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 environmental storytelling that never truly leaves you at ease. I also can’t shake the uncanny valley feeling when looking at Olle and Lillemor. Yet, the dark forests and beautiful meadows create a strong presentation that keeps this haunting world intriguing.
However, it isn’t long before Bramble’s unpleasant elements counter these pleasing sceneries. Seeing a giant severed animal head thrown to the floor upon entering a butcher’s cave made me quickly realize the bleak realities of this world. Watching Olle walk through a disgusting pile of guts with flies surrounding the rotting flesh just feels wrong, and this sequence eventually leads into the game’s first battle. Sadly, that fight never gets more interesting than dodging a cleaver and throwing rocks at this gargantuan foe.
These depressing lands hide many terrifying beasts; some encounters require a stealthier approach. One incident involves running away from a giant at night, hiding in tall grass whenever it shines a light towards you. Another saw me encounter Näcken, a lake creature whose enchanting music draws people to their deaths. Escaping Näcken means hiding behind whatever cover you can find while his music played at regular intervals. These moments keep the game exciting, illustrating Olle’s struggle well, and Bramble is very much a David and Goliath story.
Visiting Skogsrå’s Grove was a major highlight during this preview, as Olle fights a Forest Nymph known for luring men to their demise. Taunting him with visions of Lillemor, this encounter was my only boss fight during this preview. Split between three stages, I found myself attacking targets strung up against the trees, former victims whose beating hearts gives them power. Thanks to some brutal one-hit kills, you can’t cheese combat. Though the Nymph’s hollow back would typically signal an obvious weak point, it took several attempts before I realized how to weaken her. Frequent checkpoints thankfully minimized my frustrations upon dying.
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It’s the most intriguing fight I’ve encountered so far, and what followed after besting her has me questioning my actions. Bramble prompts you to stab her dead body through a repeating quick-time event, gradually covering Olle’s face in blood. I went along with it, falsely believing this was necessary before realizing I never needed to stab her. I don’t know if this affects the story later, but I wondered whether I’d done the right thing. She was undoubtedly wicked, yet Olle’s raw emotions got the better of him.
Bramble does plenty of things right with this intriguing story. By refusing to shy away from the disturbing elements of Nordic folklore, Dimfrost Studio could be onto something special. While gameplay feels like it could be more innovative, these memorable sequences make it one of 2023’s more unique adventures. Bramble: The Mountain King arrives on April 27th on all major platforms. A demo is available now on Steam.