I really wanted to like this one, but in the end, it’s just a bit too janky, unoptimized and strangely paced.
Bramble starts out pretty strong, where an interesting world unfolds in a dark forest atmosphere with fairy tale creatures but with several crashes, sounds issues and janky/stiff controls, the game started to feel like a chore to play through.
I found myself playing a chapter or even just part of a chapter and quitting thinking “I’m not in the mood for this right now” or the game would crash and I would just think, "okay, I'm good on this for tonight."
I did manage to finish it though and I have to say, the games tone is all over the place. Some times it's beautiful and serene and other times it's dark and gratuitous with gore. It's really strange how it can feel like a kids game at one point and then 5 minutes later you're in a grisly horror movie. I guess that's true to fairy tales. Depending on who you are, you might REALLY like that, but for me, it feels unbalanced and a bit odd.
The boss battles are odd too. They're VERY creative, so points given there but some times they feel like they abruptly start out of nowhere and then you don't know what you're supposed to do. There are some boss phases that will have you scratching your head at first and wonder what you're even supposed to be doing.
I also died many times not understanding the boundaries of the world or the games mechanics caught me in a janky way, which was frustrating.
It’s a shame because there really are some cool and whimsical moments in the game and you could see what the dev was going for, but overall, this one just needed more TLC.
Bramble starts out pretty strong, where an interesting world unfolds in a dark forest atmosphere with fairy tale creatures but with several crashes, sounds issues and janky/stiff controls, the game started to feel like a chore to play through.
I found myself playing a chapter or even just part of a chapter and quitting thinking “I’m not in the mood for this right now” or the game would crash and I would just think, "okay, I'm good on this for tonight."
I did manage to finish it though and I have to say, the games tone is all over the place. Some times it's beautiful and serene and other times it's dark and gratuitous with gore. It's really strange how it can feel like a kids game at one point and then 5 minutes later you're in a grisly horror movie. I guess that's true to fairy tales. Depending on who you are, you might REALLY like that, but for me, it feels unbalanced and a bit odd.
The boss battles are odd too. They're VERY creative, so points given there but some times they feel like they abruptly start out of nowhere and then you don't know what you're supposed to do. There are some boss phases that will have you scratching your head at first and wonder what you're even supposed to be doing.
I also died many times not understanding the boundaries of the world or the games mechanics caught me in a janky way, which was frustrating.
It’s a shame because there really are some cool and whimsical moments in the game and you could see what the dev was going for, but overall, this one just needed more TLC.