Bramble: The Mountain King’s Dark Themes Make it Stand Out

ign.com:

Depressing fantasy worlds are nothing new, yet Bramble: The Mountain King surprised me with its dark Nordic folklore. Instead of sanitizing these fairy tales like a classic Disney film, Dimfrost Studio openly embraces its most disturbing elements, presenting a twisted world brimming with atmosphere. Calling this grim adventure a horror game isn't quite right, though after a lengthy hands-on preview on PC, I'm finding this a captivating yet creepy tale.

Before jumping in, Bramble warns you about its heavy subject matter, which covers themes like suicide, infanticide, and animal cruelty. Original fairy tales often find young children in dangerous situations, so this isn't surprising, but it's worth noting for anyone unaware. Playing a young boy called Olle, this tale begins innocently enough with a nighttime trip into the forest to find your older sister, Lillemor. That soon turns into a rescue mission as you traverse this twisted forest.

While many games incentivize going beyond the beaten path, Bramble keeps exploration strictly linear from A to B. Going forward is often your only option with no backtracking, sometimes breaking this up through climbing or light platforming segments. You can look over a few highlighted objects on your journey, like pinecones and storybooks, and that's about it. One occasion involved turning a matchbox upside down to release a hidden key, but aside from the game's opening, I didn't find any similar interactions across three hours of playtime.

Exploration feels basic and simplistic events that break up these moments, like playing hide and seek with gnomes, feel more distracting than meaningful. What keeps Bramble interesting is its narrative, and Dimfrost strikes a delicate tone with its