Iron Bramble blends cyber-gothic aesthetics with unforgiving grappling hook platforming
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
Iron Bramble combines a striking cyber-gothic pixel art world with a momentum-heavy grappling hook and twin-stick shooting system that promises a high-skill ceiling for platformer fans.
Developer Mini Bunnies and Emlise are following up on Rusted Moss with Iron Bramble, a pixel art metroidvania that immediately demands your attention. As reported by Rock Paper Shotgun, the game trades traditional fantasy for a sprawling cyber-gothic megastructure where humanity has abandoned flesh for robotic husks, and you control a story-eating demon woman navigating this strange digital afterlife. It is a striking visual package that looks like a concept artist's fever dream brought to life.
Beneath the surface aesthetic lies a traversal system that leans heavily into momentum-based physics. The grappling hook mechanic relies on specific anchor points and precise timing, requiring players to build and maintain speed across demanding platforming obstacles. Add twin-stick shooting into the mix shortly after starting the demo, and you have a game that asks a lot of your coordination. It is the kind of high-skill ceiling design that will likely divide players into those who bounce off the learning curve and those who chase speedrun records.
Fortunately, the demo keeps frustration levels low by placing checkpoints generously, meaning a miscalculated jump sends you back to your last landing spot rather than the start of the room. That balance between a steep skill ceiling and forgiving checkpointing shows a strong understanding of modern platformer design. If you want to test your reflexes ahead of the planned 2027 release date, you can currently try out the demo on Steam.
Tags: Metroidvania, PC Gaming, Pixel Art, Platformer, Indie Games
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun