In ATVG’s roundup of recently released Apple TV games, I first called Protopop’s open world game a walk-em-up, with games such as Firewatch and Gone Home in mind. It can be argued that these two games are excellent examples of a reimagined point-and-click genre, with the static backgrounds of the ’80s and ’90s replaced with more immersive and interactive worlds to explore.

But after dipping my toe a little deeper into Robert Kabwe’s world, I called it an RPG. Entering one of BrightRidge’s story modes – Love & Tin – I found my character armed with a bow, a quest line to follow, and the warm and welcoming BrightRidge Inn. Classic RPG tropes.

Now, having finished Love & Tin, I’m taking door number three, and from here on I’ll simply call Nimian Legends: BrightRidge an adventure.

Third time lucky.

 

With the lack of any stats to upgrade, and no loot to greedily collect, it was quickly evident that the RPG hat didn’t fit. Lesson learned? Get a little deeper into the game before jumping the gun.

Love & Tin is also very short, with only about half an hour to an hour of playtime; it could be called a gaming vignette. Your character is guided through a dreamlike experience with a relatively simple fetch-quest and some lite combat.

Despite being short, and not very deep as far as actual gameplay goes, Kabwe has managed to conjure quite a special atmosphere in his fictional universe. There is a quietness, stillness, and beauty in BrightRidge, that actually feels a little reminiscent of Team Ico’s games.

The meat and potatoes of Nimian Legends: BrightRidge at this stage is really the exploratory mode, and in this regard it almost feels as if Kabwe has created a tech-demo of a peaceful nature walk.

With such an ambitious endeavour – that of one developer attempting to create an entire world – it’s not surprising that Nimian Legends has its share of bugs. On realising my character could jump quite high, I took the opportunity to try and jump over a fence instead of following the path around it, and became glued to the top of the fence, having to restart the game.

BrightRidge right now is an intriguing foundation on which to build further adventures, and it’ll be interesting to see where Kabwe takes his creation. If you’re after an almost meditative experience, in which to wander without fear, then this is the game for you, and there simply isn’t any other game like it on Apple TV.

ATVG has two more copies of Nimian Legends: BrightRidge to give away, so if you’re quick, head to the App Store on your iOS device, hit redeem, and punch in one of the codes below. BrightRidge will then download for free to your Apple TV if you’re logged into the same iTunes account:

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