Bonfire Peaks - Switch Review
"A decent puzzle game that offers plenty of challenge."
Bonfire Peaks is another unique puzzle game from the creative minds of A Monster's Expedition and Cosmic Express. Each new iteration from Draknek & Friends brings forth a slew of new ideas, new mechanics and more devious challenges to overcome. Thankfully, Bonfire Peaks doesn’t disappoint and has around 200 puzzles to sink one’s teeth into. Now sit back and grab your things, we’re going to burn them... yes that’s right, you heard me correctly!
The Good
Bonfire Peaks has a really unique and beautiful voxel graphical art style which caught my eye immediately; it's one of the first things I noticed when I jumped into the game. Using moody lighting from the flames of each campfire and blur effects when you're not directly facing objects, it all comes together to make this world come to life in a peaceful, tranquil and hauntingly eerie manner.
When beginning the game, we see ourselves as a young man being ferried across a dark Lake by a white Swan, only for it to come to a sudden halt at a pier. Here, you’ll encounter your first campfires; each one represents a puzzle that needs to be completed. The entire environment is littered with bonfires and all you need to do is simply sit next to one to begin one of the many 200 puzzles. If you're successful, the campfire will continually burn and you will receive a wooden crate as a reward, which can then be used in the environment to access more areas as you slowly climb the mountain, giving you access to even more puzzles, etc. Each puzzle is devious in its design and will test even the most seasoned puzzle fan - I’m still slowly making my way through them... slowly.
This isn’t your typical crate-pushing game as each puzzle is specially designed to test your grey matter by adding in new mechanics (e.g. dissolving blocks) and this helps to keep the gameplay fresh. Your character walks on a grid area while moving in four different directions to arrange boxes. Your main goal is simple: reach the large bonfire at the heart of each stage and burn all your stuff. It sounds easy enough but it's the process of getting there that will ultimately challenge and frustrate you. Luckily, there’s an undo button which will help if you’ve made a miss-step along the way.
TL;DR
- 200 puzzles
- Beautiful voxel art style
- Challenging puzzles
The Bad
One of my key issues with Bonfire Peaks is its controls which are far too sensitive; coupled with a slight delay which was very similar to Draknek & Friends’ other game I reviewed: A Good Snowman is Hard to Build.
The game’s overworld is really nice but I would have liked to have seen some collectibles hidden off the beaten path as a little side activity. With so much involved around moving boxes and creating paths, it would have been nice if you could have uncovered some extra secret areas or puzzles.
Lastly, some puzzles are really quite challenging (some of which I still don’t know how to complete); I feel as though a hint system wouldn’t have gone amiss for those struggling. Perhaps within each puzzle, there could have been some kind of currency collectible that you earned, to then be spent on unlocking hints if you were to get stuck.
TL;DR
- Fiddly controls
- No hint system
Final Score: 8/10
Even though I have some issues with Bonfire Peaks, it’s still a decent puzzle game that offers plenty of challenge and those 200 puzzles will take a fair while to muster through. The music and beautiful voxel art style creates a unique and haunting world to journey through.
Thank you for checking out our Bonfire Peaks switch review, thank you to Draknek & Friends for providing the review code and thank you to our $5 and up Patreon Backers for their ongoing support:
For more reading, check out our review of Hot Wheels Unleashed.