Ambroise Niflette & the Gleaned Bell is a feast for the eyes and ears! It’s a lovely adventure with artwork inspired by stop motion animation. Fantastic!
The Backstory of Ambroise Niflette & the Gleaned Bell
The story takes place in the charming French village of Touvoir-en-Thym-et-Pomme. The town bell has mysteriously been stolen and our hero, Ambroise Niflette, has been asked to solve the mystery. Without the bell, time is frozen in the village. That makes it impossible for the villagers to celebrate their annual festival, something they all look forward to. Our plucky little hero has to come through for them!
The Look and Feel of Ambroise Niflette & the Gleaned Bell
The art style of the game was inspired by stop motion animation and is a real treat for the eyes!! The scenery is fantastic and beautifully rendered. The devs were adamant that no AI was to be used in Ambroise Niflette & the Gleaned Bell, and they recreated the traditional style of animation wonderfully. The village was inspired by miniatures, and to add to the charm, all the game characters were toys!! It was truly a great experience being immersed in that world.
Ambroise Niflette & the Gleaned Bell is also a feast for the ears!! The soundtrack has a lovely French feel to it, and the ambient noises in the game were so authentic. I thought I felt the raindrops as they fell around me! Super.
There were many areas in the demo of Ambroise Niflette & the Gleaned Bell that I could not access yet. When I encountered the man above with the broom, he told me that I could not go any further because he needed to continue cleaning the path. He said it would be ready for the full game. Ha! I love it when games know they are games, and this one fits the bill!
In yet another area of the village, I could see but not enter the church and cemetery. I can see there will be many other places to explore in the full game, too. So much to look forward to.
During my gameplay, I entered shops, the Mayor’s office and the school. Each place was a lovely little diorama. It was charming.
The Gameplay of Ambroise Niflette & the Gleaned Bell
As Ambroise was first in the village, there was a loud crash, turns out it was the bridge to the village collapsing. The bell had rung just moments before. Since the only way out of the village was over that bridge, and the bridge guard did not see anyone leaving, whoever stole the bell must still be there. Through careful questioning and note-taking, in the full game, I will be able to figure out who the culprit was.
I spent my time in the demo of Ambroise Niflette & the Gleaned Bell walking around in the picturesque surroundings, and talking to the various villagers. Everything they said to me was recorded in my journal, which was very appreciated! Sometimes what they said contradicted what someone else said, so I would go back and question the first person again. It was a really neat way to play a game! There is a “notes” section of the journal where I could type my own notes using my keyboard. However, I played with a controller and was told that the feature will also work with it soon. That’s extra handy!
A Shout Out to the Devs of Ambroise Niflette & the Gleaned Bell
I have been watching the progress of Ambroise Niflette & the Gleaned Bell for a while, so when the demo was released, I played it right away! I encountered a slight issue with the gameplay, so I posted a question on Discord. I received a very helpful reply within a short period of time. Turns out I simply didn’t understand something, but the Devs are going to work on making the instructions a bit clearer to help other players. It’s not uncommon at all for devs to make slight changes to a game based on the feedback from demo players. Especially when the game was played mere days after it was released!
I’m always impressed with game devs who are very responsive. To me it indicates that they are committed to developing an excellent game and want to make sure the players have the best possible experience with it. So Bravo to Topotes Studio, the game devs for Ambroise Niflette & the Gleaned Bell. This is their first game, they are a team of junior game developers, and they wanted to portray the countryside of France and the different aspects of life there. I think they succeeded and wish them all the best!
Final Thoughts
The demo of Ambroise Niflette & the Gleaned Bell was fantastic! It’s available now on Steam, and I can’t wait for the full game to be released. I played the demo for a very enjoyable hour. It does have a save feature, so if you want to play it in a couple of sessions, that’s definitely possible. I highly encourage you to try this demo, though, it’s something special!
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