Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream, developed by the Swedish indie studio River End Games, has already generated considerable interest ahead of its release thanks to its vibrant game world and impressive graphics. But what lies behind it all?

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is an isometric, narrative-driven stealth game set in the vibrant, fictional Nordic city of Eriksholm, inspired by the elegance and grit of early 1900s Scandinavia. Its meticulously designed levels and superbly crafted cutscenes create a distinctive atmosphere, making it a truly unique setting. Drawing inspiration from stealth strategy games and modern narrative titles, Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream tells the story of siblings Hanna and Herman, who become entangled in a web of revolution and resistance after Herman disappears.

Players experience Eriksholm from the perspectives of three different characters, each of whom has their own abilities, perspectives and motivations. Interacting with these characters is crucial for avoiding guards and fortified checkpoints – stealth is more important than action in this game. Players must observe guard behaviour, use environmental cues and find clever solutions to overcome obstacles.

Hanna can crawl through ventilation shafts and shoot sleep darts with her blowpipe. Alva can climb drainpipes to reach rooftops, and use her slingshot to create diversions or destroy light sources. Sebastian can swim and silently choke guards. Each character has a distinct way of traversing the environment, and their skills are thoughtfully distributed so that they must work together.  While the early stages of the game offer simpler scenarios to familiarise players with the gameplay, the more they progress through the story, the more they will need to solve complicated situations and puzzles by utilising the abilities of all three characters. Often, it involves using two characters to bypass guards or obstacles – one person positions them, then takes over and executes the action at the right moment. Compared to Commandos or Shadow Gambit, it is played more calmly and relaxed, especially since there are fewer characters to control.

It is important that the characters remain in the shadows. This has been visually achieved in a simple yet effective manner with helpful outlines around the figures, although the cone of light from the flashlights reveals them. If the timing is right and the environment is used cleverly, it is possible to take out enemies silently and without being noticed. As for interaction with the environment, interactive objects are highlighted in the early missions, but not later on. However, the game does not offer much replay value as the path through it is largely linear and does not offer much freedom or room for improvisation. Depending on playing style, completion time is around eleven hours.

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is the debut game from River End Games, which is based in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was founded by a group of industry veterans who have previously worked on games such as Battlefield, Little Nightmares, Mirror's Edge and Unravel. According to the company website, the core team consists of 18 people. The game is published by Nordcurrent Labs, the PC and console publishing label of the Nordcurrent Group. Founded in Vilnius, Lithuania in 2002, the Nordcurrent Group is an international publisher and developer of games for smartphones, tablets, PCs and Macs. It has its headquarters in Lithuania and development studios in Vilnius, Gothenburg, Dnipro and Warsaw. The group has over 300 employees, has developed more than 50 games for various platforms, and has recorded over 500 million downloads worldwide.

"Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is exactly the kind of project that is close to our hearts at Nordcurrent Labs. It's intelligent and visually stunning, and it was developed with unparalleled care by a team that knows how to blend gameplay and storytelling. Working with River End Games on their first release has been a rewarding experience, and we're excited to share the game with players worldwide." - Andrius Mackevičius, Publishing Director at Nordcurrent Labs

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream was released on 15 July 2025 for PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Conclusion

Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is a strong debut from River End Games. This isometric stealth adventure game boasts an impressive game world, a captivating storyline and well-designed stealth elements, but it doesn't offer enough freedom in terms of gameplay.

Features

• Well-designed stealth adventure
• Vibrant, highly detailed levels
• Gripping story with great cutscenes