Draugen – Worthy of A Cast of Characters of the Mind

Red Thread Games, the same developers behind the futuristic cyberpunk adventure game Dreamfall Chapters, steps away from fantasy and steps into the reality of psychological mystery in Draugen. Do you think you can figure out where your sister Betty is? And why Lissie has such an attitude when she’s brought up? Not to mention what exactly happened to Ruth that made everyone turn on one another in Graavik?

So many questions. So little answers.

Humblebundle.com	$19.99	Is it worthy?
Playstation.com	$19.99	Is it worthy?
Xbox.com		Is it worthy?

Is Draugen worthy of me?

Impactful soundtrack
Beautiful fjord setting

Alice aka Lissie can become very annoying to listen to
In the end, everything is left for interpretation
Certain dialogue and letter scenes can’t be skipped

The first thing that came to mind when I started playing this game were actually two things:

One, Bioshock Infinite, because that game starts up with you in a boat, along with a couple other characters as well.
Two, Dishonored, though that one is more within city limits and on a nicer boat if I recall.

Now, one thing you should take note if you ever do decide to play Draugen if you already haven’t is the fact that there are going to be two plot points you’ll be focusing on instead of the one you came onto the mysterious Norway village of Graavik. Your primary focus is finding your missing sister and that’s just point blank obvious in this game as you push the second matter aside constantly once it pops into existence, which is the tragedy revolving around Graavik that started around a girl named Ruth.

Another thing you should take note in Draugen is that not everything is as it seems and holy crap Alice talks a lot.

When you’re not doing anything, she’ll find something to say.

But if you’re paying attention you might know something’s up before the something actually happens. Once that something did happen though, I was a bit more invested with the game, I have to admit. It pulled me in a bit more because I like when things step out of the realm of reality and into the psychological aspect of a person. And I think that’s the downfall of the game for me–it took me a long while for it to sort of satisfy me enough to compel me to perk up and want to start becoming engaged.

The graphics are wonderful. The dialogue and Alice’s quips are great for the 1920s. The soundtrack is on point.

The pacing just sort of dragged and I didn’t feel compelled to care for Edward’s sister even though he was desperate for finding her. His desperation kind of made me cringe sometimes, if I’m being honest.

FAQ

When was Draugen released?

May 29, 2019.

Is Draugen a horror game?

While it’s labeled as a psychological horror genre on Steam, and there are some moments that could give you an impression that it is horror-related, it’s really not. The psychological aspects are there, sure, but that’s either due to tragic events that had happened within the town itself, or due to our character’s own inner trauma.

Think of it as more of a psychological mystery.

Who were the voice actors?

There were only three main characters in Draugen, despite the game mentioning a lot more of them, so the voice actors were limited. Still, I think they did a very good job at their roles, so kudos to them.

Even if Lissie was an obnoxious gnat to my eardrum.

The fact that the character called for that kind of voice actor to do so…she did it perfectly.