I recommend Draugen only if you’re looking for a very short and self-contained adventure game. Another game with the same linear exploration wouldn’t really stand out in any way. I’d like to play more games with these two characters, but also with some actual puzzles and more intricate interactions. The game explicitly tells you that Edward and Lissie will return, so Draugen feels like the basis for something more substantial to come. I can’t say that any of the twists surprised me, but maybe other players will buy in. The story has its problems, especially toward the ending, but I enjoyed it well enough. You can easily finish Draugen in less than three hours, even if you take your time with it. These two might have more cool stories to tell. In spite of some issues with companion engagement, Lissie’s voice stands out and keeps the story fresh. Most of all, Lissie’s voice acting is excellent, while Edward’s is just good enough. For such a short game, there’s a lot going on here, and the audiovisual experience as a whole is what sticks out. The sound design is also decent, with a few moments that keep you hooked on what’s happening, especially toward the end. It really fits the setting and enhances the atmosphere as you explore its nooks and corners. The soundtrack is sublime if you enjoy that kind of European traditional folk music. The game performs flawlessly on the highest graphics setting, making great use of the Unreal Engine 4, with no crashes or dips in frame rate. The game objects and assets are beautifully realized with rich textures. It’s a truly amazing art direction that seems to really bring the Norwegian landscape to life in digital form. The fjord vistas are truly majestic and walking around Graavik is enough to keep you engaged and immersed. What really keeps you going isn’t the exploration gameplay, it’s how stunning the environment art is. More interactions and soft puzzles would be engaging in a game like this. I did wish there was more to it, maybe not a lot of hard puzzles like Ether One, but something closer to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter or Eastshade. There are a few binary choices, but I don’t think they affect the game at all. Once you interact with every object and exhaust all the dialogue options with Lissie, there’s nothing left to do. Other than that, Draugen is as casual as adventure games can be. At one point you have to associate a Norwegian word with an object, and it’s right in your face, so there’s no challenge. Sometimes you won’t have a choice as the game cuts to the next day or back to the farmhouse where you wake up every morning. The interactions with Lissie also set the pacing of the exploration. The village doesn’t have many surprises, and you don’t have to be the most thorough explorer to see all there is to see. Of course, if you try to stray off the beaten path, you will run into invisible walls. You’re mostly able to walk around freely wherever you want. ![]() Sometimes the dialogue choices come out without Lissie in the background.ĭraugen is an exploration adventure first and foremost. This is still an indie game with a low budget, so I adjusted my expectations accordingly. The animation of Lissie sometimes looks excellent, with some decent facial nuances, but not all the time. I do wish there was more of it, but Draugen manages to be neat and clean with its interactions so that it doesn’t drag on and it’s substantial enough to feel like a proper game. They arrive in Graavik, a small village in the heart of a fjord, searching for Edward’s sister, Elizabeth.Īt some points, if you’re talking to her and you turn around to look at something else, Lissie will say: “Please look at me when I’m talking to you.” I wasn’t expecting that kind of reactivity when it happened, and I really liked it. There’s Edward Charles Harden, the endlessly dull middle-aged man you’ll play as, and the cheerfully bratty teenager Lissie, his ward. In a way, it also ties in with film noir being originally an American genre, and the lead characters of Draugen being Americans. Into the Fjord - The Setting of Draugenĭraugen was advertised as a “fjord noir,” which is a fancy way of saying it’s a mystery set in the unique valley landscapes of Norway. Otherwise, you’ll do well to manage your expectations. If you go into it expecting just that, you’ll enjoy it for what it is: a stunning visual experience with a mellow soundtrack and a decent story. It’s a very linear exploration game that runs about as long as a feature film. I knew Draugen would be one of those experiences when it was first announced. ![]() Especially if you don’t have a lot of time on your hands. After a while, you start wishing for shorter, more self-contained experiences, even if they’re not that great. ![]() A lot of games these days try to take over our lives with a plethora of content and features.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |