Embracelet Review for Nintendo Switch

Embracelet is a point-and-click adventure game created by  Machineboy, also known as Mattis Folkestad. The story revolves around seventeen-year-old Jesper, who is given a magical bracelet by his grandfather. Before his death, Jesper’s grandfather asks him to head to his hometown of Slepp, Norway, to learn more about this mysterious bracelet and to return it to wherever it came from. Once Jesper reaches Slepp, he learns more about his grandfather and the bracelet in between helping the townsfolk of Slepp. 

Before the game even starts, a title screen appears to inform the player that whatever actions they make within the game will have consequences.  One minor example (spoiler) in the game is when Jesper, with help from the bracelet, knocks over a tree, which breaks a woman’s greenhouse. When the woman emerges from her house and asks Jesper if he knocked the tree over, Jesper has the chance to either tell the woman the truth or lie to her. If the player tells her to the truth, the woman thanks Jesper for his honesty and he is sent to fetch the woman some flowers she can place on her husband’s grave. As I did not choose to lie, I do not know the consequences for that decision. 

Jesper’s bracelet only serves one purpose in the game. That purpose is to aid the player in solving puzzles. Typically, Jesper uses the bracelet to move an object to wherever he wants or needs it to go. For the Nintendo Switch version, the player needs to press B when their cursor lands on an object with two white circles. Then, they need to press B again. The white  disks will disappear and be replaced with two blue circles. One ring is larger than the other and the goal of the player is to press the B button for a third time when the two circles overlap. This will result in a certain sound and whatever item Jesper wanted to move will do so. 

The animation of Embracelet is certainly niche, but is quite inconsistent.  For example, there is one portion of the game where Jesper and his mother are in a cemetery. The way the light shines on Jesper, the shadows are visible, but only on his clothes. Also, as the player walks around, the grass was reflective. Later in the game, when Jesper visits a beach, the sand also shimmers. In a different grass area, the shadows of the trees are evident. However, the character models within the game are unmatched and unrefined. I do not know if this is intentional or not, but to me, it makes the game appear a bit unpolished.

The camera angle moves frequently and is at times awkward. On the Nintendo Switch, the left stick is used for moving Jesper while the right stick is for shifting the camera angle. For the most part, I maintained the camera position because otherwise, any tiny amount of movement results in a huge perspective change so it is easy to lose one’s point of view for what the player and character are looking at. Yet, this is not the only time when the camera perspective is confusing. For example, there are long stretches of road in the game. Instead of having the camera move as Jesper moves, the camera remains fixed at a certain point. Jesper grows smaller and smaller until he moves onto the next stretch of road. I do not know if this is deliberate, but it feels awkward. 

Embracelet Key Features:

• Explore a beautiful, northern Norwegian island
• Solve puzzles using the magical bracelet
• Make friends and choices that can affect the outcome of the story

Check Out the Embracelet Trailer:

For more information, please visit: https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/embracelet-switch/

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Cassie Briseno

I am a college student studying English at Michigan State University. My first video game was Icewind Dale I for the PC and I’ve been playing games ever since. Whenever I’ve had a particularly difficult day, games such as The Sims help me unwind. Some of my favorite games include the Bioshock, Fallout, Mass Effect, Wolfenstein, and latest Tomb Raider series.

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