Bramble: The Mountain King Review (Asahiyama)
Bramble: The Mountain King was an enriching experience, one that further reinforces the theory that Gaming, is infact, a form of art. This game invoked in me the same feelings that two of my favorite movies 'Midsomnars' and 'The Witch'. Figures, since all are based on Swedish/Slavic folk lore, but the camera movements, use of depth of field and perfect use of sound and beautiful scores make it comparable to those masterpieces.
I had bought Bramble on a sale, since I'm a legit shopaholic on steam. Had no plans of trying it recently, up until one of my steam friends told me it's based on folk lores and kind of like Little Nightmares but better. And that piqued my interest.
And oh my god, it was better. Little Nightmare ran so that Bramble could run. Bramble takes all the good elements of LN and amplifies it to 500%. The sense of smallness is terrifically done, one that I couldn't really feel in LN. It just works here. The sound, the background, and specially the clever use of depth of field makes you feel like you are exploring a Gigantic World. And the fact that the world is based on the already rich Slavic Folklore makes it so much better than any conjured up childish bullshit.
Speaking of childish, we should address the elephant in the room: NO, Bramble is not a children's game. It sure gives Disney/Pixar's golden age feeling, but this game doesn;t shy away from tragedies and gore. Animal and human carcasses, Cannibalism everything is present in ugly details. The forest is filled with both benevolent and malevolent spirits, and you get to witness their acts firsthand.
The story is fairly simple, focusing around a brother losing his sister to a troll, and journeying on a quest to save her. But the story is good and satisfying. even though the game doesn't have any chapters, it's possible to divide it in 7 chapters:
1. Tutorial: Gnome adventure (might feel a bit slow paced and happy go lucky, savour that relaxing period)
2. Troll's Hunt ( very identical to the first part of Little nightmares 2 starting section, welcome to Bramble)
3. Butcher's Kitchen (Very Gorey, inspired by Norwegian God's endless feast of Immortal Boar)
4. Nacken's River ( Inspired by Nixie: a kappa like creature who sings)
5. The hot shapeshifter's Forest (HOT)
6. Pesta the Black Death's Town (Definitely the creepiest portion of the game, you notice her stalking you throughout the town if you are observant enough. Nice details)
7. Bramble's Mountain (The nice enough ending)
The pacing felt like a swedish art film, setting up a relaxing warm prologue only to twistedly shock us into the gorey reality in the second half. So people who need constant adrenaline, wait up. Also, this game is not too tough or adrenaline rush-y, you can take time and just take in the scenery and music (I did several times, and I seldom do that). Trust me, the visuals and music are THAT good. The graphics felt better than Black Myth Wukong or any recent AAA games, probably because the use of camerawork and art direction makes it so perfect. It is a audio-visual feast.
On to the few cons--
1. Some of the boss fights are fairly tedious, could have been better. Enjoyed those nonetheless, but if I died a few more times, I might've been annoyed at those sequences.
2. Bugs. No game breaking bugs, but there have been several bugs throughout my almost 6 hrs playthrough. Teleporting back a bit before the Nacken area, Aiming problem while in last boss fight, Controller unresposiveness in the last area, theres have been these problems as far as I remember. A few patches and it can be perfect.
3. The controls: the mechanics are fairly simple, and there are only a few controls. You can't go in expecting deep gameplay mechanics. This is an experience focused game, not much skill based. I loved it, but go in with the right expectations.
Despite these cons, I LOVED this Gorey PIxar Film because the Pros FAR outweigh them. I would've gladly payed a full AAA game's price for this game because this one deserves it. Looking forward to Dimfrost Studio's future games.
100% recommend if you loved dark renditions of Grimm's Fairy tales or general folklores.