This was a short but sweet prequel to the main game in the form of a visual novel. As such, it's lacking in things like voice acting and actual game play, but as A) it's free, and B) it never claims to be anything more than a visual novel, it's all good. This serves as a good entry point if you've not yet played Brok: The InvestiGator (there's a demo for that if you're still on the fence about getting the full game - go play it) yet has plenty of cameos and lore for pre-existing fans to get into - plus you get a heartwarming Natal Tail story to go with it.

Takes about an hour to run though. I used the options menu to turn on automatic text advancement which allowed me to just sit back and get lost in the story. It's a pleasant little tale which shows off the VN engine quite nicely. There's heartwarming parts, heartbreaking parts, and gives a good insight into life prior to the events of the main game. For a freebie, it's very good and while some scenes seem they're there to serve a cameo more than the story, overall it's well told and scenes have a nice pace to them, without feeling rushed. I'm now looking forward to the Brawl Bar DLC, and to seeing what others can make with the VN engine, Well worth your time at this Natal Tail time.

After putting 18 hours into the 2 hour prologue, I knew in advance what to expect with this game. I enjoy a good point & click adventure, and I enjoy a good side scrolling beat'em'up so combining the two was almost certain to be a win in my book. The only thing that could let things down is if one or both of the elements were poorly implemented. Thankfully this is not the case, and both the point'n'clicking and the beating'em'up sections feel good to play, and (so far) the two blend into each other well. Puzzles can be solved either with brain or brawn, so if you can't figure out a puzzle, chances are you can just punch it into submission instead. First chapter down at the time of writing, and so far the world building has been fantastic, with plenty of meat left to keep me wanting to come back for more. Much more. ETA is said to be about 9-10 hours, yet with 18 hours on the prologue alone, I can see me putting many more hours in. Certainly worth a shot and comes highly recommended.

Edit. Having now put many more hours into the game, I can still highly recommend it. Haven't got all the endings yet, but it's been a thoroughly enjoyable journey to get the the ones I've got so far.

Edit Edit: Now there is multiplayer support, which works better than it has any right to. Plus a huge wealth of accessibility options. This game is the gift that keeps on giving. Why haven't you purchased it yet?!?

Only just started playing and already moved from Easy to Normal, which is a good sign that this is an intuitive rhythm action game. Mostly been playing online where there's no fail state (yay). Making silly mistakes which is stopping me from doing better, but that's a me problem. This game runs flawlessly on my PC, which is rather old now, so I was rather impressed about that. All in all, I would recommend this game to fans of the genre. DDR it's not, which is what put me off for the longest time. However, a Steam Sale swayed me to try it, and now I'm kicking myself for waiting so long. This game really needs a demo as it's got to be experienced to be fully understood (in my opinion). Don't delay, try this gem today.

Edit: Since the below review has been posted, there has been an update to the game on Steam which addresses a lot of the concerns I wrote about. This has allowed me to amend this review to Recommended instead of Not Recommended. Just wish it hadn't taken so long, but Covid and things are what they are.

Original review below:

I want to love this game. I really do. It ticks all my boxes, and the PS4 version (despite it still being pre-2.0) is amazingly good fun. However, the version on Steam can border on unplayable with the number of balance issues and bugs I've come across. The main bug seems to happen on almost every game, and that is text boxes will get stuck on screen. Usually it's a location or character, but sometimes it's other text - and it'll be on there until the end of game. In the worst cases it even sticks around during battles, so you have no idea what your opponent's dice rolls are. So good luck trying to form any sort of strategy in game when vital information is obscured by some text you just happened to look at 4 turns ago. As for trying to get a Rot Victory... Forget it. Even if you manage corruption, the Banes will spawn as far away from you as possible 99% of the time. While LoG might be a small team hit hard by the pandemic, it would be nice if they'd spend more time on working on the code of the game than they do hosting live streams and posting memes to Twitter.

This game is a fantastic introduction into a world where Point & Click games meets the Fighting genre. Brok the InvestiGator - Prologue gives you the title character and sets you loose to solve the case of the missing gun. On your way you will encounter friends, foe, those in need, and those who wish to do you harm. Fight or think your way through a variety of puzzles and situations, while taking the time to do the day to day tasks like check your mail and pay your bills. The prologue is well paced and takes around 3 to 4 hours for the first play-through. With multiple ways to solve the puzzles, a helpful hints system, some solid combat action, and plenty of replay value once the first run is complete, I have been sold on the full game. The KickStarter has been backed and I look forward to see what comes next.

I don't want an Epic Games account. If I did, I would have one already. But without one I can't play this game anymore?




Bye Felicia. There are plenty of other games to play where I don't have to sign up for yet another bloody service.

Tanglewood is a puzzle platformer that takes the game ethos of old and sprinkles in modern design elements to create a game that I would consider to be what the mascot platformer might have become if the 32bit era hadn't come along and made everything all 3D and terrible. Made for the Sega Megadrive/Genesis and ported to PC, the Steam build offers everything the console version does, plus more.

The game starts you off with a cut scene to set the mood before gently introducing you to its world. You soon find your first firefly, the collectables in Tanglewood, before leading you on to your first puzzle. There's a gap you can't jump. How to cross it? If only Nymn could glide. Well, there's a yellow Fuzzl nearby and a nest pretty close to it. Why not roll it into the nest? Oh, now I've turned yellow and can glide. How handy! Things get far more complicated later on, but the puzzles are never unfair. Even for someone new to the genre.

While the lands of Tanglewood are never safe for Nymn, things get even more dangerous at night. The darkness brings out the bigger nasties, and as our lead character has no method of fighting directly, you have to use your wits and cunning to escape and defeat the jaws of death. Again, the game gently eases you in to this concept, and by the end you'll be dodging foes with skill and grace.

The music is subtle and effective. It kicks in when it needs to, and fades out when its job is done. Environmental sounds accompany you on your journey the rest of the way and this really helps set the tone of the level. When the music does show up, it's always fitting to the situation and never outstays its welcome. Freezedream has done a fantastic job on the soundtrack.

I've been following this since the KickStarter, and was lucky enough to have been involved in the closed beta so I have seen first hand the love the dedication that has been put into this game. Created on original Sega development hardware, using original techniques. What has come out of the other side is a joy to play. With plenty of surprises along the way. This is one of those games you'll want to play for yourself rather than watch a stream of. Spoilers.

If you're still reading this, stop it. Go buy the game already. Seriously. Right now. I've loved every minute I've spent in the world of Tanglewood, and I'm sure you will too.