4.5/5 ★ – mush's review of Bramble: The Mountain King.

This game is equal parts whimsical and cute, and horrifying and gory. I adored our main character, little Olle, and I felt motivated to do whatever it took to get him home safe. I felt his pain in his darkest moments, and wanted nothing more than to clean him up and give him a little kiss on the forehead and tuck him into bed. I loved the mini games, puzzles and boss fights in this game. I liked that each chapter had a different enemy, with a different story and motive. I would have liked a bit more backstory, particularly about the trolls and why they captured Lillemor in the first place. Sometimes it was confusing as to why some enemies wanted to kill Olle. The reason this isn't a five star game for me is because of the, in my opinion, blatant copying of Little Nightmares. Now, though the game mechanics and atmosphere are similar, that is not my issue. I adored Little Nightmares so a game that felt similar wasn't an issue for me. What was an issue was the occasional full on copying of Little Nightmares scenes. The Gnomes, for example, play the same purpose here as the Nomes in little nightmares. Although both are adorable, and I loved seeing them in this game, to have them play the same role (small little things who are often stuck and when saved will help the main character open a door or guide them somewhere) was a clear rip-off to me. There is another small level which is a complete copy of a level in the DLC for Little Nightmares, where you have to jump into the water, a moving thing under the water chases you, and you jump up onto something floating, then jump off and repeat until you're clear. That sequence was literally identical in this game, and it just felt like a clear copy. That said, I did really enjoy this game and would love to come back to it one day. The boss levels were unique, challenging and fun. The final boss using the Mountain King music literally made me pause the game to calm down, it was so amazing and intense. Olle is probably the cutest, bravest little boy in the video game world, and the game did an amazing job at making the player want to help him and protect him. The scene where he stabs the shape-shifter after it pretended to be his sister and gave him false hope was intense, emotional and jarring in the most incredible way. I loved how the game could simultaneously be so beautiful and cute, with little Gnomes and mischievous faeries blowing raspberries and hedgehogs with saddles, and be so dark and graphic, with blood and guts and drowned babies. Really great game, and I'd love to see another installment in this universe.