Save your sister from the dangers lurking beneath a magical forest in Bramble: The Mountain King.
Nordic mythology has been a rich source material for the realm of video games for quite some time now. To create a distinctive tale from these oft-cited sources and give it an original spin is a test that Bramble: The Mountain King passes with flying colors. Made by Swedish developer Dimfrost Studio and published by Merge Games, the inspiration taken from this vast folklore to deliver a unique, dark fairytale must be seen to be believed.
What starts as a deceptively simple narrative of a brother in search of his lost sister, Bramble: The Mountain King quickly descends into chaos with its heavy focus on storytelling and delightfully devilish gameplay. Main character Olle, the younger sibling in frantic search of his sister Lillemor, must fight or hide against all types of fiends and creatures galore from Nordic fables.
Since Olle sets out in his quest to find Lillemor, a narrator detailing the story gives Bramble: The Mountain King a fairytale feeling with childlike and magical qualities. But make no mistake, this game is not for children. A warning at the beginning of the game states that suicide, bodily harm, and other mature themes are present in the story, and it’s true to its word.
After a brief introduction to the game’s mechanics and establishing the clear goal that Olle must rescue his sibling, a sinister atmosphere sets in the world of Bramble: The Mountain King. A relaxed introduction to playing hide and seek with kind gnomes suddenly changes into a deadly proposition. Without a single warning of the risks the young brother is about to face, the whimsical adventure quickly turns dangerous as traps that could instantly end his aspirations in their tracks begin to show up.
Bramble: The Mountain King is played from a fixed camera angle that, although it is not very commonly used in today’s gaming landscape, is very expertly applied to raise the tension and does not become a nuisance at any point. Olle’s adventure is very clear in its intention as to where you need to go, the fixed perspective gently nudging you into the next area to continue the search for your sister.
While there is not much in the way of explanations as to how to proceed, most of the puzzles, platforming, and climbing that are needed to do is very contextual and easy to catch the drift of in Bramble: The Mountain King. Olle does move rather slowly, but considering his size and the space he is exploring, the developers went for a middle-of-the-road approach to progress at a calm pace.
A substantial part of Bramble: The Mountain King is its tension-filled moments against the different types of enemies out there. The horror elements are flexed masterfully with gory deaths if the main character gets caught or does not move out of the way at a precise moment. There are plenty of heart-pounding moments mixed with its powerful soundtrack, delicately balancing stressful moments where you are being chased by bloodlust trolls and peacefully making friends with a gnome.
Stealth sections are abundant as Olle will need to hide due to his enemies being much stronger than him so avoiding them at all costs is the usual strategy. Most of these can be straightforwardly solved due to their puzzle-like aspects that require the player to be observant. Thanks to the help of a stone, the main character eventually finds a shiny rock called the Spark of Courage he can sometimes use to fight back against certain enemies. These situations are few and far between, as Bramble: The Mountain King is more on the side of the survival horror genre than action.
Bramble: The Mountain King is plagued with intuitive environmental puzzles which help keep the player on their toes with its single ways to solve them. There is plenty of trial and error as the main character gets killed instantly with every mistake. Luckily the checkpoints are extremely lenient and the game does not take you back to an unfair position when you make a mistake and have to rethread your steps to have a better outcome.
The lack of a HUD helps to immerse in the beautiful natural gardens of the world and even appreciate the attention to detail in the more macabre sections. Thanks to its somber art direction, graphics are a strong suit of Bramble: The Mountain King. The color palette explored when it’s either day or night and outdoors or cramped and crouching inside a castle reflects the gameplay, with Olle being a single ray of hope in a dark world.
As you move along through the Scandinavian and Nordic-inspired magical forest, you find storybooks in your path. Every short story you find in each chapter tells an overarching story of the place that you are currently passing through. Narrated in a fairytale style, these are fascinating stories not too often explored in the Nordic lore. At times morbid and sinister, they are a respite of the dangers lurking out there.
Some of the most surreal experiences ever to be had in this unassuming package called Bramble: The Mountain King are undoubtedly its boss fights. Each twisted creature Olle has to face presents its own set of skills and challenges. From forest spirits to bloodthirsty giants, each encounter reminds you that the natural world is beautiful and dangerous.
To leave most areas you will always have to fight your way out of it, having to find the courage inside of you to find your sister. These masterfully tense boss encounters with sometimes unexpected mechanics and increasingly gruesome deaths are majestic in their own right.
The trophy list in itself is not that complex and quite attainable, as you can choose between the different chapters for missable collectables, but most can be easily picked up while playing the main story. A trophy, in particular, requires you to stab an enemy 50 times and it is difficult not to wonder why the desensitization or impact of the game on its own is not enough to put the player through these gory trials and tribulations.
The runtime of Bramble: The Mountain King is somewhat short, but the tight scope shows a well-executed horror story that does not need to be bloated to be impactful. Each biome does not overstay its welcome either, pushing you forward with its carefully structured world.
A focused horror adventure with mature themes and cursed imagery, Bramble: The Mountain King is a hidden gem that will irrevocably leave a mark on some people. Inevitably all decisions carry their weight and change oneself, and Olle’s chilling journey must be witnessed by all who are interested in an epic, suspenseful tale.
