Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream PC Review
Summary: I had high hopes for Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream; the title more than lived up to my expectations. Thank you, River End Games, for this fantastic experience!
4
Shining gem
I’m obsessed with isometric stealth games. I spent many hours on Desperados 3 and Shadow Gambit from Mimimi, and I was enchanted by them. No wonder that when I first heard about Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream, I knew that I would definitely play this game. I’ve already had the opportunity to do so – and I’m more than satisfied.
The debut title from River End Games is set in the atmospheric city of Eriksholm. If you aim to find this place on a map, you’re in for disappointment – it doesn’t really exist. Inspired by thriving Scandinavian cities in the early 1900s, the fictional metropolis looks charming – some areas are as pretty as a picture.
The story begins with a young orphan Hanna talking to her brother Herman (the devs have a weird inclination towards names starting from „H”). Then police officers come up and so Herman melts away. Recovering from the initial shock, Hanna proceeds to unravel the mystery behind her brother’s disappearance.
And, as is usually the case, this mystery quickly turns out to be far more complex and multidimensional than it seemed at first glance. The narrative proves emotional and it contains some enthralling twists. However, at times I had the impression that characters’ motivations feel slightly unbelievable.
The player controls three protagonists (he can switch between them). Similar to Mimimi’s games, each of these characters has different abilities. For example, Hanna can slip through tight vents, while Sebastian swims – and he silently takes down officers.
Yup, in stealth games the character’s ability to carry out an open attack is severely limited; so is in Eriksholm. For the most part one sneaks behind enemies’ backs, which often requires the use of the environment. As an example, characters mess up with lights or produce sounds to remain undetected. Frequently such tasks demand the teamwork.
Stealth mechanics are polished and thrilling – I guarantee you will hold your breath more than once when playing this title. The thing is that while Mimimi Games gave us several ways to get out of trouble, in Eriksholm the problem needs to be solved in a particular way – it’s only one solution that works. In my opinion, it would be nice if there were more ways to approach stealth situations.
Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is by no means forgiving – should an enemy spot you, the game ends immediately and you’re moved back to the last checkpoint. Normally this would be extremely frustrating, but it seems the devs knew what they were doing – there are plenty of checkpoints in the game, so the system works fine at the end of the day.
The title looks gorgeous. The player explores both open and closed areas, which are varied and carefully designed. The level of detail is jaw-dropping – I observed small screws scattered on craft tables and beautiful roses blooming in gardens.
Animations in the game are as natural and fluid as they should be. The quality of cut-scenes impressed me: they indeed provide a truly cinematic experience. Facial expressions look simply incredible. And all this runs smooth – I didn’t notice significant performance problems on my PC.
On top of that, there’s a great soundtrack. And I also appreciate the voiceover. Since the British accent appears as music to my ears (really), listening to the actors in Eriksholm was a pure pleasure to me.
The title is officially verified on Steam Deck – and this sounds like good news. The only drawback may be controls. The game supports controllers and everything seems to work fine on Steam Deck – at least at the beginning, when there’s just a single protagonist to navigate. But when it comes to switching between characters, things become a bit challenging on a controller – a mouse makes the whole process easier (and yes, I know that one can connect a mouse to Steam Deck).
Final thoughts
Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream shines thanks to stunning visuals and an emotional narrative. Gameplay is engaging and nicely crafted, though a little more freedom would work wonders. At any rate, I’m entirely satisfied with the quality of this game and strongly recommend you play it, sooner or later.
About the Author
Dagmara Sorceress from The Witcher's homeland and Yennefer's classmate (got better grades than Janka). Addicted to the mechanical keyboard clack; always looking for an opportunity to make this lovely sound.
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