Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is the debut project of the Swedish team River end Games, made in the stake genre. It is noteworthy that the studio, numbering only 17 people, is founded by veterans of the industry, whose names are related to such well -known projects as Battlefield, Little Nightmares, Mirror’s Edge and Uniravel. I managed to play the preliminary version, which includes three chapters (the first, second and fifth), which I took about two hours, and now ready to share my impressions in this preview.
Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream unfold in a fictitious, but very atmospheric Scandinavian city of Ericksholm at the beginning of the 20th century. The story starts with the fact that the main character Hannah after a long illness begins to look for her missing brother Herman. Yes, the tie may seem a few banal, but the plot still causes a small intrigue. The world of the game is felt alive and gloomy at the same time – here there is a tension, fear and something anxious that is in the air. Therefore, I would like to believe that in the full version the story will not be a simple background for what is happening.
Visually, the game really looks beautiful and very atmospheric, especially in katsets. The Scandinavian aesthetics of the beginning of the last century was conveyed with attention to the details, creating the right mood. Architecture, lighting and even weather effects – all this positively works for immersion. Sound accompaniment is also on top: chic voice acting helps to believe in each character, the voices are picked up perfectly. True, I did not really like the fact that the heroine’s thoughts were voiced in a half -whisper (and there are a lot of them here). Obviously, this is done in order to emphasize the secrecy of actions in the stealth game, but the internal monologue, in my opinion, could sound and fully, without violating the overall picture.
The gameplay is focused on secretive movement, studying the behavior of the guard and using the environment. Here Eriksholm offers several interesting finds. For example, enemies react not only to the actions of the heroes, but also to the behavior of other NPCs. The card is replete with noise sources: the sound of steps on metal surfaces or suddenly shy of birds can give out your location. This mechanic is somewhat reminiscent of Hunt: Showdown, forcing the player to be extremely attentive.
Only two of three characters of three were available in the preview version:
- Hannah is a quiet, but persistent girl, whose devotion to her brother serves as the main motivator. It is able to make your way through ventilation shafts and use a brass pipe with sleeping pills. Being caught, Hannah cannot fight back – you will have to start the site again.
- Alva – despite your youth, appears to be a mature and hardened personality. She is witty, sarcastic and distrustful. Alva can climb the drainage pipes, opening new ways, and masterfully owns a slingshot. With its help, you can distract the guard, break the light sources or scare away birds from afar.
There is still Sebastian, but it was not possible to play for him. Judging by the description, this is a physically strong character who can swim and is able to silently neutralize the guards in close combat.
The skills are skillfully distributed between the heroes, which forces to actively interact and combine their skills to solve puzzles and overcome obstacles. The characters perfectly complement each other. For example, one can create a distracting maneuver so that the other easily eliminates the enemy at a distance. In the game, this is well felt, because for successful advancement you need to coordinate actions, taking positions in advance.
However, with all these thoughtful elements, one significant minus is also loomed – this is the lack of variability. All missions through a clearly defined scenario and practically do not allow experimenting. If you try to get off the rails at least a little, you will quickly see the screen informing about the failure of the mission. I would like more freedom in choosing a path and a way to achieve the goal so that you can try different non -standard methods. Perhaps this will happen in the full version, but in the preview I did not notice this.
At first glance, Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream gives the impression of a very high -quality and diligently done project. The atmosphere, visual style, sound design and mechanics of the interaction of the characters are made at a fairly high level. It is worth waiting for the release of the full version to draw the final conclusions, but so far the game looks promising.
