Draugen trailer provides first look at Red Thread's survival horror

It's April Fool's day, which means everything you read on the internet is potentially a lie. Before we become entangled in the meta-semantics of that first sentence, here's why this first trailer for Dreamfall Chapters creator Red Thread's other game isn't a joke. 1) It debuted over the weekend, at the EGX Rezzed event. 2) Its narration contains words like "inexorably", "maelstrom" and "undulating", which are scientifically the least funny words.

Okay, so undulating is pretty funny.

"A dark and harrowing tale of one man's descent into madness, as he investigates the disappearance of the inhabitants of a small, Norwegian coastal community in 1923," explains the trailer's description. Draugen is billed as a cross between Amnesia and Gone Home—meaning there may or may not be a ghost. As a horror game, it takes inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft, but also from Norse mythology and Norwegian fairy tales.

It's that broad mix of inspirations that has me most intrigued. Lovecraftian elements are becoming increasingly ubiquitous in horror—and were explored by Red Thread head Ragnar Tørnquist as part of The Secret World. But the dark eeriness of Scandinavian fairy tales are a less obvious pool for plundering scares.

Draugen is being created with funding from the Norwegian Film Institute. You can find more information about the game at the official Red Thread website .

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.