13 Best Indie Games Of 2023 - TheGamer
13 Best Indie Games Of 2023 · 3 Jusant · 4 Sea Of Stars · 5 Dredge · 6 Pizza Tower · 8 Venba · 9 Viewfinder · 10 Wall World · 11 Laika: Aged ...
Bramble
A game that seems to be going under everyone’s radar is <anchor>Bramble</anchor>, a game based around Nordic fables with heavy inspiration being drawn from Limbo. Still, the game carves an identity of its own, and several moments of the game stand out as the most impactful of the year.
Bramble: The Mountain King Review - An Intoxicating Fairy Tale You Can’t Escape
Bramble: The Mountain King Review - An Intoxicating Fairy Tale You Can’t Escape

# TheGamer

Menu

[![TheGamer logo](/public/build/images/tg-logo-full-colored-light.svg?v=3.0)](/)

Sign in now

Close

- [All Guides](/category/game-guides/)
- [Triple-A Games](/aaa-games/) Submenu  - [Features](/aaa-games/features/)
  - [News](/aaa-games/news/)
  - [Lists](/aaa-games/lists/)
- [Live-Service Games](/live-service-games/) Submenu  - [Features](/live-service-games/features/)
  - [News](/live-service-games/news/)
  - [Lists](/live-service-games/lists/)
- [Indie Games](/indie-games/) Submenu  - [Features](/indie-games/features/)
  - [News](/indie-games/news/)
  - [Lists](/indie-games/lists/)
- [Streaming](/streaming/) Submenu  - [Features](/streaming/features/)
  - [News](/streaming/news/)
- [Movies & Shows](/movies-tv-anime/) Submenu  - [Features](/movies-tv-anime/features/)
  - [News](/movies-tv-anime/news/)
- [Videos](/videos/)
- [Threads](/threads/)
- MoreSubmenu  - [All News](/category/game-news/)
  - [All Features](/category/tg-originals/)
  - [All Lists](/category/lists/)
  - [Explainers](/category/explainer/)
  - [Reviews & Previews](/reviews-previews/)
  - [Tabletop](/category/tabletop/)

- Sign in
- [Newsletter](/page/newsletter/)

Trending[Astro Bot](/tag/astro-bot/)[Gamescom 2024](/tag/gamescom/)[Star Wars Outlaws](/tag/star-wars-outlaws/)[Black Myth: Wukong](/tag/black-myth-wukong/)[Final Fantasy 14](/tag/final-fantasy-xiv/)[Events](/upcoming-video-game-conventions/)[Release Dates](/video-game-release-dates-2024/)

Close

# Bramble: The Mountain King Review - An Intoxicating Fairy Tale You Can’t Escape

 [Bramble: The Mountain King](/tag/bramble-the-mountain-king/)

![4](https://static1.thegamerimages.com/wordpress%2Fwp-content%2Fauthors%2F60db0f41a2ecf-T4450HMBP-U01Q21D506P-1d36f7c1660c-512.jpg?fit=crop&w=90&h=90)

By [Harry Alston](/author/harry-alston/)

Published Apr 26, 2023

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

close

Please verify your email address.

Send confirmation email

close

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

[Manage Your List](/profile/following/)

Follow

Followed

Follow with Notifications

Follow

Unfollow

Share

[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegamer.com%2Fbramble-the-mountain-king-review%2F%2F&src=sdkpreparse) [X](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Bramble%3A%20The%20Mountain%20King%20Review%20-%20An%20Intoxicating%20Fairy%20Tale%20You%20Can%E2%80%99t%20Escape&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegamer.com%2Fbramble-the-mountain-king-review%2F) [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegamer.com%2Fbramble-the-mountain-king-review%2F&title=Bramble%3A%20The%20Mountain%20King%20Review%20-%20An%20Intoxicating%20Fairy%20Tale%20You%20Can%E2%80%99t%20Escape&source=www.thegamer.com&summary=Beautiful%20and%20brutal%2C%20this%20adventured%20pack%20with%20grim%20Nordic%20fairy%20tales%20won%27t%20let%20you%20go.) [Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegamer.com%2Fbramble-the-mountain-king-review%2F) [Flipboard](http://share.flipboard.com/bookmarklet/popout?v=2&title=Bramble%3A%20The%20Mountain%20King%20Review%20-%20An%20Intoxicating%20Fairy%20Tale%20You%20Can%E2%80%99t%20Escape&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegamer.com%2Fbramble-the-mountain-king-review%2F&utm_campaign=tools&utm_medium=article-share&utm_source=www.thegamer.com) [Copy link](javascript:;) [Email](mailto:?Subject=Bramble: The Mountain King Review - An Intoxicating Fairy Tale You Can’t Escape&Body=Check%20this%20out%21%0Ahttps://www.thegamer.com/bramble-the-mountain-king-review/)

Link copied to clipboard

[Bramble: The Mountain King](/tag/bramble-the-mountain-king/ "Bramble: The Mountain King")

### Related

[![A player in Reka standing in front of the stove with Baba Jaga looking forward.](https://static1.thegamerimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/wm/2024/09/a-player-in-reka-standing-in-front-of-the-stove-with-baba-jaga-looking-forward.jpg)](/reka-beginner-tips-tricks/)

##### [Reka: 8 Beginner Tips](/reka-beginner-tips-tricks/ "Reka: 8 Beginner Tips ")

[![Life is Strange thumbnail](https://static1.thegamerimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/life-is-strange-thumbnail.jpg)](/i-dont-want-to-see-chloe-price-in-life-is-strange-double-exposure/)

##### [I Don't Want To See Chloe Price In Life Is Strange: Double Exposure](/i-dont-want-to-see-chloe-price-in-life-is-strange-double-exposure/ "I Don't Want To See Chloe Price In Life Is Strange: Double Exposure")

[![Three small birds jumping through different color pipes on different screens](https://static1.thegamerimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/three-small-birds-jumping-through-different-color-pipes-on-different-screens.jpg)](/flappy-bird-returning-coming-back-after-trademark-takeover/)

##### [Flappy Bird Is Returning After A Decade Following Trademark Takeover](/flappy-bird-returning-coming-back-after-trademark-takeover/ "Flappy Bird Is Returning After A Decade Following Trademark Takeover")

[Sign in to your TheGamer account](/register)

![bramble_review](https://static1.thegamerimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/bramble_review.jpg)

The stories parents tell their children differ across the globe, and some are as old as words themselves. From the boogeyman to Hansel and Gretel, these stories change and evolve over time, sometimes becoming dark and twisted. [**Bramble: The Mountain King**](https://www.thegamer.com/tag/bramble-the-mountain-king/) captures the unsettling feeling of a story whispered in your ear. It’s ethereal, haunting, and once or twice, I said “Oh my god” out loud. Under my breath, of course, in case there were any monsters listening from underneath my bed.

You play as Olle, a small boy who loses his sister while exploring one night. She is stolen away by a hideous troll with a massive snozz. Lillemor, your sister, is out there somewhere, later revealed to be secreted away in a far-off mountain. It’s a classic story, and one we’ve all heard before, but Bramble whisks you away on a rambling adventure of dark fairy tales and hideous creatures. The game takes a well-worn formula and breathes new, horrific life into it, like a stone troll come-to-life.

RELATED: [Forget The Cheese Grater, A Wine Glass Makes For The Gnarliest Scene In Evil Dead Rise](https://www.thegamer.com/cheese-grater-eating-glass-evil-dead-rise-gore/)

The game is foggy with atmosphere. It has a hazy quality to it. Music drives the narrative forwards and pierces the ambience. The CEO of Dimfrost Studios, Fredrik Sellden, told me in an interview that the music was all designed in-house. It also draws inspiration from songs they sang when they were children. Sometimes the music is like thunder, while other times, it’s as soothing as a bedtime lullaby. Bramble also cleverly uses perspective to create tension and immersion. Exploring the world feels like turning the pages in a picture book, with blurry foregrounds, distant vistas, and rich colours, like a tapestry of childhood memories that have turned gooey over time.

You’re lured into a false sense of security and warmth during the first hour or so of the game, before it’s brutally smashed apart. From swamps that swallow babies to a giant pig butcher, or the guttural gurgling of an unknown monster in a dimly lit cave, this game is grit-your-teeth gross. However, it’s also well-paced—between the tense action scenes and slow, meandering fear of being chased that seems to pervade the entire game, there are moments of calm, with gnomes and fairies and flowers.

![Bramble The Mountain King](https://static1.thegamerimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/bramble-the-mountain-king.jpg)

It’s a relentless adventure. Even some of the more finicky platforming and puzzles, which were generally sound throughout, couldn’t stop me from wanting to know what was over the next rise. Bramble constantly surprises you, and for someone who knows little about Nordic folklore, it was a delight to discover something new and disgusting around the next corner. There is a brilliant moment where your cute little gnome friends are snapped up by a bunch of bear traps. It’s so brutal and sudden that it made me gasp before laughing out loud. Some of the death animations when you inevitably get crushed by a troll or land in a pit of spikes are gruesome.

Those puzzles that I mentioned are very solid. I’m not a massive puzzler- I prefer to get pulled along by a narrative that isn’t broken up by five or ten minute brain-teasers - but Bramble’s puzzles are original and interactive. There were a lot of environmental puzzles that reminded me of games like [Limbo](https://www.thegamer.com/tag/limbo/) and [Little Nightmares](https://www.thegamer.com/tag/little-nightmares/), two games that Sellden told me the team had enjoyed playing. Sometimes the platforming was a little frustrating, but honestly, I put that down to my own ineptitude and “go fast to finish the review” mentality that journalists sometimes get while working to these turnarounds. In your own run, take the extra time to admire the scenery, and maybe you won’t fall into the same spike pit I did six times.

![Bramble The Mountain King (1)](https://static1.thegamerimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/bramble-the-mountain-king-1.jpg)

To delve much further into the game would spoil the sense of adventure. I shouldn’t tell you about the stories, the monsters, or the ending of the game. I shouldn’t mention any more of the things that made me gasp. But I should say, “Play this game” if you’ve ever wanted a puzzle platformer, Limbo-esque horror game that drags you through a swamp of grim-dark Nordic fairy tales by your ears. It’s an excellent, labor-of-love game filled with little details that make the world feel very much alive - although no one wants that. I’d never leave my house again.

![bramble_review_card](https://static1.thegamerimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/bramble_review_card.jpg)

**A PC Steam code was provided for this review.**

##### [Bramble: The Mountain King](/tag/bramble-the-mountain-king/ "Bramble: The Mountain King")

![The Gamer rate](https://static0.thegamerimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/tg-custom-logo-rate-colored-2.svg)

4.0 _/5_

NEXT: [Playing The Remake Drove Home How Much The Last Of Us Owes To Resident Evil 4](https://www.thegamer.com/the-last-of-us-inspiration-resident-evil-4-remake/)

- [Indie Games](/indie-games/ "Indie Games")
- [Bramble: The Mountain King](/tag/bramble-the-mountain-king/ "Bramble: The Mountain King")

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

close

Please verify your email address.

Send confirmation email

close

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

[Manage Your List](/profile/following/)

Follow

Followed

Follow with Notifications

Follow

Unfollow

Close

Recommended

[![Melinoe's Key Art From Hades 2.](https://static1.thegamerimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/h2_wallpaper_melinoe_4k_01.jpg)](/hades-2-brainrot/)

##### [Hades 2 Is Giving People Brainrot](/hades-2-brainrot/ "Hades 2 Is Giving People Brainrot")

[Hades 2](/tag/hades-2/ "Hades 2")

No, this unfinished sequel isn’t worthy of Game of the Year

[26](/hades-2-brainrot/#threads)

Jun 8, 2024

[![Player character standing in their ship and wearing the Belt Bag in Lethal Company.](https://static1.thegamerimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/wm/2024/09/featureim-3.jpg)](/lethal-company-lc-belt-bag-how-to-get-use-guide/)

##### [Lethal Company: How To Get And Use The Belt Bag](/lethal-company-lc-belt-bag-how-to-get-use-guide/ "Lethal Company: How To Get And Use The Belt Bag")

[Lethal Company](/tag/lethal-company/ "Lethal Company")

Are you tired of not having enough inventory slots for all the tools you want? Get yourself a Belt Bag and never worry about it again.

3 days ago

[![A factory producing iron-based items, with conveyor belts and different machines moving materials around.](https://static1.thegamerimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/wm/2024/09/achievements.jpg)](/satisfactory-achievement-unlock-guide/)

##### [Satisfactory: Achievement Guide](/satisfactory-achievement-unlock-guide/ "Satisfactory: Achievement Guide")

[Satisfactory](/tag/satisfactory/ "Satisfactory")

Here's how to unlock every achievement in Satisfactory.

19 hours ago

[![Leshy, a player, and Baba Jaga standing undernearth the night sky.](https://static1.thegamerimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/wm/2024/09/leshy-a-player-and-baba-jaga-standing-undernearth-the-night-sky.jpg)](/reka-how-to-complete-trial-of-the-forest-spirit-leshys-favors/)

##### [Reka: How To Complete The Trial of The Forest Spirit](/reka-how-to-complete-trial-of-the-forest-spirit-leshys-favors/ "Reka: How To Complete The Trial of The Forest Spirit ")

[REKA](/tag/reka/ "REKA")

The Trial of the Forest Spirit requires you to complete three favors for Leshy in Reka. Here, you can learn how to get this quest done.

21 hours ago

[![An early game factory in the Grass Plains, with a few machines producing materials.](https://static1.thegamerimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/wm/2024/09/best-starting-location.jpg)](/satisfactory-best-starting-spawn-location-area/)

##### [Satisfactory: Which Location Should You Start At?](/satisfactory-best-starting-spawn-location-area/ "Satisfactory: Which Location Should You Start At?")

[Satisfactory](/tag/satisfactory/ "Satisfactory")

Here are the pros and cons of each starting area in Satisfactory.

3 days ago

[![Riven in VR surrounded by flames](https://static1.thegamerimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/riven-in-vr-surrounded-by-flames.jpg)](/burned-apartment-riven-vr/)

##### [I Nearly Burned Down My Apartment Playing Riven In VR](/burned-apartment-riven-vr/ "I Nearly Burned Down My Apartment Playing Riven In VR")

[Riven (2024)](/tag/riven-2024/ "Riven (2024)")

Riven offers such an immersive experience in virtual reality that you might forget about those bagels you left in the oven.

[12](/burned-apartment-riven-vr/#threads)

Jul 11, 2024

### Poll

#### Have You Bought Astro Bot?

Of course!

22%, 232 votes

Not yet, but I plan to.

20%, 209 votes

I'm waiting for a sale.

14%, 148 votes

No, it's not my type of game.

44%, 476 votes

Total Votes: 1065

See MoreVoteView results

### Trending Now

[![Two characters in Avowed. One is using a magic wand.](https://static1.thegamerimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/avowed-1.jpg)](/new-games-might-not-ever-come-to-xbox-game-pass-standard/)

##### [Day One Games Might Not Come To New $14.99 Xbox Game Pass Tier](/new-games-might-not-ever-come-to-xbox-game-pass-standard/ "Day One Games Might Not Come To New $14.99 Xbox Game Pass Tier")

[![Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine slashing the Steam logo.](https://static1.thegamerimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/warhammer-40-000-space-marine-slashing-the-steam-logo.jpg)](/warhammer-40k-space-marine-75-percent-off-steam-sequel-release/)

##### [Warhammer 40K: Space Marine Is 75 Percent Off Following The Sequel's Release](/warhammer-40k-space-marine-75-percent-off-steam-sequel-release/ "Warhammer 40K: Space Marine Is 75 Percent Off Following The Sequel's Release")

[![Logo characters for each game from the Jackbox Naughty Pack with TheGamer's review logo.](https://static1.thegamerimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/wm/2024/09/logo-characters-for-each-game-from-the-jackbox-naughty-pack-with-thegamer-s-review-logo.jpg)](/jackbox-naughty-pack-review-dirty-drawful-fakin-let-me-finish/)

##### [Jackbox Naughty Pack Review: Forced Filth That Works Some Of The Time](/jackbox-naughty-pack-review-dirty-drawful-fakin-let-me-finish/ "Jackbox Naughty Pack Review: Forced Filth That Works Some Of The Time")

[![TheGamer logo](/public/build/images/tg-logo-symbol-white.svg?v=2.4)](/)

- [Join Our Team](/work-with-us/)
- [Our Audience](/page/advertise/)
- [About Us](/page/about/)
- [Press & Events](/page/press-events/)
- [Contact Us](/contact/)

- Follow Us

[![Valnet Logo](/public/build/images/valnet-logo-icon-white.svg?v=2.4)](https://www.valnetinc.com/en/)

- [Advertising](https://www.valnetinc.com/en/advertising)
- [Careers](https://www.valnetinc.com/en/careers)
- [Terms](https://www.valnetinc.com/en/terms-of-use)
- [Privacy](https://www.valnetinc.com/en/privacy-policy)
- [Policies](https://www.valnetinc.com/en/editorial-integrity)

[TheGamer](/) is part of the
[Valnet Publishing Group](https://www.valnetinc.com/en/)

Copyright © 2024 Valnet Inc.