Draugen

I was looking for something similar to Gordian Rooms 2, some kind of open space that could be explored while trying to solve puzzles or a mystery. I came across Draugen on a list of suggested games and was sold based on the beautiful landscape and concept of the story. [WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW AND COMMENTS ABOUT DEATH/SUICIDE] Issues with gameplay: 1) You are lead to believe that you will be able to roam the landscape and locations freely, this is not true, in the slightest. 2) You are not allowed to skip dialog. 3) You do not go into (have zero access to) half of the structures in the game. 4) Several of the structures you are allowed into, you spend very little time inside of: general store, mine, and villager houses. 5) Actual game interaction is little-to-none. I felt like I was just simply clicking "next" on a storyline. 6) You're lead to believe you'll be solving some kind of mystery but the game has no puzzles, no hidden objects, and no objectives to complete. 7) The price of the game vs. the amount of time actually playing did not match up. This game, in my opinion, is overpriced for what you get. 8) Although the atmosphere and imagery are stunning, it seems that's where all the money and focus went. Issues with Characters: Alice (or is it Lucy or is it Lissie?): This character was extremely annoying and came off super rude/disrespectful. She's meant to care about Edward but also doesn't mind putting him down or making that demand of "look at me, I'm talking to you". I figured she was a ghost or some kind of figment of Edward's imagination early on when I noticed she didn't touch anything or open any doors. After finding out she was some kind of imaginary friend who knew of Edward's mental health issues, she didn't seem to be helping him get better. Making him take down a body that's been hanging from a tree for however long, getting mad at him for getting excited about finding pieces of his sister's clothing even though she knows the true story, and constantly berating him for thinking or feeling the way he did seemed a little counterproductive. I get that she was meant to be a surprise twist for the player to find out but I feel like a lot of players could have done without her. At no point did I feel like she offered any kind of helpful insight, guidance in the game, or views from another perspective. Edward: We know nothing about the character we're playing which makes it hard to care about him. I get that he was looking for his sister but I didn't really care to look for her since I didn't know their history. Also, we get glimpses into his past by finding out his mother and father both committed suicide but at no point throughout the game leading up to that information did I feel like Edward had a bad childhood, had mental issues, or struggled with anything that happened in his past. By the time all this is revealed, it felt a little too late to care. Angel: Who is this entity and what was her purpose really? I feel like she came out of left field with no warning and no explanation after she showed up. After finishing the game, I still don't know the point of this character. Betty: She's Edward's missing sister. We are told nothing else about her and are give no reason to really care to find her. I kept forgetting that she was the reason we were there in the first place. Ruby - The only character you actually feel anything for but you don't actually meet because she died. Ruby's story felt like a side-quest we were meant to solve since we were already trying to find Betty but yet another storyline with no real ending or reason. We're lead to believe she was taken by the curse or potentially murdered but by the end of the game we're told she "got spooked by something in the mine" and had an accident. Issues with Storyline: 1) The concept of the missing villagers, 20 year feud, mine collapse, and possible curse were all reasons I was convinced this would be a good game to play. Unfortunately, none of these topics are really explored to their full potential, explained well, or brought to a reasonable conclusion by the end of the game. 2) There's the mine collapse which I thought was going to lead to some kind of storyline of ghosts or hauntings but no. We are lead into the mine for, what seems to be, 2 minutes just to be lead back out again and never to reenter. 3) An entire village of people seem to have just up and left but there is no explanation as to why other than some light hints of them being driven out by the possibility of a curse. This is also never fully looked into or developed and we really aren't sure why they all left by the end of the game. 4) A family of feuding brothers that has split the town is talked about throughout the game but again, nothing really comes of it. Hints of lost money, a secret area within the mine that was found (not sure if it was bad or good, if it was where the curse was meant to have originated from, or if there was treasure found) but the brothers disagreed on what to do about it, and a potential murder are all discussed but nothing is every really revealed or confirmed. Overall, this game was a beautifully decorated giftbox with nothing inside.