Many games of this ilk feel the need to shoehorn things like puzzles or timing mini-games to earn the title of “video game” when 9 out of 10 times all these do is ruin the pacing of the narrative.ĭraugen has none of these and thus has some of the best pacing I’ve seen in a narrative based game and for that I thank it. See, Draugen knows what it is: It wants the player to engage with its story and nothing else. That’s as complex as it gets which I don’t consider a terrible thing. ![]() In terms of mechanics, you walk, run and interact with things. Look, I’ll admit that most of this review is going to focus on the game’s writing because there’s not much else to look at. I’d be selling the story short if I didn’t confess to gasping audibly several times throughout the game some excellent plot twists keep everything moving at a pace that never feels to slow, a common issue I find with narrative-based games. It’s an interesting, if commonly seen, mystery that didn’t fail to grab my attention. There are no signs of violence or struggle, all the inhabitants have just vanished. The town is abandoned, everyone is missing. He’s accompanied by his ward, Lissie, and it doesn’t take long for things to become very spooky. In Draugen, the year is 1922 and you’ll play as Edward, an American who has travelled to an isolated town in Norway to search for his missing sister, Betty. I think it was a purposeful decision to trim Draugen to a playtime that wouldn’t take hours upon hours to slog through the best stories are punchy, they get to the heart of the crisis quickly and don’t outstay their welcome. A very linear experience, I completed the game in a single sitting, which isn’t a bad thing. I say afternoon because Draugen is not exactly long if we’re talking pure hours of content. Draugen takes a similar stance to Edith Finch by throwing away complicated mechanics and instead focuses on telling the player a story, and while not reaching the heights of other games in the sub-genre, still manages to provide an engaging and enjoyable afternoon. What I enjoy most about these games is the thing that most people would probably hate: By limiting how much influence the player has, the developers are able to tell far more tightly structured narratives, showing off a level of skilled writing not often seen in games where the player dictates the course of events.Īs much I think player participation is necessary to good game design, I also doubt whether What Remains of Edith Finch would have been quite as brilliant if you could abandon the story half-way through to go climb a tower and light up a chunk of map. Games that many would debate only meet the criteria of a “game” because you actually have to press buttons to “interact” with certain objects when most of the experience is walking around and looking at things, more along the lines of films where the player is the cameraman. I’m a big fan of the sarcastically described “walking simulator” genre.
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