Bramble

Bramble (2023) The Mountain King is a grim fairy tale adventure where you lead Ollie, a young child, through the fantastical landscape filled with hideous creatures. You play by directing your young character through the world, running from dangers and traversing to safety. It's unusual not only for the dark fable but the hand-crafted visuals that conjure the sense of playing in a story book.

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To play you explore the beautiful yet twisted land of Bramble to rescue your sister. The landscape itself is a challenge to get through with thorny plants and big gaps to jump. But the real danger here are the deadly encounters with Bramble’s many hideous creatures.

As you progress you discover that not everything is how it first appears. This is a land where creatures big and small must be approached with caution. Each of the creatures needs to be dealt with in different and unique ways. Often, hiding and circumnavigating the most dangerous encounters is more advisable. Or sometimes, it's kindness rather than combat that saves the day. To help you as you delve deeper into the world, you are steadily granted special abilities to help you endure the pitfalls and trials in your path.

The result is a game that not only looks unusual, but offers an interesting play experience. It may appear to be a children's tale, but the darkness here matches anything you might find in a Grimm's Fairytale.

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Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Bramble 19 months ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 9 months ago.