It takes a special sort of intrigue to have me waking up at midnight to carry on playing a title – Draugen certainly got it’s hooks in me. While a short affair, what’s there is one of the most captivating tales I’ve played in recent memory.
Reviewing Draugen is both easy and hard in equal measure; easy, because I simply enjoyed the wonderfully heart-wrenching tale and adventure. The difficulty comes in getting this across without spoiling anything; as is usually the case for shorter, narrative heavy tales, you’re best off just popping the kettle on and sitting down to get through it in a single sitting.
We played as Edward Harden, who after receiving a letter from his missing sister Elizabeth, finds himself and companion Lissie travelling half way across the globe in search of her, to a small Norwegian village in the mountains known as Graavik. He’s been conversing with Anna, a resident there who has invited him to stay with them whilst he conducts his search. Once we set down on the shore of the village, we head to the house to find Anna and her husband Johan’s house at the top of the hill. And that’s where I’ll halt any further explanation. Across the next few hours, we explore Graavik fully, hoping to uncover the whereabouts of Elizabeth.
There’s not much in the way of traditional gameplay here – you may even refer to it as a walking sim – but there really doesn’t need to be. I was captivated simply exploring the village, discovering extra lore and details about Graavik and it’s people. The story plays out over the course of several days, each offering up their own cliff hangers and reasons for sticking with it. Most areas feature several interact-able points, triggering dialogue between Edward and Lissy that furthers their backstory and relationship.
We can also call out to Lissie at any point, either triggering an incidental conversation, or showing you the way forward in the outer areas. This interplay between Edward and Lissie feels natural, with some solid performances really allowing us to believe in their tale, and feeling the emotions as they bicker and fight one moment, before making up and helping each other get through the next hurdle. Her child like wonder – despite being a grown woman – contrasts wonderfully with Edwards more stern, analytical approach to proceedings; at one point, he bluntly asks why she is doing handstands as he searches for clues. “Because it’s fun” comes the response, and in the moment there could’ve been no better retort.
There’s a truly thick feeling atmosphere throughout too, with hints at goings on that are beyond your reasons for being there. Again though, to say much more would be to ruin the experience. Graavik looks lovely, with bright, colourful natural beauty all around – from the autumnal leaves to the massive mountain range that surrounds the horizon, it’s almost too picturesque at times. Clearly Edward agrees, as several points of interest can be sketched by him throughout, the soft music backing the calm visual of Edward contently sitting on a bench, drawing his surroundings.
Being confined to the relatively small area of Graavik, there is a little too much back tracking perhaps, with some instances of running to the opposite side of the village only to return almost instantly, though Red Thread wisely use cutaways later on to help stem some of the repetition. A little more interactivity wouldn’t have gone amiss either; one later area hints at a puzzle involving a safe’s code. We find a clue on a near by item, which I made note of, though interacting with the safe simply saw Edward offer two choices before entering in the combo himself. But these are mere nit picky details that only really registered once the adventure was done. In the moment, Draugen is captivating, beautiful, saddening and an unforgettable experience.
Conclusion
It’s often rote to suggest people play a title while simultaneously not really telling them anything about it. Draugen falls into this camp, but I truly hope people give it a shot regardless. A wonderfully enchanting, yet melancholy adventure that will stick in the mind for quite some time after playing.
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