With the likes of Hi-Fi Rush, Metal: Hellsinger and Melatonin, rhythm games are enjoying a resurgence and evolution, with the mechanic bleeding into other popular genres. Joining this new generation of music-timed titles as of today is A Highland Song, a rousing narrative adventure and side-scrolling platformer, from inkle, that makes ideal holiday play for gamers across a wide age spectrum.

In A Highland Song, 15-year-old Moira McKinnon has had enough of her cloistered country life and decides to run away to the sea, which she has never seen. There’s an open invite from her Uncle Hamish, the local lighthouse keeper, and he encourages her to reach him by Beltane, which is a week away, for a special surprise.

Moira’s quest sees her clambering over a rugged, distinctly Scottish terrain full of secrets and stories. Occasionally our spirited heroine will meet an inhabitant of this magical realist realm, where you’re as likely to encounter a geologist at work as a talking selkie statue and human echoes that can last for decades or even centuries.

Typically, though, you’ll stumble on found items, like old wallets and crisp packets, which contain map fragments, and these can be used to orientate yourself, and find easier routes to your destination. Easier is better because the Scottish Highlands are a harsh place, subject to rain and wind that can wear Moira down. It’s not uncommon to lose half a day to sheltering, damp and shivering, under a cave entrance. Out of interest, you can technically “kill” Moira through exhaustion, injury and over-exposure but she immediately respawns, a bit bewildered about what happened.

If you’ve been paying attention to any of the marketing for A Highland Song, you’ll know that the game has a further key gameplay element: rhythm runs. When you sprint after a deer, you’ll find yourself bounding over the landscape to soul-stirring folk music from Scottish artists Talisk, and Fourth Moon. Nail a run and you’ll gain more strength and stamina to help you succeed in future climbing and spelunking. After all, you’ve got a deadline to meet.

I’ll say at this point that inkle’s A Highland Song is a somewhat unexpected release from the studio that is best known for its acclaimed text-centric games like 80 Days, Heaven’s Vault and 2021’s delightfully devious Overboard! A Highland Song is arguably inkle’s most mainstream game yet, pairing the developers’ signature story focus with vastly expanded voice-over and familiar platforming gameplay.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with recognisability, and A Highland Song is stronger for it. Players knows what to do, and how to do it, allowing you to really fall in sync with a game that is beautiful, touching, foot-tapping and transportive in so many ways.

A Highland Song is incredibly striking visually, and a comprehensive photo mode indicates that its makers know it. Lush Impressionist backgrounds and especially spectacular water effects are paired with 2D character models that feel like a Western cousin to Studio Ghibli. Eye candy can only hook you for so long, however, without any emotional substance behind it… but that’s not an issue here.

A Highland Song shares DNA with Lost Words: Beyond the Page, another indie release out of the UK that features a likeable young heroine grappling with her emotions as she embarks on a life-changing adventure. Moira, though, being slightly older, comes with a delightful edge to offset coming-of-age naiveté. She’s frequently hilarious and relatable, cursing “Christ on a bike” in her heavy accent when she stumbles, or yelling “YAS!” when she gets something right. As a player, you step into Moira’s shoes instantly, with the result being a real shared sense of triumph whenever she overcomes the obstacles in her way – and there are many. I admit I teared up a little on reaching the lighthouse for the first time.

I say for the first time because A Highland Song, like all inkle games, encourages replay. If you don’t make it to the coast for Beltane, you’ll get a bittersweet “too late” ending, then be presented with the option to play again, but with all the items and map pieces you already collected. It took me four hours, and eleven in-game days, to complete the game the first time, and then three hours the next. And, yes, armed with enough information and luck, it’s possible to reach your destination in a single day.

That said, the more you explore the game world, the less urgency you feel to reach the lighthouse by Beltane. A polished, interactive lesson in armchair tourism, A Highland Song is steeped in local history and folklore. If you’re staying home for the holiday season, there are few better virtual ways to escape your usual surroundings. The game is also a completionist’s dream, with 100 map pieces to find and position, plus 36 peaks to summit. If you can see it, you can reach it.

On that note, the only real gripe about A Highland Song is that sometimes it can feel a tad too real; a bit triggering if you’ve ever lost your way on a hiking trail, and had to backtrack. In A Highland Song, you may find yourself stuck on a hill, traipsing back and forth, searching for a path through as you frustratingly lose precious hours. This is more a player issue than a design flaw, though. In a similar vein, the rhythm runs are irresistible, and have major benefits (as already mentioned) but they can throw you way off course if you already have a map point in mind.

Still, A Highland Song isn’t out to punish players, and, in fact, the game is set up to invite as many people as possible to undertake its wholesome journey. The rhythm sections use a maximum of two buttons (which also flash for Deaf players), and a vast Accessibility menu means you can really customise the experience to your play preference, such as simplifying the musical challenges, making the weather more agreeable, and even softening Moira’s profanity for younger gamers.

When it comes to games, we’re encouraged to be goal-orientated. And yes, with A Highland Song, you do really want to get to Hamish’s lighthouse before the sun sets on Beltane. However, the Scottish Highlands, as presented in the game, are a place you want to linger (well, when it’s not pissing down). And, as a whole, A Highland Song is a classic example of the adage “Focus on the journey; not the destination.” The journey on offer here is emotionally potent and memorable; mad beautiful and moving.

A Highland Song comes to PC/Mac through Steam, as well as Nintendo Switch today, 5 December.


A Highland Song review

A Highland Song is beautiful, touching, soul-stirring and foot-tapping, transporting players to a magical realist world steeped in local history and folklore. Sometimes its traversal challenges may feel a tad too real, but it’s a journey full of rewards that invites in a wide audience of players. Explore and enjoy.

 8.5
A Highland Song was reviewed on PC