There haven’t beenmany notable stealth gamesin the past few years, so when I heard about Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream, I was stoked to give it a shot.
Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is an isometric, narrative-driven game focused on stealth, in the same fashion as the originalMetal Gear Solid. It comes from an indie developer called River End Games, and it’s the studio’s first game since forming in 2020.
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To be the developer’s first game and to target a genre that is so challenging to get right, Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream had a lot riding on it. So, the burning question is if it succeeds at being a top-tier stealth game, or does it fall flat?
The answer to that question is, yes to the former; it is a success. However, I can’t help but feel it also falls flat in some regards. Let’s discuss why on both accounts in this review.
A Story of Political Corruption and Relationships
Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream takes place in the early 1900s in the city of Eriksholm. We don’t know much about the city from the start, but as players venture through its different regions, we begin to get a better picture of how things are run.
The game focuses onHanna, our main protagonist, who sets off on a journey to find her brother, Herman. He is on the run from police, and even though Hanna has no clue as to why this is the case, she understands there must be a good reason.
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Hanna has always had trouble with the police, which is shown to the player by the way other characters speak to her, and it’s clear that she doesn’t believe in her government. She has a feeling the Mayor doesn’t have Eriksholm’s best interest at heart.
Throughout the game’s eight chapters, players unravel political corruption and disturbing secrets behind the Heartpox, a disease that has been making the people of Eriksholm sick. The people have been told there’s no cure to this sickness, leaving those infected just waiting to succumb to the illness.
The story is told through minimal cutscenes between levels, interactions between characters during levels, and collectibles that can be found and read by the player. Each collectible further explains the history of Eriksholm and its people.
The story’sbest moments are through realistic cutscenesthat are so great that they can rival some triple-A developers. Unfortunately, there aren’t many of these cutscenes and only about four in total. This was really disappointing, as I found myself waiting for the next great cutscene, and it rarely came.
When there isn’t a full-on cutscene between levels, then we are met with a lower-tier cutscene that shows our characters from a bird’s-eye view. It does a good job at progressing the story, but removes the possibility of seeing our character’s facial expressions, which makes it less emotional than it could have been.
Overall, the story of Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is well paced and has a solid meaning behind it all regarding both relationships and government leaders. Anyone who plays through it and has a sibling or someone they care about will feel thegame tugging at their heartstrings.
Without going into spoiler territory, be prepared to have the game force you to think about the country you live in. It’ll have you questioning if everything is as it seems, because in reality, it usually isn’t.
Fantastic Stealth Gameplay With Limited Choices
Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream excels in itsstealth gameplay throughout its eight chapters. Each level feels like a board game come to life, where you’re the Game Master controlling the pieces and deciding the next best move to avoid getting caught by the guards.
One of my favorite aspects of the gameplay is how often checkpoints occur, making it less frustrating when you get caught. This allows you to run trials and errors quickly, without having to redo entire areas to get back where you were.
Teamwork is constant in Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream and it feels super-satisfying when executed properly.
While players initially start with only Hanna, they soonunlock two other characters, Alva and Sebastian. Each character has a unique ability, and it’s up to the player to use them at the correct time to prevent getting caught by the guards.
For example, Hanna can shoot sleep darts and crawl through tight spaces, Alva can throw pebbles to distract guards and destroy light bulbs, and Sebastian can swim and sneak behind guards to choke them out.
Switching between each character is as easy as pressing their directional button on the D-Pad. Knowing when to use these characters' unique abilities is essential to making it to the waypoint, and more often than not, there’s only one way to progress through each level.
Since there’s typically only one solution, and each character has to make it to the waypoint, players will spend most of their timeplanning ahead and strategizing. Not coming up with a plan will most likely result in getting caught by the guards.
For example, maybe you have Alva throw a pebble so the guard turns around, opening up a window for Hanna to sneak past and reach a crawl space. But what if there’s another guard right outside that crawl space? Then you may use Sebastian to swim behind the guard, climb a ladder, and choke him out from behind.
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This type of teamwork is constant in Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream, and it feels super-satisfying when executed properly. It’s especially satisfying when there are groups of guards and players must act fast, having to quickly switch between each character so they can play their role.
It would have been nice to have more solutions to each level, giving the player more of a sense of accomplishment, but that’s just not the case in most encounters. There were even times when I did find an alternative that made sense, but the game simply wouldn’t allow me to do it.
Some Issues Prevent the Game From Reaching Its Full Potential
Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is a good game that is too short for its price tag. Priced at $40, the game only has eight chapters, each only lasting around an hour. Sometimes, chapters can be completed in under 45 minutes.
This means that a skilled stealth player can beat Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream in under 8 hours. However,completionists who attempt to find all the collectiblesand fully complete each chapter, that number can be stretched to around 12 hours. That is still really short.
Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is a good game and one that is worthy of stealth fans' attention.
Even worse is the fact that there’s typically only one solution to each level. This completely removes replayability from the experience, since you’d have seen everything on your initial playthrough. Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is a one-and-done experience because of this.
In other words, you’re not really getting your money’s worth at the moment, as the game would be better priced 10 bucks cheaper. This is especially true considering it only has a few cutscenes that are really worth watching again.
Imagine how awesome it would be if you could solve a chapter in an unusual way. And imagine how cool it would be if it led to a different outcome in the story or a unique cutscene because you solved it differently than the standard method.
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Don’t get me wrong, Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is a good game and one that is worthy of stealth fans' attention. It justcould have been so much morein terms of player agency for missions and more cutscenes to draw the player further into the world and story.
Luckily, the game has almost zero bugs and runs perfectly throughout. There were a couple of times when I had to restart a checkpoint due to my character getting stuck, but it was so rare that it doesn’t hinder the experience at all.
Closing Thoughts:
Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is a good game that could have been so much more if some changes were made. The game is way too short, and the fact that there’s usually only one solution in each level removes replayability, making it a one-and-done experience with almost zero reason to return. Unless, however, you’re a completionist looking to find all the collectibles. Still, I’m happy I played it due to its fantastic stealth mechanics and heartfelt “stick it to the man” story of political corruption.
