A Highland Song

A Highland Song looks good and has plenty of impressive moments. Moira is a great character, able to take her love for her uncle and Scottish legends to imbue the world around her, harsh as it might be, with magic. The combination of mechanics means there’s variety but also leads to limited depth for each. It will probably take players two or three tries to get to the lighthouse and many more to find characters and secrets. A Highland Song is a good exploration-focused game that puts Moira’s spirit and Scottish charm front and center.

A Highland Song is just as unique and nuanced as I had hoped, and the developer did an outstanding job at bringing a wild sense of adventure and emotion to a 2D title.

Perhaps, though, the reason A Highland Song stays in the memory is because of those bumps and scraps rather than in spite of them. [Issue#392, p.110]

A Highland Song is a beautifully frustrating journey into the Highlands, Scottish history, and the life of a troubled teenager. Showcasing both the marvels and the menace of that rugged land, it offers a powerful sense of place, memorable tales, and a big heart.

You have your destination, but there are dozens of ways to arrive and plenty of secrets to find along the way. It’s a game that understands the journey is the entire point.

Even though A Highland Song follows a simple premise and linear narrative, its manipulation of depth and levels within its environment creates an immersive atmosphere. It’s a short, and occasionally frustrating adventure, but a gripping one complete with compelling musical segments and incredible design.

A Highland Song is a wonderful adventure through mountains that were old before people arrived and will be there long after their ruins have eroded away. Moira’s journey is as much about the Scottish Highlands as it is about her life so far, with history and myth being equally important to both. It can sometimes take some thinking and experimentation to find the way through a new area, clambering back and forth over rocks and cliffs to find a clue that points to the path forward, but the information is there for an attentive explorer to uncover. It all comes together to make for an engaging, unforgettable and frequently musical trek you’ll want to make several times over to learn the histories and hidden paths of Moira’s mountain home.

A Highland Song’s rendition of the Scottish Highlands scans more as a natural space than as a bespoke puzzle, a world instead of a playground.

A Highland Song successfully brings the awe-inspiring freedom of Breath of the Wild to the Scottish Highlands.

While platforming, rhythm, and navigation mechanics might clash at times, turning the map upside down reveals a game that puts all in service of nature and experience.

A mismatched mix of genres grafted onto a moving, beautifully presented story.