I was quite looking forward to playing Draugen. And hey, it is definitely not bad! Unfortunately, it is not great either. For some reason, it feels quite rushed. The environment is beautiful but quite tiny (it spans something like 3 levels of Life is Strange to give you the idea). In such a beautiful, natural landscape, very obvious repeating patterns in textures are quite visible, the material tiling on the sea surface or stone wall is probably the most in-your-face example. The weather effects are impressive, but unpolished outside of the paths you're expected to tread. We are promised "living, breathing, independent companion", but as much as is Alice fun, she is neither of those promised things. She usually just hangs around the current story location ready for the player to show up, she isn't independent in any sense of the word. Store page also promises you'll "Find your own path", but the experience, albeit nice, is very much linear both from exploration and narrative perspectives. There are dialogue choices, but they have no impact on how the story unfolds (almost like the developer had no time to develop other branches). This is frustrating in parts, where you are acutely aware that even the pretence of control is taken away and you just have to follow the script. What's worst, the story is predictable. That makes the important plot twists lose any impact, which is a great shame. The story is also sort of all over the place. There are multiple storylines but they never really meet, nor conclude into anything. The protagonist somewhat develops, but it feels rushed. Both main characters are quite interesting and well voiced but lack motivation for much of their actions. There is also one character whose presence is a total mystery to me. Overall, Draugen has a great atmosphere and a whiff of greatness but ultimately feels more like a very nice vertical slice. Still I'd recomend giving it a go after some sales, especially to any fan of the genre.
