Climb, skip, and jump on your way to the sea
The ruined church is pretty steep, but Moira is more than up to the task of climbing to its pointy top. She’s well rested after a night spent in the mouth of a cave and is determined to find a new path through the mountains, one that can get her closer to her uncle and almost mythical lighthouse.
Once she’s high enough, it’s time to look at the map fragments we have and see whether anything matches the vast Scottish landscape around. It would be nice to find a shortcut or two to skip some of the higher peaks around. There’s one promising path but before heading for it I want to explore and see if I can find one of the hops and skip rhythm sections around.
The deer that signal their presence are missing but we find a cairn and Moira remembers Hamish talking about them. After climbing a steep slope, she also sees the remains of what seems to be a windmill in the distance and finds a thistle flower. I push her to climb another hill, jumping from rock to rock with short pauses to catch her break, but she gets tired after pushing to the top of the hill. A niggling rain starts to fall, forcing her to find a sheltered place to regain stamina.
A Highland Song is developed and published by inkle Ltd. I played it on the PC via Steam. The game is also offered on the Nintendo Switch. The title combines an engaging story, light platforming, and light puzzle and survival elements.
Our heroine is Moira McKinnon, a very Scottish kid who no longer wants to stay at home with her ailing mother. She’s got stamina and spirit, and she really wants to get to the lighthouse where Uncle Hamish lives. The problem is that there are seemingly endless tracts of rough, if verdant, terrain that separate her from this goal and she has limited resources in her small backpack.
