Little Briar Rose is a point and click adventure game created for the 2014 Indie Game Maker Contest, and if the logo is anything to go by, it was made by elves. I've never met an elf I didn't want to punch in the face, but these elves made a pretty neat game so I'll try to stay my bloodlust.

Little Briar Rose is based on the Grimm's Fairy Tale Briar Rose, which contemporary audiences might better know as Sleeping Beauty. After being snubbed at a newborn princess's christening, a wicked fairy cast a spell upon her that would cause her to die upon reaching sixteen years of age. A good fairy altered the spell so that the princess, and her entire kingdom, would merely sleep instead, until the day a prince appear to awaken her. Fortunately, this country seems to have a surplus of wandering princes with really cool hats eager to try their luck at rescuing the princess.

Starting with the very impressive animated intro, the most obvious thing that stands out about this game is its gorgeous aesthetic that mimics the look of stained glass. It looks amazing and this is one of the few games on RMN I'd recommend checking out just on the strength of the visuals alone. I'm not a graphics snob by any means but this artwork is impressive.

The game is also a genuine point and click game, using the mouse, which honestly surprised me when I first loaded it up. Not too many of these in the RPG Maker realm.

The game is a fairly by the numbers adventure game where you progress by talking to people, gathering items, and figuring out what to do with the treasure you acquire. The enchanted forest is full of fey creatures with problems they need you to solve for them before they will help you open the way to the next area. Be wary, however, for these are faeries of the classical sense; generally friendly, but offending one can have dire consequences.



One little detail I like is that the intro mentions that hundreds of princes have attempted to break the spell and failed. If you fail a puzzle, you stand a good chance of being turned into a spriggan, and a new prince will immediately pick up where your previous prince left off, effectively restarting the puzzle. It's an amusing touch, and it prevents you from solving puzzles just by brute forcing every NPC with every item until something happens.

The puzzles are generally simple as the game is very short, able to be completed in twenty minutes or so. If you ever find yourself stuck, just talking to NPCs in previous areas can help you become unstuck. The game isn't very obtuse and I don't believe it's possible to end up in an unwinnable state. There are some problems though. A few different characters occasionally request items that 'shine' or 'glow,' and there are a large number of items in the game with those descriptors. It could be easy to not be able to figure out the puzzle because you think you already have the right item, or even think you got stuck because you already gave the item to someone else.

The game also ends rather abruptly, which I honestly found disappointing. I realize this was likely due more to contest time constraints than the developers' intentions, but this game really does feel half-finished. Lacking any sort of real climax after such a neat experience actually made me a little sad!

Still, if you like adventure games or just want to explore a world with a really cool aesthetic, or even if you just like fairy tales, this is one to try. It only takes about half an hour to win and you'll see some really neat things along the way.