Bramble: The Mountain King- Videogames As Art

Bramble: The Mountain King is a Scandinavian mythology game like Year Walk, Roki and Brothers: A Take of Two Sons but with the gameplay of Little Nightmares, Inside and Limbo. All good things in my humble opinion. The game, with its grotesque menagerie of characters, reminded me of 70s and early 80s eastern European puppet theatre with the artistic styling of Jan Švankmajer. Now, for some all these references will seem like hipster word salad but, for a few, this will be like mana from heaven *cue that Vince McMahon meme of him progressively losing his shizzle*

When purchasing the game, the young shop assistant said she was interested in playing it as she'd seen a few Tiktoks on it on it and it was really scary. A colleague then came over and waxed lyrical about Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and we discussed the merits of that game for a short while.

With Bramble, the soundtrack is quite similar as there are the ululations of lament that formed the soundtrack of Brothers so it felt like putting on a pair of comfortably warm and slightly sinister feeling slippers.

The art style is similar to Jim Henson’s The Storyteller but a recent game it reminded me of was Moss. Even though Bramble is obviously not in VR the angle of the camera and the sense of gated freedom exists here. The scenery is beautifully realised with valleys, rivers and mountains all present and correct but you also get blood rivers, a murderous chefs kitchen and a dark fairy circle before reaching the ruined castle.

The storybooks that reveal the lore of the land are well drawn and narrated and get under your skin but it's the boss battles that really stand out. They are basic but the creativity in creature designs are excellent. The 4 or so hours it took for me were worthwhile and I know aspects from this game will stick with me for a long time yet.

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

LINK- The Last Guardian- Video Games As Art

LINK- Shadow of the Colossus- Book Review

LINK: Manga Exhibition at the British Museum

LINK- The Midnight Library and the Idea That You Can’t Go Home Again

LINK- The Transportive Nature of Objects (And the Power of Mini Consoles)

LINK- My One True Gaming Constant in Life- Nintendo

LINK- Akira Soundtrack Vinyl Review

Dordogne- Videogames As Art

Dordogne may be the perfect game to play in the summer holidays as you play a young woman revisiting her Grandma's home where she spent a formative summer as a pre-teen. The game is presented in a stunning watercolour style and this choice of medium is perfect at conveying nostalgia of the past, vibrant and detailed in places but blurred and fuzzy in others.
It may only be a few hours long, but it's long enough to leave an impression on you, one that'll have you feeling reflective and nostalgic yourself.

Florence- Videogames As Art

Every now and again, I feel compelled to play a palette cleanser of a game. I spend a lot of time gaming and sometimes the open-world games can be a bit overwhelming so to combat this I play shorter, more experimental pieces. I am a huge fan of the indie scene and it is often here that I find gems. I played Florence a couple of years ago and, after completing Jett: The Far Shore recently, I felt compelled to play it again. I’m glad I did as the 45 minute visual-novel style game following the life, loves and dreams of a young lady was very affirming and hopeful. For those who haven’t played it, I would highly recommend it- it is a deeply personal, humanist work and the art is gorgeous!

Final Fantasy 7 Remake- Videogames As Art

I’ve just finished Final Fantasy 7 Remake and I have to say that it's a gorgeous game. You are taken down some beautiful but linear tubes which has its pro’s and cons. I enjoyed the streamlined focus of the game but I felt disappointed in this stunningly realised world where much was heavily walled off.

An area the game really develops is the characterisation. I loved the earnestness of the characters, the camaraderie that grew and the consequences of Avalanche's actions and the sense of guilt they felt when ordinary citizens died or were put in harms way by their actions against Shinra. When Biggs and Jessie die (apparently) I felt a sense of sadness as I'd known them for 20 or so hours whereas in the original they'd come and gone in about a couple. I'm not saying this game is amazing but in an age of edge-lordy stuff it's lovely to get some emotion and cheesy empathy in your character who isn't a grizzled merc or a wise-cracking sociopath.

Now, if anyone would have a word with the President of Square Enix and say sending a letter which sounds similar to the remit of Shinra about the ‘perks of NFT’s’ is peak dick move, especially after you’ve released a game about fighting against corporate greed and ecological disaster. Oh well.

Resident Evil Village- Video Games As Art

I have a deep love for Resident Evil with RE 4 and 7 being a couple of my most recent favourites from the series. I have fond memories of playing RE 7 in PSVR with a few of my friends, initially after school and then at home and sharing in the scares. Village continues the story of Ethan Winters and his family as he undergoes loads of hand-based trauma whilst battling the 4 Lords of Mother Miranda in an effort to retrieve his daughter and exact revenge for the death of his wife.

The game is wonderfully chaotic and, even though it is not as memorable as 7 or 4, it is an excellent game full of exciting set pieces. The graphics are gorgeous and the House Beneviento is a particular highlight, scaring the heck out of me. Check out the screenshots from my playthrough.

Hades- Video Games As Art

Hades is the multi-award winning and highly regarded rogue-like based on the Greek mythology that told the story of Hades’ son Zagreus trying to escape the underworld. Being Hades though the escape is extremely perilous so you die, a lot, before finally getting through the different levels of Hells.

I bought the game on the Nintendo Switch earlier in the year and alongside Skyrim, it is the game I poured most of my hours into. After nearly 100 attempts I finally managed to escape and see the first ending. I won’t spoil it but it was sweet release.

Now, speaking to a few friends I know you’re supposed to beat it about 10 times to see the ‘true’ ending but forget that… I’ve got my pile of shame building up! However, I loved my time with the game and its gorgeous art style is singularly spectacular.

Old Man's Journey- Video Games As Art

Old Man’s Journey is a slow, meditative game about the decisions we make and the repercussions. In the game you play the titular Old Man who goes on a long journey after receiving a letter. You manipulate the gorgeous landscape and hills as you try to arrive at your destination in one piece. The game is very painterly and the soundtrack is sublime, making up for the simple game mechanics.

Super Mario 3D World- Video Games As Art

I played and completed Super Mario 3D World several years ago on the Wii U but have been playing the Switch port with my daughters over the past few months. It became a weekly ritual as we played for about an hour a week, every week. Seeing the joy on my daughters’ faces as we entered a new world was one of the real pleasures of my life and, when we completed the game, the sheer excitement on their faces was heartwarming. Here are screenshots from our playthrough.

Little Nightmares 2- Video Games As Art

I loved the darkly beautiful Little Nightmares, a puzzle- platformer game with horror elements developed by Tarsier Studios. I loved the creepy characters that reminded me of various shows including Jim Henson's The Storyteller, the work of the Bolex Brothers and the unsettling creatures created by stop-motion supremo Jan Svankmajer. The art style was grotesque, and even though there were horrific scenarios, the imagery it created were beautiful that stuck in the mind long after the game ended.

I awaited the sequel with much excitement and am happy to report that Little Nightmares 2 builds on this world further and still features Six, alongside main protagonist Mono. The story is intriguing and is not a straightforward sequel or prequel but rather a more complex, wibbly-wobbly, timey wimey affair. I completed the game in about 6 hours in a couple of sittings and loved it. I also loved the advert which is a work of art itself with the mysterious illusionist Derren Brown narrating the nature of nightmares.

Kentucky Route Zero- Video Games As Art

Kentucky Route Zero is a magic-realism point and click adventure game about an old delivery driver’s last job to deliver goods on the eponymous road. The game is set in the oft-forgotten rust belt of America but the tale it tells is truly universal and could apply to any town which feels neglected or abandoned pretty much anywhere in the world.

Playing the 5 episodes of the game over 15 or so hours had me reflecting as it rang true on so many levels about my hometown of Barking, Essex in east London: coming back to a place to see how much yet how little it has changed, how people you knew have moved on or not at all and how tough life has been for some people, who live within the shadow of one of the richest places on Earth, over a decade after the economic crises hit in 2008.

Kentucky Route Zero resonated with me as it shows how once thriving towns can easily spiral downwards after a huge economic shock, in this case the massive downsizing of Ford Dagenham and the impact it had on the surrounding towns including my hometown. The devastating economic and social impacts can still be felt in the area today with the shopping centre, Vicarage Fields -which opened with so much promise welcoming all to partake in its free peppermint lollies emblazoned with the logo, the cool bookshop on the top floor and the video game shop Whizz Kids selling the latest system and offering playable Atari Lynxes with Chips Challenge- an empty shell with cheap clothes stores and stalls selling phone accessories and plugs.... A shadow of the promise it offers in its youth, even before e-commerce became a thing. The town centre has a prevalence of gambling, pound chicken shops and cheap, barely edible, vegetable and fruit bowl sellers.

But for all this woe here in the UK we are lucky as we have the NHS. In KRZ we see how the crippling cost of healthcare can cost people their very souls and it is heartrending. However, KRZ is optimistic as it looks at people trying to rebuild these forgotten towns and making them a community again.

Barking itself seems to be rising from the ashes of Ford’s as the old 70s high-rises are being knocked down to make way for the new low wise apartment complexes, feeding the lifeblood of the city as it turns into yet another commuter town. This is an improvement after about 20 years of decline but it does feel like an end of something, I’m not sure what though… community maybe?

It is said that Art speaks of the human condition and Kentucky Route Zero is truly and artistic endeavour.

What Remains of Edith Finch- Video Games As Art

What Remains of Edith Finch is a wonderfully atmospheric exploration adventure game, sometimes called in derogatory terms, 'walking simulators.' I am a huge fan of the genre as I find them a palette cleanser from the regular games I play and I would say that Edith Finch is the peak of the genre so far.

In the game the player controls Edith, a young woman exploring her ancestral home to uncover the mystery behind her family history and what happened to the various occupants there. The story is told through a series of immersive vignettes and each is powerful and emotional in different ways.

The Last of Us 2- Video Games As Art

Over the past couple of weeks I've been working my way through The Last of Us 2. I liked the first game just fine but didn’t really think it was the masterpiece many gamers claim it to be but to each their own. I found this game to be much the same; it's 30 or so hours of moving around long grass shanking people interspersed with intense gunplay and the occasional clicker in run down liminal spaces. It's a dark revenge story told interestingly through 2 perspectives but I felt it was overly long and the story dragged out a lot.

The game does have gorgeous graphics and bold storytelling (for a video game) and, whilst I don’t think it deserved all the hyperbolic praise or accolades it received (video games ‘Schindler’s List’ anyone?), it is definitely a game worth playing.

Immortals Fenyx Rising- Video Games As Art

Immortal Fenyx Rising is that rare thing from Ubisoft, a brand new IP that isn’t a sequel or an iteration on something they have been producing for many years. That itself had me intrigued and so I bought the game within the first week to see what it was like. I have to say that it is a stunning looking game with some great visual and interesting art style. The writing is sometimes funny but misses the mark with its ‘humour’ but all that could be forgiven if it was a solid game. Unfortunately, it descends into the usual Ubisoft collect-athon and the map soon fills up with too many markers.

I know some people were comparing this to Zelda: Breath of the Wild in terms of a more open world but, whereas BOTW trusted the gamers to find their own story and make their own markers, Ubi does it all for you and so any agency and sense of organic discovery is lost.

I gave the game about 5 hours of play but it left me feeling cold and I couldn’t warm to it, no matter the quips and wordplay from the Gods. I’ve traded it in but at least I gave Ubisoft the benefit of the doubt, I was disappointed but I hope that by supporting a new IP they continue to try something different.

It’s unusual for me not to finish a game but Immortals Fenyx Rising proved too cookie cutter for my liking.

Devil May Cry 5- Video Games As Art

Devil May Cry is the quintessential hack and slash action-adventure game, full of combos and flashy moves. I never really got into DMC, only playing the original and DMC reboot, both of which I enjoyed but not enough to be a big fan of the series. However, DMC 5 might change my mind. It is an enjoyable 15-18 hour romp that is gorgeous to look at and just pure fun to play. Check out the screenshots from my playthrough.

Gravity Rush 2- Video Games As Art

Gravity Rush 2 is the delightful sequel to weirdly wonderful steampunk fantasy game in which you controlled an amnesiac young girl with levitation powers. What set the original game apart was the shifting gravity mechanic and the gorgeous art style. Gravity Rush was a PS Vita game that was remastered for the PS4, however Gravity Rush 2 was specifically made for the PS4. The extra power of the machine really makes the game pop.

I completed the game in about 25 hours and finale which was dramatic and provided closure for Kat fans. Check out the screenshots of my playthrough below!

Röki- Video Games As Art

Röki is a point and click adventure game inspired by Scandinavian tales of yore, but there is no Thor or indeed any Gods from the Norse pantheon. Rather this is the local folklore of the region which has been untapped in gaming (with the exception of the wonderful ‘Year Walk’).

You play as Tove, a young girl touched by magic and the heroine of the story. Over the course of around 12 hours, you are tasked with unraveling the mysteries of a mystical forest and its hidden pathways as you seek to save your brother, captured by a dark spirit. Along the way you find curious items, engage with intriguing creatures, and journey into Tove’s memories to directly confront her past as she attempts to save her family.

The game is presented in a beautiful picture book style, which is complimented with the cel art style, whilst the gameplay is rooted in non-violent environmental puzzle solving. I thoroughly enjoyed the game and liked the button click which made items glow, this prevented the frustration of pixel hunting for random items which plagued older titles in the genre.

A Short Hike- Video Games As Art

I've been playing a lot of open world games lately and whilst it has been amazing to explore the 9 realms of Norse mythology (God of War), the skyscrapers of New York (Spiderman) and a post-apocalyptic world strewn with robotic animals (Horizon: Zero Dawn), I was getting 'stunningly rendered world with amazing bloom lighting effect' fatigue. So I decided to take a bit of a break, by playing 'A Short Hike', an open world game where you explore an island with the purpose of scaling a mountain to receive reception for an important phone call. The difference between this open world game and the others is that it a tightly contained 1 1/2 hour game with no extra padding. It has a few fetch quests but I can count them on one hand and all are achievable in a couple of minutes. There isn't a map and as a result there isn't a splooge of icons like an irritating shopping list. No, it's concise and relaxing... Just what was needed after the intensity and demands of the other games. I love the colourful isometric Nintendo 3DS art style and the cute but concise dialogue. It's a charming game and well work the few quid on investment. 

11-11: Memories Retold- Video Games As Art

War! What is it good for? Well, apart from when it is actually the last resort to protect freedoms and yourself, not much apart from making money for the military industrial complex but that’s by the by… it’s a pretty effective scenario for video games. However, often the games like ‘Call of Duty’ and ‘Battlefield’ have you play as soldiers and have you gun down the enemies, there is little nuance or empathy to understand the motivations for either side.

With ‘11-11: Memories Retold’ you play as both a Canadian and German soldier and the narrative for both intertwines as the lead characters are connected through chance and happenstance. The game is a little annoying as the controls are tank-like and laborious but the narrative is heartfelt and resonates.

At about 4 hours play the game is slight but worth it if only to see the painterly impressionist art style and excellent voice acting from Elijah Wood (Frodo from the ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies). It is a reflective look at the horrors of war and the common humanity that connects us.

Horizon Zero Dawn - Video Games As Art

Horizon Zero Dawn is a beautiful open-world game which puts you in the shoes of Aloy, a young woman who is an outcast from her tribe in an apocalyptic future where nature has taken back the remnants of discarded destroyed cities and technologies. Wild robot dinosaurs and creatures roam the land as you try to uncover what happened to this world. I’ve been playing a few open-world games recently and this (alongside God of War) have been compelling as the voice acting has been top notch, the graphics stunning and, most importantly, the game designers have had respect for my time and haven’t padded out the experience with nonsense and pointless tasks that add nothing to the game. Listen up modern Ubisoft, this is the way it’s done son!

Check out my screenshots from the playthrough as this is one of the most gorgeous looking games I've ever played and is well worth a looksie.

To The Moon- Video Games As Art

I’m a sucker for a story told well in video games but very few games have compelling or emotionally resonant narratives. Often, if there is a story it’s ripped apart by the cognitive dissonance of being all emotive one second then blasting a random person in the face in the next (any FPS to be honest), or killing lots of people while being a chirpy, quippy guy (Nathan Drake, Lara Croft etc) It’s an issue that games are trying to work through but whilst they are there are the occasional gems that come out that just nail the narrative and ‘To The Moon’ is one of them. I won’t spoil it but it had me near tears at its end. The game is beautiful to look at too so check out some of the screen captures I took from my play through.