Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land
H. P. Lovecraft entertained us with stories of madness and the unknown back in the early 20th century. Known for his works of ‘The Shadow out of Time and ‘At the Mountains of Madness’, his other work, ‘The Call of Cthulhu’ is what this game is based on (obviously). Now a registered trademark of Chaosium Inc, this game is centred on The Call of Cthulhu RPG. Originally made for the iOS, the ported PC version is quite reasonable, despite its apparent handset limitations as there are no real extra features to take advantage of the PC. Yet it’s entertaining enough to finish due to its tactical nature.
– Real player with 28.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Lovecraftian Strategy Games.
Enjoyed it. Definately a throwback to 90’s style controls. For its price its fun enough to play through. Looking at the complaints mentioned, I myself did not actually get any of the described errors, although this may be due to it already getting fixed by the time I brought the game.
As for the control issues mentioned, it is answered by playing the tutorial mission, as already said by previous comments.
I do advise playing this on hard though, to get the challenge that some others are demanding. For the price paid it was able to keep me entertained to the very end, and was a fun introduction to the cthulhu mythos.
– Real player with 26.6 hrs in game
Stirring Abyss
I have received a free key as being part of closed [i]beta test[/i]. Neither am I affiliated with the developers nor have I received any compensation for my review.
Stirring Abyss is a turn-based tactical game set in the depths of Lovecraftian ocean. It has been made by three-man indie studio Sleepy Sentry from A Land of a Thousand Lakes.
You will control a handful of Salem USS submarine’s crew members while exploring procedurally generated ocean floor missions, fighting strange enemies and managing resources at Salem to repair different parts of the vessel, unlock upgrades or craft items. Your goal is to save the crew by fixing the damaged submarine and leave abyss.
– Real player with 63.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Lovecraftian Underwater Games.
yes i’d recommend the game, and while it sound odd’s, i’ve not followed it’s progress either or enjoyed the demo, so i’ll now give my reasons why i’d recommend it all the same,
the demo was ok, but for me i didn’t play enough or see enough to really say i liked the design or think that it was going to be long enough for me to really enjoy and play, as i have more than enough un started un finished game already, not played,…
my was i wrong, so very wrong tbh, as i saw many saying it was too hard and or too short, i thought well in for a penny in for a pound and jumped straight it, my play style is how i test, so no reading, no watching and with little thought going in, i started on easy in the story mode, and the rest is history, i died, many times and had little clue overall on what i was doing or doing right or wrong, so i stepped back and looked at the diver i was given, then understood what i was doing wrong, the design wasn’t wrong, it was the idiot who was playing it, firing a speargun from X numbers of hexes away and missing isn’t a issue with the game or design, but a lack of understanding on who was firing it, what skill or lack of they had and my understand on how things work under water for one, so the basic design is well done, now with the better understanding on just because a certain diver gets given a certain item, doesn’t mean there the best person for it, so like any RPG, understanding stats is key to longer play, level and skills, items used are key to staying alive, progress from story missions are only a small part of the game, side missions giving items needed to stay alive and gain more exp and level up for the story means 13 missions alone, your not going to get the extra ability to really do the game justice unless really skilled, which i’m not so good at, so learning how the game works, getting the extra pieces of equipment, leveling up and altering your stats to stay alive for longer is key, not just endless grind and lucky dice roles, alter your base sub, add more items, build more, search more and research more is key to happy and longer game play, so what on the surface seems a easy to play game, becomes something with more depth than of first inspection, most won’t get to the 4th diver and really get into the game in under 3 to 4 hours of play, so won’t understand or enjoy this, the first few hours of the game, aren’t really the game at all, just the tutorial and the basic’s of how it plays, it’s mid to late game, which really makes this shine, then again what do i know, i tend to test more and game less and die often, but with trial and error and 7 hours in, i’ve find the depth of the game which for most may or could stay hidden from less time in game, don’t take me word for it either, spent the time, it’s worth it, as 2 hours won’t get you anywhere or enough into the game to really see either, yes it’s a challenge, but those who refuse to play on anything other than the hardest setting from day one, will be in for a hard game unless you pick up more than the basic’s and are lucky from the off, so either way play and enjoy and see you at the bottom of the sea, with luck you will get the parts needed to repair the sub and use that as a base to explore, finding new bits and bobs, maps, plans and items and parts to level up your every growing crew, to carry on the mission in hand, if you die to often, just take a step back and see what’s killing you and ask why? as some crew are better when surrounded while other have the skills needed for other task, plan to use them correctly and the game is more than just doable, but enjoyable and not just a challenge, but fun into the depth.
– Real player with 56.8 hrs in game
Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones
Just to preface this, I have played virtually every adaptation of Lovecraft in video game format. It’s one of my favourite fictional universes and the concept of otherworldly horror is one I am yet to find tiring. Below you will find many reviews of the game complaining about bugs, lack of polish, performance bla bla bla. As other RPG fans have, I have had to suffer through these things for many years in order to experience some of the best this genre has to offer. In the defence of the team that has put this together, I think that this is a noble effort for one of the hardest things to properly implement - a reactive RPG that is able to anticipate the different paths players will want to go down.
– Real player with 90.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best Lovecraftian Horror Games.
Update 30th Nov 2019: The game has been out for more than two months and there still has been no major patch addressing the numerous problems. Until the devs have taken care of at least some of the worst bugs, I can’t recommend the game at the current stage.
Stygian is definitely not a game for everyone, not just because of its theme, but also because it is both a gem and a train wreck at the same time. It is, in my opinion, the best Lovecraft game so far made, even better than Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth. But it is also largely unfinished and riddled with bugs (at the time of its release).
– Real player with 52.7 hrs in game
Arkham Horror: Mother’s Embrace
OR How to make compelling game that requires you make a sanity check whenever touching the games GUI
Summary:
If you think this is Mansion of Madness or a direct implementation of Arkham Horror you WILL be disappointed. However if you’ve been hankering for a turned based RPG/Squad based game that includes a interesting sanity mechanic with a strong Arkham Horror theme, this flawed gem is definitely worth a look
Gameplay:
You start the game choosing one of seven characters as your main protagonist but gather more investigators to assist you as you play. Each investigation has different stats, strength and weaknesses, different trait, and their own back story
– Real player with 18.6 hrs in game
IN A WORD: MAYBE
IN A NUTSHELL:
WHAT TO EXPECT: Lovecraftian themed story and setting. Murder mystery plot. Amazing narration. Adventure style exploration and investigation. Limited turn-based combat. Sanity and Mythos mechanics. Environment interaction. Clue mini-games. Select from a roster of twelve investigators. Fair enemy variation and competency. Small, focused range of items. Mini-inventory requires management. Limited replayability. A few critical issues. Plus a few minor ones. Singleplayer only.
– Real player with 9.9 hrs in game
Blackout: The Darkest Night
Cool game if you like choose your own adventures.
– Real player with 6.2 hrs in game
It has my recommendation for solid writing and an intriguing little mystery, but the emphasis is on little.
Maybe this was my bad luck, but I happened to get to the bottom of the mystery on my first playthrough, about 40 minutes in. I’ve played through it a few more times since then and while it’s possible I’ve missed some side stories, and I haven’t gotten a halfway “good” ending yet, without the central mystery to drive the plot my willingness to keep playing is mostly gone. Most branching narrative games in this vein lock the True Ending type story behind a few playthroughs for a reason.
– Real player with 4.0 hrs in game
Sinistrous
Introduction
Discover an ancient dungeon and battle eldritch horrors in this Lovecraftian deck-builder. Play as either the Warrior, the Witch, or the Rogue and enjoy strategic turn-based combat as you carve your way through mind-bending labyrinths. With each new adventure you will face a unique and randomized assortment of mystifying events, phantasmal environments, and perplexing creatures. There are more than 100 unique cards featured in Sinistrous and each class introduces new mechanics and distinct play styles for high replayability. Seek out the Darkness, question your sanity, and uncover the secrets of Carcosa.
Features
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Play as three cultists with their own unique skill sets while fighting your way through an unpredictable Lovecraftian world.
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Make critical decisions in an attempt to preserve your sanity, or satiate your lust for lunacy and unlock your cultist’s untapped potential.
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Customize your deck with over 100 ‘Cards’ and game-changing ‘Runes’ as you strategize against enemies of shapes and sizes unbeknownst to man.
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Experience events that make you question reality as you explore and unveil the secrets of Carcosa.
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Enjoy a dark, gritty art style featuring fully animated heroes, enemies, and more.
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Experience a hauntingly atmospheric soundtrack that fuses orchestra and electronica.
The Travelyan Home
Great Lovecraftian atmosphere with well-written descriptions, a solid story and original gameplay mechanics. A few spelling errors and some bugs to fix.
– Real player with 2.7 hrs in game
not a bad game but too much reading for me
– Real player with 0.7 hrs in game
A House of Many Doors
This has quickly shot to the top of my favorite games of all time list, and about 6 months after release it’s still there. That said, gonna do my best to be relatively objective about its good and bad points:
aHoMD has an amazing setting and top-notch worldbuilding, and digging through the narrative and trying to understand what has happened and will happen is as big a part of the exploration in this game as the physical exploration aspect itself. The House is a bizarre, fascinating place, so if you’re a fan of surreal fantasy, magical realism, and slipstream works that toss you a totally alien place and tell you to infer everything from scratch, you’ll absolutely love this. Additionally, the game tweaks quite a lot of itself based on your actions and choices, and much of what you do has consequences, from the innocuous to the absolutely devastating. I feel like each one of the characters I play is really a different character because of that.
– Real player with 164.0 hrs in game
HOMD is somewhere in my top ten best games of all time.
It is an unspeakably rich, vast and beautiful universe and I’m on my second playthrough. Having taken a couple of years since the previous run, I found it haunting my dreams constantly, occasionally I’d lie awake in bed missing it like a former lover, and I had to come crawling back.
But let’s start at the beginning.
HOMD is set in The House, a bizarre dimension that sucks in people from all kinds of universes, and dumps them into a world divided into vast Rooms many miles across, where people don’t need to eat, but prolonged exposure to the ever present darkness is lethal. Light is life, and the population (numbering in billions) have gathered in quite a few vast cities spread all throughout the House, while intercellular explorers, like yourself, move between Rooms in crawling vehicles.
– Real player with 116.1 hrs in game
Alder’s Blood: Definitive Edition
You, as Chief, a leader of a group of skilled hunters who swore to protect humankind from beasts and abomination arose from the darkness, no matter the cost. You will have to face ruthless, savage creatures, and even the darkness itself… You are outnumbered, and enemies are way stronger than you. Reckless assault will only get you in trouble, one mistake and you would be a goner. You have to plan your moves wisely and be prepared for the worst to come.
I think the combat is exciting and immersive, but if you are not a fan of stealth type of gameplay, then you probably won’t enjoy this game. Sure, you can go out with a bang with firearms, but be ready to face swarm of enemies, not to mention some of them are tough and they hit REALLY hard, so it’s wiser to avoid enemy contact.
– Real player with 80.3 hrs in game
🎤Introduction
Alder’s Blood is a brutally difficult turned based RPG set in a grim and dark world where beasts roam free and terrorize the land. Its mechanics are based on XCOM but with a lot more emphasis on stealth. If you’re expecting to get through this game with brute force then you have another thing coming. Like any game it has some flaws, but the majority of them can be overlooked due to how incredible this game is.
✔️Pros
• XCOM styled combat with complex and unique mechanics
– Real player with 35.7 hrs in game
Door in the Woods
Door in the Woods is actually a lot better than I was expecting it to be, and it is well worth full price.
The horror isn’t just skin-deep. Gameplay and game mechanics also adhere to the horror theme. The atmosphere is bleak and the monsters are dangerous. Mostly you will run and hide from them, but sometimes you get the weapons and equipment together to kill a few of them.
Each monster has different behaviors and abilities. Vampires won’t come into a house uninvited, and will instead lurk around outside whispering, “let me in.”. A cannibal’s house can usually be spotted by the blood soaked walls and floors, and they always carry guns.
– Real player with 31.1 hrs in game
A traditional rougelike with an interesting twist on the ASCII art. If I had to compare the game to others in the same genre it would be Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead, Infra Arcana, and The Slimy Lichmummy. Outside of the direct genre Darkwood, Teleglitch, and Noct.
I’d played a previous version of this back in March of this year so it was already on my radar, but the full release just kind of came out of nowhere which was a pleasant surprise and instant purchase for me.
Pros:
- Captures the whole cosmic horror and sanity mechanic from Lovecraft and pen and paper Call of Cthulhu nicely
– Real player with 25.1 hrs in game