Alexander Denker

I really enjoyed Bramble from start to finish. After seeing some gameplay trailers already I already knew what to expect coming in. Similar to Little Nightmares and Inside you are set on a linear path in which you navigate a strange terrifying world doing your best not to get stomped on or eaten by something. Occasionally some puzzles are thrown in but certainly nothing you'll need to Google the solution to. If you've played similar games you know what you're getting into. Where Bramble stands out however is in it's unique and gorgeous environment and character models. Not the main character models, which are strange and kind of creepy (not in a good way). But the mythological beasts and enemies you encounter are beautifully imagined. My primary incentive for continuing the game was simply to see what enemy I would encounter next. They are usually supplemented with backstories in the form of storybooks you find along the way. This helps build the characters instead of just seeing them as nameless enemies thrown at you without context, as well as explain the world around you and it's current state. There are boss fights throughout the game as well, usually after exploring a certain environment that's been corrupted by a certain enemy, which helps build up to the reveal of what the monster will be. The combat is a little clunky but that's to be expected from this type of game. A lot of the boss fights have really unique attacks which fit the backstory of the creature which I thought was really a nice touch. The only real issues I had was some of the platforming. It could be frustrating at certain intervals which allowed you to simply fall off in a random direction when there was no clear path to follow. This was especially a problem at the end of the game, at least for me. The game could be a bit dark at times, and it gives you a warning when you start the game about the graphic content. Just a heads up they're not kidding around. Don't want to play this one in front of your kids. Anyways it's a great game. Buy it. 8/10