A Highland Song (2023)

A Highland Song combines 2D platforming, adventure game elements, survival mechanics, and rhythm sections into a compelling but occasionally confusing package.

A Highland Song has amazing atmosphere and audiovisuals in general. The rest is quite lacking in direction, though.

While playing A Highland Song we were immediately captivated by its graphic style. The hand-painted Scottish countryside enticed us to travel the moors and hills together with Moira. The hidden objects and stories surrounding these landscapes encourage deeper exploration. The system of finding maps and the points indicated on them is an interesting diversification and an ingenious idea to give our journey a destination. The accompanying music fits in with its calm gameplay, while the rhythm game elements could have been better realised, perhaps by aiming for a different difficulty threshold: two-button combinations are not enough, and in the end A Highland Song is too easy. The plot is simple but clear, and the stories of Moira and her uncle that accompany the game perfectly complement the story. The voice acting is excellent, and we enjoyed the Scottish accent of the main characters. It's just a shame that there is no Italian translation available, which does not make A Highland Song easy to enjoy for those unfamiliar with English. A Highland Song deserves players' attention. The market needs games of this kind: simple, with a good story and attractive, stylish graphics.

A Highland Song is frequently beautiful, elegiac and magical, but one’s tolerance for its somewhat uneven gameplay will impact how much you will get back out of it. It should also be mentioned that on PC there is no mouse support, and while it plays fine with a keyboard, a controller is certainly the preferred method. Nevertheless, I did enjoy my jaunt across the Highlands, whenever I wasn’t falling off them or getting lost in the rain.

I’m in a weird spot with A Highland Song. On one hand, the game didn’t provide me with the kind of experience I was expecting from the trailer. On the other, what actually is here was an interesting and engaging experience. Exploring and finding the various ways forward constantly kept my interest, even through occasionally frustrating moments. The rhythm runs, while disappointingly uncommon, provided nice breaks from the core gameplay flow and some wonderful tunes to listen to alongside. While it wasn’t what I expected, it was a journey worth going on. The Scottish Highlands are calling, and it’s a call that you may just want to answer.