Bramble: The Mountain King is a Scandinavian mythology game like Year Walk, Roki and Brothers: A Take of Two Sons but with the gameplay of Little Nightmares, Inside and Limbo. All good things in my humble opinion. The game, with its grotesque menagerie of characters, reminded me of 70s and early 80s eastern European puppet theatre with the artistic styling of Jan Švankmajer. Now, for some all these references will seem like hipster word salad but, for a few, this will be like mana from heaven *cue that Vince McMahon meme of him progressively losing his shizzle*
When purchasing the game, the young shop assistant said she was interested in playing it as she'd seen a few Tiktoks on it on it and it was really scary. A colleague then came over and waxed lyrical about Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and we discussed the merits of that game for a short while.
With Bramble, the soundtrack is quite similar as there are the ululations of lament that formed the soundtrack of Brothers so it felt like putting on a pair of comfortably warm and slightly sinister feeling slippers.
The art style is similar to Jim Henson’s The Storyteller but a recent game it reminded me of was Moss. Even though Bramble is obviously not in VR the angle of the camera and the sense of gated freedom exists here. The scenery is beautifully realised with valleys, rivers and mountains all present and correct but you also get blood rivers, a murderous chefs kitchen and a dark fairy circle before reaching the ruined castle.
The storybooks that reveal the lore of the land are well drawn and narrated and get under your skin but it's the boss battles that really stand out. They are basic but the creativity in creature designs are excellent. The 4 or so hours it took for me were worthwhile and I know aspects from this game will stick with me for a long time yet.
LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East
LINK- The Last Guardian- Video Games As Art
LINK- Shadow of the Colossus- Book Review
LINK: Manga Exhibition at the British Museum
LINK- The Midnight Library and the Idea That You Can’t Go Home Again
LINK- The Transportive Nature of Objects (And the Power of Mini Consoles)