Review – The Bridge (Switch)

The Nintendo Switch has finally received its own version of The Bridge, a very unique puzzle game that has already been released for every single console you can imagine, Ouya included. The game has already garnered quite a bit of praise in its previous releases, so how did it fair on Nintendo’s new console?
The Bridge is a puzzle game that is described by its own developer as “Isaac Newton meets M.C. Escher”. Your objective is to guide a man to the exit by tilting the world around you like one of Escher’s paintings. Sometimes you’ll also need to avoid some enemies and/or collect keys in order to proceed.

Why, hello there.
The Bridge is one heck of a trippy game. If anything in this game deserves praise, it’s its “M.C. Escher meets a surreal Felix the Cat episode” art style. Every single element in the entire game retains a very unique hand-drawn appearance, complete with pencil drawing sound effects when your character is spawned at the beginning of each level. Everything’s in black-and-white, which makes it bleaker and fits with the game’s somewhat sad tonality. It gets a bit tiresome after a while. The soundtrack isn’t anything special, by the way; it’s not exactly great or terrible, it’s just, well, there. And not very varied.

Those ball-shaped enemies are so hideous to look at.
The Bridge‘s controls are very simple. You can either use the L and R buttons or the Switch’s gyroscope to tilt the map, and use you use the control stick to move your bearded main character. You can also use the B button to rewind when you make any mistake. That’s all you need to know, simple as that. Sadly, everything is a bit sluggish in this department. The map tilts at a very slow pace, and your main character is slower than an obese slug after waking up from a nap. Though you can get used to it, the game’s very slow movement gets a bit annoying at some points.

This house’s architect was most likely on mushrooms.
The game’s puzzles are challenging enough for the most part, with a few very sudden difficulty spikes every now and then. Sadly, while it can prove to be quite a brain exercise at some points, The Bridge is a very short game, with not much more than 20 levels. In order to extend its longevity, the game also features the same amount of levels in a mirrored mode, but given how quite a few of them can be easily solved in a few minutes, it still makes the game quite short. The Bridge is fun while it lasts, but sadly it doesn’t last for long.
While there is already an excessive amount of puzzle games for the Switch, The Bridge manages to stand out with its trippy art style and unique gameplay. It may be a bit sluggish and frustrating at some points, but it can easily be enjoyed in short sessions, taking advantage of the Switch’s portability.
Reviewed on Switch.
The Bridge is also available on PS3, PS4, PS Vita, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, and Ouya.
Copy of The Bridge was provided by the developer.