Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream Reviews

I’ve been craving for more stealth games ever since the demise of Mimimi Games (the makers of Desperados III and Shadow Gambit) back in 2023. I had set my sights on Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream a while back, and after playing a short demo, boy, was I hooked and waiting on the final product. It was exactly what I had been asking for, a brand new stealth adventure to dig my teeth into. So, now that it is finally out, does it live up to said expectations?

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is a story-rich, isometric stealth game that features heavily realistic close-up cutscenes, simple controls, layered depth and detail that creates an immersive experience. As you traverse through various locations, plan your strategies, sneak, and knock out many enemies, you’ll uncover just how far siblings will go for each other.

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is a brilliant testament to what a small team of dedicated individuals can accomplish, with River End Games releasing one of the best narrative-driven stealth adventures in a long while. Eriksholm features a moving, tragic, and ultimately hopeful story, mixed with fun stealth gameplay, and increasingly difficult scenarios to navigate. From its humble beginnings to its epic end, Eriksholm delivers in spades.

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.

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is a brand new stealth game that I'm very happy I played so if you're ready, keep it quiet and let's get sneaking.

Appledise Lost

While Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream won't win any awards in terms of its challenge or implementation of stealth mechanics, I absolutely fell in love with its opulent setting, excellently heartfelt performances, gripping story and linear stealth adventure goodness that did just enough to satisfy my stealth hunger. Though some may rightly decry its lack of challenge relative to other entries in the stealth genre, Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is nonetheless a stunning debut for Swedish based studio River End Games and I can't wait to see what comes next.

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream sets an impressively high bar from the opening moments and consistently maintains it throughout the experience. It perfectly caters to fans of both stealth mechanics and narrative-driven games, delivering exceptional quality in both aspects. The deeply personal story hooks players with its compelling mysteries and shocking twists, while the tense, challenging gameplay keeps you engaged session after session. What makes this adventure truly memorable is its emotion...

The more focused second half saves Eriksholm from oblivion. For a game clocking around 10 hours, it takes too long to get going and put all its cards on the table.

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream won't offer anything that stealth aficionados haven't seen before, but its world-building and gameplay execution make it worth a look.

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is a little gem of indie games. It has amazing visuals, cleverly designed levels with challenging gameplay, and the real star of the game is its main character, Hanna.

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream wants to spin a grand Dickensian tale centered on the familial bond of a street urchin and her brother, but this ambition is betrayed by its lack of emotional stakes. And while its stealth puzzles can be intriguing and challenging at times, thanks to the ability to swap among multiple characters, these largely fail to deviate from the genre's long-held conventions.

In an industry where high-fidelity graphics are so often associated with triple-A titles, you’d be forgiven for assuming Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is a triple-A title too. But no, this narrative stealth game set in a fictional city reminiscent of industrial-era London reminds us that the big publishers don’t have a monopoly on looking great, offering a 10-15 hour experience of movie-quality story and characters with a solid gameplay foundation to back it up.

Beautiful and stacked with excellent performances, but Eriksholm's stealth feels too much like being led around by the nose to reach greatness.

As a general rule, stealth games rely on the enemy AI to be total dunderheads. Gun-toting grunts can only search for an imposter for about thirty seconds before inexplicably stating, “Well, I guess they’ve gone,” before resuming their patrol without a care in the world. Even worse, what about all those times they find the dead corpse of one of their allies, search briefly for the culprit, before returning to their daily tasks, presumably then stepping over their dead colleague as they continue to meander around the place? It’s all very silly, and leads to the player – well, me at least – fundamentally not believing in the digital world they are inhabiting. Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream smartly avoids every single one of these aforementioned issues and, in doing so, has become one of the genre-defining stealth games of this generation.

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is the first game from newcomer studio River End Games, but it carries the confidence and ideas of a team that’s been working in the stealth genre for much longer. With its top-down view, wonderfully designed setting, and simple but engaging mechanics, each chapter feels like an hour-long play session in a beautiful diorama puzzle box. The gameplay is backed by a short and sweet story about home and perseverance against all odds, and includes stunning cinematics ...

A stealth game played from an isometric viewpoint, Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is likely to win you over thanks to its stunning visuals, engaging narrative and rewarding scenarios that are best approached like puzzles.

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream delivers its vision with confidence. It’s clear that River End Games set out to create an immersive, story-driven adventure rooted in a rich, detailed world and they’ve succeeded. The engaging narrative, supported by strong voice acting, adds authenticity and emotional weight to the characters. Every element feels purposeful, from the thoughtful storytelling to the smart use of puzzles and stealth mechanics. Together, these pieces come together to create something truly special.

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is a wonderful adventure in a gorgeous world, and deserves to put River End Games well and truly on the map.

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream offers luxurious cutscenes and a focused twist on stealth by remaining intentionally inflexible, but doesn't quite pull it all together.