Eriksholm The Stolen Dream Review – A Visual Treat That Plays It Safe

It’s easy to forget that stealth games didn’t start with the traditional third or first-person camera perspective we’ve become accustomed to for the past few decades. Indeed, some of the genre’s highlights utilize the 2D or isometric plane, a choice Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream has also adopted, while aiming for a striking, high-fidelity look.

Defined by the developers as a narrative-driven stealth game set in a Nordic city, Eriksholm has a lot going for it when it comes to the setting, characters, and atmosphere. But what about the stealth mechanics? How well does it capitalize on the isometric perspective, years of innovation in the genre, and player choice? Let’s find out.

Eriksholm, Whatever Happened There

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream follows Hanna, a young woman recovering from a deadly disease called the Heartpox, under the care of her brother Herman. When she finally regains consciousness after a long recovery, their reunion is brief as Herman goes missing, setting Hanna on a search to find him. She’s not alone in this pursuit either, as the city’s entire police force is hunting both siblings for something Herman has done.

The premise is simple with no world-ending stakes or globe-trotting adventures, but that works in the game’s favor. It sets the stage for a character-driven narrative full of banter, internal monologues, and a grounded setting that complements it all. Hanna herself is immediately likable, and while it’s hard to talk about the story without spoiling it, her interactions with Alva, her former mentor, stand out as a highlight. Dialogue feels natural throughout, and the occasional shift to high-quality cinematics helps emphasize these character dynamics.

You learn about the city through notes scattered around and by listening to conversations. I like that there aren’t any random choice-driven dialogue encounters, as Hanna simply replies or engages in small talk with the inhabitants. It’s a nice way to make the world feel real without forcing the player to engage with every random person they come across. Not everything needs to be an RPG.

Stealth-Lite

While Hanna is arguably the main character of the game, she isn’t the only one you play as. Each character in Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream comes with their own small set of stealth capabilities. One can climb pipes, another can swim, throw rocks, or enter vents. These limited abilities create some interesting challenges throughout the adventure, especially when you’re allowed to control multiple characters at the same time.

Limitations can often lead to more creative player interaction, but unfortunately, that is not the case here. Getting spotted in Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream means you are done and must restart from the last checkpoint. Any good stealth game lets you recover from detection, either by sneaking back into cover or running away from the encounter.

Here, getting spotted is an immediate fail. I am not sure why, since your character can run, there are usually platforms to escape to, and some abilities let you create distractions. This removes room for experimentation because the annoying “spotted” screen cuts off any effort to try something different. You either solve the stealth puzzle or you don’t. A hallmark of a good stealth game is player freedom, giving them the tools to be creative and confident.

In the end, it feels like you are doing what the developers want in each encounter rather than coming up with your own fun solutions. There are often multiple ways to get around enemies, but compared to Shadow Tactics or Shadow Gambit from Mimimi Games, where you have practically limitless freedom, this feels distilled and basic. It can still be fun if you do not take it too seriously and enjoy the almost scripted stealth encounters.

Treat for the Eyes

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is a gorgeous game that blends stylized visuals with just enough realism to make the city feel real and lived in. The characters are expressive, and the visual variety keeps things from ever feeling boring or repetitive. Verticality plays a big role in the game’s flow, with plenty of pipes, planks, bridges, and mines to explore.

For an Unreal Engine 5 game, I’m very impressed with the performance as well and had a very comfortable experience at 4K with my 4070 Super, averaging more than 100 FPS with DLSS set to performance. I can’t recall any stutters despite the scale of the game, and it’s clear that a lot of effort went into optimization.

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream features plenty of memorable characters you’d want to follow to the end, and its gorgeous, lived-in world is a standout. Unfortunately, the stealth mechanics never impress and feel too basic. It’s clear the game is more invested in its narrative than in giving players the freedom to outsmart enemies on their terms, making for a memorable story-driven experience but a mechanically shallow one.