Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream Review

I was pretty won over when I got a chance to play Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream a few months back. The mix of stealth and puzzles along with a fantastically realised setting and cast of characters had me itching for more the moment the demo ended. Well, now I finished the full game and can gladly say it was worth the wait. 

A quick catch up in case you’ve missed this one so far; we play as Hannah who has fallen ill to a disease spreading around Eriksholm known as the Heartpox. Usually fatal, she is able to survive thanks to her brother Hermen’s care. When the police come knocking at her door one morning looking for him (the last we saw was him heading to work the previous day), Hannah makes the quick decision to elude their clutches and go look for Hermen herself. What follows is a stealth puzzle adventure with excellent designs and layouts to beat, as well as a gripping story between Hannah, fellow playable characters Alva and Sebastian, and some political tussles that could well spell for a worse fate than even the Heartpox.

Each character comes with their own set of skills, though for the opening hours we only get Hannah to play with. She is crafty but weak, so any front-on sightings are the end of her story. Once she gets her blowpipe though, she becomes like a silent assassin; firing sleep darts from the shadows, dragging bodies to hiding places, and sneaking through shadows to get the upper hand. These opening sections are pretty linear but do a good job of setting the scene, and allow us to invest not only in Hannah’s struggles, but also that of the wider city. 

Eriksholm really comes into its own when we gain access to Alva, and later, Sebastian. The former is a more nimble still, able to climb drainpipes, and also has a handy slingshot for crating distractions or taking out lights, while the latter is a brute, capable of choking guards out with his bare hands as well as swim to otherwise inaccessible areas. 

What I really liked about playing Eriksholm is the puzzles require all available members to play their part; Hannah can only safely hit guards from behind with a dart, so Alva needs to get their attention looking the other way. Later on, a tougher enemy requires Sebastian to also choke a darted enemy, and so all three have to be used in perfect unison. It can be tricky at times to get everything just so, but it’s satisfying watching a full patrol fall to our three heroes.

I wrote in my preview about hoping later areas would enable us to play with the movesets a bit more freely, however, Eriksholm takes a linear approach to the stealth and puzzles throughout. I must admit to enjoying this a lot still though, as it became a game of figuring out the moves ahead of time rather than trying to exploit the systems to my advantage. That’s not to say I wouldn’t have minded a bit more freedom to come up with solutions, but as it is Eriksholm does what it does very well indeed.

Aesthetically, Eriksholm is quite frankly punching above its weight here. The first game from a new independent studio, it looks stunning throughout. The isometric camera lets us pan about at will, and the detail that has gone into each area is excellent. The early 1900’s Nordic inspirations mixed with a Dishonored-style, almost Steampunk visual language really works well here, be it in the depths of a cave system or out in the open as we explore the city. Cutscenes must also get special recognition as the MetaHuman created characters really show off what that tech can do for small teams. The facial animation is sublime, capturing every little quirk and crease in their expressions. Audibly, Eriksholm is also fantastic, with a great score and some brilliant voiceover work (again, especially in the cutscenes). 

But it’s the gameplay that shines brightest here overall. It can sometimes veer into a bit too tutorial-heavy explanations (either guards plainly spelling out how to get past them, or our character telling themselves directly), but once we’ve learnt a new move or the like, the remaining sections can be really brilliantly devised, and make us feel like stealth masters. And without spoiling anything, the final act is a worthy closer that puts all we’ve learnt to the test.

Conclusion

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is a fantastic stealth/puzzle title, offering up compelling gameplay alongside a captivating story and excellent aesthetic production. A little more freeform use of the abilities, or lessening of the tutorial-like explainers, would be nice, but as it is, Eriksholm is still a title well worth your time.