Plenty of trailers graced the IGN Summer of Gaming Expo today, but one that undoubtedly caught the attention of viewers was for the Nordic folktale-inspired Bramble: The Mountain King. It was a bizarre and gory affair, and in a presentation that opened with a trailer for Mortal Shell's new DLC, that's really saying something.
The surreal and unexpectedly bloody trailer kicks off with a sobbing child repeatedly stabbing something tastefully placed just off-screen. For the duration of the video the camera cuts between scenes of idyllic innocence, such as wading through a beautifully-lit pond while fairies and imps watch over the protagonist's journey, and that jarring opening scene.
The game's hero, who appears to be a 9-year-old boy named Olle, looks to be able to visit all sorts of fantastic locales and meet strange creatures along the way. These segments look absolutely beautiful, and the focus on European folklore seems evocative of something like The Witcher. But the way the trailer keeps cutting back to a blood-spattered Olle stabbing and stabbing promises deeper and far darker secrets within this game. The young lad is a boy on a mission, and despite his innocent countenance, it would appear the events of the game will push him to do things he never thought himself capable of.
Developers Dimfrost Studio clearly know what they're about, too. The Swedish-based studio looks set to be steeping their latest game in their native Scandinavian myths and fairy tales, many of which have the same sort of dark side to them that is evident in Bramble's trailer. Far from the colossal scale of Sony's God of War, though, Bramble appears to be an altogether quieter and more personal affair. Not for Olle the world-spanning concerns of the gods of legend: judging from the trailer, he'll be more likely to come across forest spirits and seemingly helpful trolls.
Though certainly a different-looking experience from the studio's first game, A Writer and his Daughter, Bramble seems to share plenty of themes, such as childlike innocence and the dangers of a fairy-tale world. A terrifying scare at the end of the trailer and a remarkably evocative score certainly seem to suggest that Bramble will be a unique, and doubtless memorable, experience.
Bramble: The Mountain King will release in 2022 for PC and console.