Bramble: The Mountain King Review Summary

Stunning Visual Design: The game features visually magnificent and captivating environments with a unique visual style. Players consistently praise the high-quality visuals, atmospheric details, and the overall beauty of the game world.

Rich Scandinavian Folklore: The game is deeply rooted in Scandinavian and Nordic folklore, featuring creatures and stories from these mythologies. This unique presentation of folklore adds depth and interest to the game's narrative and world.

Engaging and Emotional Storytelling: The game offers an immersive and engaging narrative experience. The storytelling is captivating, emotional, and often dark, leaving a lasting impression on players.

Fairy Tale and Horror Atmosphere: The game combines elements of fairy tales and horror, creating a dark and enchanting atmosphere. This mix draws players into a world that is both beautiful and terrifying, inspired by Scandinavian folklore.

Excellent Music and Sound Design: The game features a beautiful and powerful soundtrack that complements the visuals and atmosphere. The music and sound design are highly praised for their quality and integration with the game world.

Controls need improvement: Many players have reported issues with the game's controls, describing them as imprecise, sluggish, clunky, and awkward. These issues are prevalent across different platforms, including controllers and keyboard/mouse setups.

Game is boring: Several reviews mention that the game is boring, with uninteresting puzzles and a lack of action. The short length and underwhelming ending also contribute to this sentiment.

Camera angles are problematic: The cinematic camera angles have been described as frustrating and inconvenient, often making it difficult to see enemies or judge jumps. This issue significantly impacts the gameplay experience.

Puzzles are simplistic: Players have found the puzzles to be simple, lacking challenge, and repetitive. Some puzzles are also reported to be frustrating and unnatural.

Boss battles are not enjoyable: Boss battles have been described as not fun, simplistic, and stupid. Some players find them frustrating and tedious.

Platforming and adventure elements: The game features a significant amount of platforming elements, combined with adventure mechanics. Players can expect to engage in jump and run mechanics, as well as solving puzzles.

Challenging and unique boss fights: The game includes boss fights that are challenging and require learning attack patterns. These bosses have unique designs and backstories, adding depth to the gameplay.

Horror and dark fairy tale atmosphere: The game incorporates horror elements and a dark fairy tale setting, creating a unique and atmospheric experience. It draws heavily from Scandinavian folklore.

Puzzle-solving mechanics: Puzzles are a core part of the gameplay, though they are generally not particularly complex. Players will solve puzzles involving keys and other mechanics.

Accessible and story-driven gameplay: The game offers accessible and story-driven gameplay, making it suitable for a wide range of players. The narrative is a significant focus, with a semi-relaxed pace.

Mixed feedback on performance: While some players reported smooth performance and good optimization, others experienced various performance issues.

Camera control issues: Many players found the camera controls to be annoying and difficult to manage, affecting gameplay.

Control and aiming problems: Some players experienced issues with controls being unresponsive and aiming problems, particularly during boss fights.

Game crashes and stability: The game has been reported to crash frequently, leading to a disrupted gaming experience.

Graphical and texture bugs: Several users encountered graphical defects and texture bugs, affecting the visual experience of the game.

Ideal for fans of atmospheric horror: This game is highly recommended for players who enjoy atmospheric adventure games with horror elements and mythic storytelling. It is particularly suited for fans of games like Little Nightmares, Inside, and Limbo.

Highly recommended experience: Many reviewers highly recommend the game for its unique experience and emotional impact. It is praised for its atmosphere, art direction, and narrative immersion.

Worth the price on sale: The game is considered worth the price, especially when purchased on sale. Some reviewers suggest waiting for a discount before buying.

Mixed recommendations: While many reviewers recommend the game, some do not. It is suggested to try the game if you enjoy similar genres or specific elements like cottage core and horror media.

Lovers of Scandinavian myths: The game is recommended for those who enjoy Scandinavian myths and Nordic folklore. It offers a unique experience rooted in these mythologies.

Community fair range: $6.00 - $10.00.

Game completion: 5.0h.

The game initially engages players with its story and visuals but becomes less enjoyable due to repetitive and frustrating gameplay mechanics, particularly in puzzles and boss fights.

Reported time to anchor: 1h.

Friction: awkward controls; annoying camera angles; repetitive puzzles; tedious boss fights; slow pacing.

Unlock drivers: strong narrative; visual appeal.

Atmospheric Puzzle-Platformer Fan: Explores the game environment, solves puzzles, and immerses themselves in the story. Motivation: Enjoyment of atmospheric puzzle-platformers with dark storytelling. Stance: buy.

Horror and Mythology Enthusiast: Immerses themselves in the game's atmosphere, enjoys the horror elements, and explores the mythological aspects. Motivation: Appreciation of horror and mythology in gaming. Stance: buy.

Story-Driven Explorer: Explores the game world, enjoys the narrative and music, and appreciates the visual design. Motivation: Enjoyment of immersive storytelling and atmospheric exploration. Stance: buy.

Steam Deck: Bramble: The Mountain King faces significant issues on the Steam Deck, including game completion problems, performance issues, bugs, and control issues. Users have reported that the game is difficult to finish due to various technical barriers, and performance is often subpar even on the lowest settings. Workarounds are frequently required to achieve better performance, and control issues further detract from the overall experience.

Linux and Proton: The game has mixed reviews regarding its compatibility and performance on Linux and Steam Deck. While some users report a smooth and enjoyable experience, others encounter significant issues such as cutscene rendering problems and performance drops. The use of GE-Proton is recommended to fix some of these issues, indicating that the game may require some tweaking to run optimally on Linux-based systems.

Hedgehog water crossing mechanic: The game features a unique mechanic where a hedgehog is used as a means of crossing water, which players found notable.

Artbook praised for beauty: Players appreciate the artbook, stating it is as beautiful as the game itself.

Automatic refunds processed: Some players reported that their money was returned automatically, indicating a possible issue with transactions or satisfaction.