This month and the last one has had some stellar game releases in a period of over 2 weeks now, I still have like 2 more games left to review, and it seems I am going to be plenty busy. This one was released not long ago, and I don't know how it flew under the radar.
It's not a polished experience, not even a perfectly crafted video game either. Yet it captivated me and continuously playing while gnawing my teeth at the ghastly sight of horror to witness. Limbo clones are almost everywhere these days, and ones that tackle only horror did deliver well on the shock and awe part pretty well. Though, not as horrifying as this one.
Bramble The Mountain King is no picnic, certainly is a game that has found a reach. Was this a creative venture just to make something sensational, or is this something that creates a paradigm shift for other similar games to come?
Sometimes children having free will is a bad idea, and one thing it took to find that out is his older sister, Lillemor, escaped with tangled bedsheets out the window. The character I play is Olle, a rather timid person who is basically going to have the worst few days of his life later on.
A sight to hold at night when the two venture past the property of their parents and into some ruins. Olle looks for his sister, while finding stuff like pine corns with arms dancing with each other, as well as some light puzzle solving my getting a key out of the matchbox.
Both brother and sister play, have fun, then fall down when the ledge of the tower falls apart. Next thing they know, they have shrunk. At this point, I am guessing they've passed through a magical hidden path of sorts that takes them to another world. Because everything that has reminded them of civilization was nowhere to see.
And instead was replaced by childish gnomes, gerbil looking animals treated like pets, and a vastly nature-esque setting that was setting up something more whimsical. These children gnomes wanted to play hide-and-seek, so I played with them, it was charming, I loved the little guys. Another one came where I played with the garden creatures, herding them back to their fold.
It seems like a peaceful land, even the boy befriends a king frog of the lake, who helps them cross the pond full of flower leaves to step on. There's this aura of mystique and loss of space-time awareness in the world that seems to have made the children pretty wayward.
Something would get Olle's attention, and then he sees his sister gone again. A bunch of fairies then show up, lighting his path at night. He later finds her on top of a mushroom, only to be snatched by a giant figure. Hideous face, with a heinous laughter. Any E or T rated game would make this mellowed down to be easily played by children, this wasn't the case.
Olle was also chased by the giant being, before jumping into the water, nearly drowning himself, he was saved by the frog king. Thus, the journey starting here, where he goes to rescue his sister. Against all kinds of odds. This is the point of the game where play time for these kids are basically over, and now have to deal with the grim reality of their new world.
The main character Olle now transitions into a horror survival phase, which sort of builds up slowly. A light puzzle by grabbing a key from a goblin kid, then going pass a bunch of statues with glowing eyes, apparently also being able to turn and stare. It was becoming creepy, but one thing really caught me offguard were the bear traps.
They don't just go, "oh your character falls into a trap, well screen goes black and restarts", no, his body gets disfigured. With audio of his bones being crushed, and blood splattered. The sense of dread continues to build after escaping that place to find cages and tied up dwellers. Eventually I fall into a pit trap that killed and have now landed on the Butcher's kitchen.
So the bear trap made way for this boss survival sequence, avoiding his cleaver by running fast, but then steps up by slamming his fist on the floor. Which made Olle trip down, being easily chopped into two pieces. This one took me a while to figure out, till I did, which meant that I had to jump the moment he does that.
This level was grotesque, filled with insides of almost every living animal and residents of the land. Environmental storytelling to imbue this feeling that all sorts of horrible things have happened here by this butcher.
But then afterward I had to free some kids, and lead them to safety while avoiding the bear traps. The game also gives me the choice at times to let them die, sometimes use them to save myself from being eaten by a flesh eating glob, or worse. It doesn't affect the game overall.
I can't reveal much, because there's so much about it with twists and turns, while revealing a lot about its world and story. It's a grim, dark story, but with also plenty of enchanting moments as well.
Olle runs and hides from trolls hunting him, including one with a lantern, and the gluttonous brute from before comes back. But they do eventually pay up for the atrocities they have caused. Then Olle stumbles onto a man who sings forbidden songs to hypnotize them before getting them killed.
These sections are tense, requiring great perception of the level design, and timing on beating the levels. These have puzzles like knowing where the traps are illuminated by a lantern, or like using rocks falling to avoid being blown away.
Even if these sections end, there are haunting caves sections where I have to use the magical light in my pocket to light away, but also switch off and climb ledges and stuff. Which is challenging considering
This grim dark fairy tale is inspired mostly by Nordic tales, and there's this story that tackles with so many rich themes and with dark tones that really hit me in the feels. I think Del Toro will be proud of playing like this. Because whatever innocence I had left, was taken away by this. That being said, it's not perfect, mechanics have a bit of jank and the presentation leaves something to want. That being said, everything else here is perfect. Go check it out.
