REVIEW – The darker, Norse mythology-inspired world trolls, but not in the Internet sense; it has such characters. The Norse folklore alone can grab your attention, but this time the story, which veers into horror and darkness, has a flaw that’s impossible to pass by without a word, though Olle is no slouch.

Bramble The Mountain King is a grim adventure set in a world inspired by dark, Nordic fables. Explore the beautiful yet dangerous and twisted land of Bramble in your endeavor to rescue your sister. Traverse a wondrous landscape and survive deadly encounters with Bramble’s many hideous creatures.

Olle

…is the name of the young boy we will guide in Bramble: The Mountain King (abbreviated to BTMK until the end due to the long title). He discovers that his sister, Lillemor, is not in her bed, the window is open, and the bedding is used as a rope. The boy sets off on a journey and finds himself in a fantastic, spectacular world (you can’t say that about the appearance of the characters, though). For some reason, the atmosphere is soothing, but the false hope that often appears in our day-to-day lives is dashed because before the everything-is-all-good-and-wonderful story is over, there is a twist, and a troll kidnaps Lillemor. At the same time, the setting turns out of itself and becomes darkness that is rarely seen, as the setting itself tends to create tension. As we move forward, the story pieces eventually come together, but in the process, we don’t realize that we are the characters, or if we do, it will be too late, as we will be concentrating on the more grotesque creatures. The less they see us, the better and the easier it is to escape.

It’s a scary experience, but what would BTMK be like if it didn’t include boss fights? These are defeated by a more clever combination of hiding behind the cover when you can’t attack, bringing out the light stone, and hitting them when you can. As you’d expect, they can sweep us away in a single attack if we’re not careful. The stone will evolve, and it’s worth assessing the environment because you’ll have to account for it in the process. Aside from the combat, there are more considerable chasms to jump over and walls to climb, and the slightly clichéd balancing A to B is not left out of the game. The camera is a bit cinematic in style, always showing you where to go, so it has to be said, unfortunately, that BTMK has become perhaps too linear. There’s not a lot of exploration, and Olle sometimes moves at a snail’s pace, but at least you don’t have to worry that if you check out the platformer segments, you’ll have to replay for half an hour because there’s no shortage of checkpoints. Puzzles? They require objects, or you have to use the environment to continue. It is average in this area.

Lillemor

It was said earlier that the game’s visuals are mostly great, but it needs to be elaborated a little. It’s detailed and always tries to innovate. It also makes good use of depth of field, which gives BTMK a more cinematic feel. However, there is a downside to it. Sometimes, you can’t see what’s going on, or sometimes, you’re in the background, making it feel clumsy at some points. Meanwhile, at least we can pay attention to the audio, which is excellent. It’s not as dissonant as the Deitch-Snyder Tom & Jerry cartoons, but it’s rather scary, albeit in a positive way.

The sound effects are constantly crawling into your ears. Still, later, in quieter moments, the folk music lifts the mood and the experience, so you don’t always have to be prepared for the dark, hopeless style because there will be some spills in the opposite direction (but it should be added, that the soundtrack is a bit sad, which is apt because it’s a search for a sibling, but also because it’s capable of “settling” in you, which is why Dimfrost Studio’s vision is a clever one). But that’s not why BTMK didn’t score so highly; it’s also the fact that it was short. It can be completed in three and a half hours, and you can even get through it faster. As the game is linear and there is no replayability, it certainly comes, sees, and goes in a single afternoon. But because the game is not perfect in the time available, even though it has some good elements (e.g., the creatures are not bad, they are of a sufficiently unglamorous standard), it will not get a nine or even an eight out of ten.

Outtrolled

Bramble: The Mountain King gets a seven out of ten because of its length. Even in its beautiful darkness, Olle’s movement is clumsy and slow. The game feels a bit out-of-place at a few points and ends before you get into it. And for this reason, it is only recommended to buy it at a bargain price because we will only get this out every two or three years at most, or maybe not even then. For example, it won’t be something we traditionally pull out to relax during the holidays.

-V-

Publisher: Rockfish Games

Developer: Merge Games

Style: horror action-adventure

Release: April 27, 2023.