Draugen PC Review

Forgotten by time, the remote Norwegian village of Graavik silently sits at the base of towering mountains overlooking the sea. With its collection of small, unpretentious houses and church on the hill, the village plays host to Draugen’s protagonist Edward Harden and his ward, Alice. The two come all the way from Hannover in search of Edward’s sister, Elizabeth. However, what starts off as a search for a family member, soon delves into darker territory as Edward begins to learn more both about himself and the village.

On the surface, Draugen is a “walking simulator”, an adventure game where the player takes on a more observational role. While stepping in Edward’s shoes, you do get to interact with a variety of objects or choose dialogue prompts, there isn’t much in the way of puzzles or platforming. For the most part, the title comes off as a relaxed trek through a quaint Norwegian village.

It’s evident right from the start that Edward and Lizzie are tight-knit, in spite of their different natures. Where he’s a mature, at times pedantic, adult, her unbridled youthfulness shines both through her witty retorts and playful attitude. As he looks for clues in an abandoned house, she bursts into dance; exploring the village, she spontaneously starts doing handstands in the middle of the road. This relationship is a constant throughout Draugen and the source of many of the game’s high points. When Lizzie races ahead, Edward can call out for her to see where he needs to go. When investigating a house, or any location, the two exchange thoughts. In more tense moments, Lizzie demands that you look at her while she speaks, should you choose to move the camera away. More than just a simple ward, she often feels like a manifestation of his conscience.

While its environment remains mostly static, Draugen uses the weather to aid its story beats. The pair arrives in Graavik with a storm on their tail, preparing to encroach on the isolated village. Later on, the night has a thick surreal vibe to it, Edward’s sight being unable to pierce the thick fog, giving off the feeling of chasing ghosts while being trapped in his clouded mind.

What starts off as a straightforward story about searching for a loved one soon branches off into two separate paths. As Edward learns about the town’s past and present, he and Alice also delve deeper into his mind and history.  The two stories, however, fail to come together or influence each other in a consistent, palpable way. While there certainly are a handful of connections and things to ponder, they never feed off each other enough, often feeling like two separate pieces that are just there by sheer accident.

Graavik itself also quickly loses all sheen and mystery despite Edward uncovering more about it. Although it has a number of beautiful vistas, it’s not always a looker. Draugen’s texture work is often washed out but without evoking the desired feeling of a village swept over by time. Although it tries to create a brief connection between player and place, it doesn’t quite manage to do so. The way in which events are recounted simply comes off as rather bland, leaving a lot to be desired by the time the game reaches its conclusion. Most egregiously, perhaps, the sense of isolation wears off not long after the two arrive. Not only does seeing the same few assets one too many times become tiring, even with the game’s 5-hour playtime, but it also gives the entire village a rather artificial feeling.

Then there’s Lizzie’s model, which doesn’t do her character and voice acting justice. Where her animations are limited, strange and often times stiff, the expressive voice acting excellently transmits her playful nature through carefree and witty retorts. Her lip sync and even regular movements simply look off, to the point where they can ruin the more intimate or involved moments that she and Edward have. It’s a real shame, given how well the two characters are voice acted and play off each other most of the time. She also acts as a counterbalance to Edward, a peaceful, weary, yet driven older man whose maturity has tamed his sense of adventure, giving Draugen a number of delightful exchanges.

Draugen does its best to have the player question Edward’s findings and doesn’t shy away from exploring past tragedies, history, and the psyche. It tries to weave its two stories into a compelling narrative, however, even with a couple of strong moments, there’s not enough to take the attention away from the fairly tedious exploration. Instead of looking forward to what might happen, each of its six days keeps curiosity at bay with increasing tedium. Where its excellent music, voice acting and occasionally intimate or revelatory moments do their best to pull it out of mediocrity, Draugen doesn’t quite manage to get all its elements to meld together. From bothersome, stiff animations to stories that often stumble, failing to successfully transmit their gravity past the screen, unearthing Draugen’s excellent parts requires a fair bit of digging through its less impressive ones.
 

Bogdan Robert, NoobFeed
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