Draugen Review (PC) GAME REVIEWS - Softpedia News

When I heard about "Draugen I was unfazed, then I heard it was developed by the people that brought us the Dreamfall Chapters and The Longest Journey and I was intrigued, and finally I played it and was left forever changed

What is Draugen

Normally I have a soft spot for games that bring you a great story, because stories are somehow there to give you an incentive and motivate you to do what needs to be done.

However, once in a blue moon there comes a game that has such a captivating story, that your first thought is to search the Internet to see if there’s a book written after it.

That would be the case with Draugen, a first-person psychological mystery set in 1920s Norway brought to you by the same people that gave you Dreamfall Chapters and The Longest Journey.

As for what “Draugen” itself means, you’ll just have to play the game to find out, or pick up that old Norwegian book filled with folk tales that everyone has lying around the house.

Climb on board and visit the fjord

The game takes place in the year 1923 and you play as Edward Charles Harden, an American traveler who's come to Norway to find his missing sister. You’ll be accompanied by Lissie, your ward, who’ll be there to lighten things up, and maybe even shed some knowledge that even you as adult may make use of at one point or another.

The bulk of the game consists of you and Lissie exploring Graavik, a scenic coastal community nestled among the fjords and mountains of rural Norway.

While on your search for your sister, you will uncover the mysteries of Graavik, and piecing together all the clues will eventually show that the village may not be all that it’s cracked up to be.

The duality of beauty and horror

The developers of the game did a fantastic job creating the fictional town of Graavik, as they managed to capture the essence of Norway within a few square miles.

The scenery is beautifully rendered and rarely have I seen trees that looked so real even from afar.

In fact, one cool “mini-game” which you can play is have Edward sit in random locations throughout the village and just do sketches in his journal of the surroundings, which you can later review.

Because of the amazing visuals, much of the game is focused around you exploring and discovering secrets all by yourself, as there is little to no scripting regarding how you can trigger actual events to happen.

Of course, all of this beauty disappears during the more intense moments of the game, as the weather itself seems to somehow reflect Edward’s state of mind. The entire game is an emotional roller-coaster ride and you are forced to take part in discovering the more disturbing secrets of Graavik, as well as some surprising details about Edward's past.

At one point you’ll have sunshine and birds chirping, only for everything to suddenly change into scenery that only the mind of Edgar Allan Poe could think of, so be prepared for some scary moments.

More so, I highly recommend you play the game with its own audio, because the orchestral music alone is enough to double the effects of the already engaging atmosphere.

Violins, cellos and other musical instruments manage to play the song of Edward's broken and tortured soul that constantly hungers for answers, and you will feel what he is feeling throughout his stay in Graavik.

One neat feature worth mentioning is the "1923 Mode" which you can switch on and off from the video settings, which will essentially make the entire game look like an old black and white movie, although admitetdly i will make the environment look a lot less pretty.

Witness your characters grow

Being a mystery-oriented game, a lot of the time you’ll be either exploring, discovering clues, or talking with Lissie as you try to put your head together in figuring out how all the pieces connect together as one.

The puzzles that need solving and items that need finding are not all that difficult to get by, and you’ll never lose Lissie since you can always call out to her and she will always be there for you.

Edward will eventually reach moments when his ideologies would clash with hers, and those are the moments he realizes that sometimes you must appreciate what you already have, rather than wander of in oblivion seeking something that may not even be worth it.

Of course, the way he realizes this is extremely unforeseeable, so out of respect for the story and the magnificent way it twists and turns, I’ll go no further on the matter.

The Good

The story
The graphics
The plot twists
Makes you reconsider your life choices

The Bad

Too short
Character dialogues sometimes overlap

Conclusion

Personal ego dictates that I would have to write a review about Draugen, talking about it as if it were just another game but, after experiencing the full story, the truth is I am at a loss for words.

Rarely have I ever had the honor of getting my hand on a game that left such a deep impact on myself, and it will probably be the only thing I will be thinking of for the next few days.

The game is positively gorgeous, the music is extremely engaging, and while not everyone might like the slow pace of this game genre, those of you who do will take part in an adventure that will leave you staring into nothingness, to the point where you may experience memories you never actually thought you had.

All in all, it is definitely a game that deserves a place in any adventurous gamer's digital library.

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