the reviewing opportunity!

 

 

Bramble: The Mountain King is a dark Nordic adventure following Olle, a little boy who is on a mission to save his sister who was kidnapped by a troll and taken to the Mountain King. Olle then journies through a dark world where dangerous creatures from Nordic folklore stalk the woods.

 

Now onto the game itself! Bramble: The Mountain King‘s controls are relatively simple, I just wish there was a better tutorial system in place at the game’s start. Headphones are a must for this as the sounds, music, and narration are amazing and add to the game’s atmosphere.

The main focus of the game to me is the art and lighting. Both are done extremely well giving the world of Bramble: The Mountain King intense beauty one minute and then dark and…well, in some points in the game… pretty messed up. For a game that has a cartoonish fairytale look, even at its most unsettling, there’s a macabre beauty… WELL DONE!

 

 

 

 

When it comes to gameplay, it reminds me a little bit of the Little Nightmares games, where you guide Olle around the environment and traverse some maps by platforming. There are some combat mechanics where Olle shoots light from a magic stone he found at targets.

If there’s one major gripe I have with Bramble: The Mountain King‘s gameplay, it’s continuity with one kind of mechanic… Olle and water. Olle can walk in the water and at some points, the water is pretty deep that he’s walking in but if he falls in deep water he dies… BUT, at some points in the game, Olle SWIMS… which is it? Can he or can’t he swim?! Pick a lane!

 

Overall, I really enjoyed playing Bramble: The Mountain King, Once I started it, I did not stop till I was done, no lie. If I had to guess I would say the game was 3-4 hours long but don’t quote me on it. I got sucked into the story and the world that game took place in. It was a captivating story done really well, it’s like having a fairy tale told to you but there are some messed up things in it, I should warn there are some potentially triggering things in the game such as graphic depictions of infanticide and suicide.

On my scale of 1-10, Bramble: The Mountain King is a 9.5 due to its storytelling, graphics and art, sound design, and voice talent, but the “water” issue mentioned above, minor wall-breaking glitches in one level, and low replayability affected the score.

Bramble: The Mountain King is out now on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.

 

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