The Bridge
OpenCritic Rating
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for The Bridge
Years after its initial release, The Bridge is still a great example of 2D puzzle gaming.
Overall, The Bridge gets by well on its unique influence, style and on its difficulty.
Translating M.C. Escher's mind-bending works into a game leads to The Bridge, a game whose puzzles, mechanics and visual presentation fit perfectly into the artist's legacy. It does exaggerate on its difficulty level, which can make progression too demanding for many players.
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An endearing combination of influences from art and science makes The Bridge a valuable addition to the Nintendo Switch library, especially if you've never played it before. Sometimes bogged down by showing off its aesthetic strengths at the sacrifice of fully exploring the puzzle ideas and mechanics, The Bridge does suffer slightly due to slow controls and a story/ character that deserves a little more nuance to back up its ambitious and academic influences. What it does do, however, is reward players' patience, calculation and observation with moments that rival some of the best in the genre. A genuinely interesting and challenging experience that, despite a few small flaws, will stretch mental as well as physical muscles.
The Bridge is without doubt a brilliant idea that features clever puzzles and beautiful artwork. It is without doubt a great addition to the Wii U library, and a must have for puzzle lovers – though it may be quite frustrating for those not experienced in the genre.
The Bridge is a delightful mass of contradictions. It's simple yet complex, and new yet old. Solid mechanics and puzzles that are tweaked to a level of difficulty that is just right — along with an excellent accompanying soundtrack — fill this monotone world with colour. Its focus on gameplay over story suits it well, and though it may be a bit on the short side, it's thoroughly enjoyable.
The console (and Vita) release of The Bridge doesn't bring anything new to the table from the original 2013 PC release (considering it already had controller support). Those who skipped the PC release (like myself) will be treated to one of the most surreal puzzle games released in recent memory. Depending on your aptitude for logic-based puzzles, you may breeze through the game, or spend ample time rewinding and resetting puzzles. The simplistic control scheme and slow-pacing helps to make the game casual friendly.
