The Song of Saya
I got this game both because people are trying to compare it to Doki Doki Literature Club and because I’ve heard of its explosive popularity when it was (re-)released.
Right off the bat, to clear the air, there is absolutely NO COMPARISON between the two games. They are on their own separate tiers, respectfully.
I was excited to play it since it immediately started out with the horror. Though, when it gives us the option to choose to censor the gore and such, I expected to see it ALL, but that is not the case.
! For example, in the case of Fuminori driving his head down into the axe, and Koji dreaming of him in that state, we are not allowed to see it because it is actually censored , weirdly enough. Saya gets violated, and we see it while she’s in her “human” guise and, while I’m glad I didn’t have to see that, I was surprised to see it so censored. Not only that, some of the voice acting was taken out for that part, in what I assume to be another form of censoring so that it wasn’t as disturbing? But, what about the voice acting that’s done when Yoh is being violated when she clearly refuses–both when she has her mind and when she loses it? Lastly, what I was most disappointed with was that the game refused to give us any CGs of the full body of these disgusting “aliens.” Was it to add to the narrative that they were just that terrifying and disgusting? If that was the case, then why even bother with those first CGs of the “aliens” that Fuminori sees in the beginning? With the close up shots of the eye and another with something bulging(?) to the tentacles we see with the more nude shots, I believe they were more than capable of giving us a CG of these monsters. Maybe it is because it was initially released in, I believe, 2003 that it was afraid of giving us more? Whatever it is, the gore isn’t too bad unless you truly hate seeing guts in any form. To me, the guts were just so computerized(?) that I believe most would be able to stomach it.
– Real player with 13.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Lovecraftian Gore Games.
“To you, who loved me, I give this planet”
The Song of Saya (Saya no Uta) is a Lovecraftian horror love story where love is disturbing no matter which way you look at it and the monster changes with your perspective. It’s depraved and wicked while taking you on a journey into the deepest parts of madness. Like every good Lovecraftian story it promises to defile and poison you by “the insanity called truth”. It also examines different truths by juxtaposing different perspectives through a prism of a hellish mirror.
– Real player with 13.8 hrs in game
Selene ~Apoptosis~
It all begins as a beautiful stranger appears at a lonesome doorstep. This is a love story of a man who slept too little and a stray cat.
Selene ~Apoptosis~ is a free mystic thriller visual novel filled with dark romance and even darker secrets. Fight for those you love. Fight for your life. Find the truth.
And, most importantly, eat well.
CONTENT WARNING
This visual novel deals with mature themes and may not be appropriate for those who are easily disturbed. It contains scenes of violence, sexual references, strong language, horror elements and general mature content. Player discretion is advised.
FEATURES
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You can pet a cute catgirl.
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A mystic thriller/horror story inspired by Stephen King’s works.
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The main story is completely free.
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Choices-driven branching narrative.
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Over 5 endings.
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2 to 3 hrs of content (depends on your love for good artwork)
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Secret discovery journal.
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Japanese and English voiceover for female characters. You can also choose to switch that off.
Add to your Wishlist now not to miss the launch - and be the first one to play!
Read More: Best Lovecraftian Nudity Games.
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 RPG 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
SKALD: Against the Black Priory
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1609100/Skald_Against_the_Black_Priory__the_Prologue
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1712620/SKALD_Against_the_Black_Priory_Original_Soundtrack_Vol_I/
You drag yourself from the black tides, across the corpses of drowned men, and onto the unwelcoming, craggy shoreline. Gulls cry overhead and the stink of seaweed fills your nose. By some miracle you have made it to Idra. It will take all your skill to survive and unravel the eldritch mysteries of the Black Priory. Pray your sanity holds.
About the Game
‘Skald: Against the Black Priory’ is an old-school roleplaying game that combines modern design and a fully realised narrative with authentic 8-bit looks and charms.
Delve into a dark fantasy world, full of tragic heroes, violent deaths and Lovecraftian, cosmic horror. Explore an engaging, branching story mixed with rich exploration and crunchy, tactical, turn-based combat that will seem familiar yet innovative to RPG fans, old and new.
Do you have what it takes to lead a company of broken heroes from the tainted shores of Idra to the gates of the Black Priory - and beyond?
Features
Lovingly crafted retro-style art:
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Experience a richly illustrated world of authentic pixel art using thousands of hand-drawn tiles and images
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A palette inspired by the legendary Commodore 64 computer.
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Optional CRT filter for that authentic old-school experience.
Deep character creation:
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Build your main character and recruit a party from among a dozen diverse characters, each with their own skill-set, agenda and personality.
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Choose from a dozen classes and backgrounds as well as heaps of feats, spells and equipment as you take your party from level 1 to 20.
Crunchy tactical combat:
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Engage in challenging, fast-paced, turn- and grid-based combat.
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Play it your way, with fully customizable difficulty and feedback settings. Or hit ‘auto-resolve’, lean back, and (hopefully) watch your party cleave a bloody path through their foes.
A richly detailed, living world:
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Explore the vast expanse of Freymark and the Outer Isles and watch your actions spell doom or salvation for the region.
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Focus on the rich, branching narrative… Or live the life of a mercenary and explore varied sidequests and encounters - the plot will wait for you.
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Manage your party as you make camp, recruit hirelings, travel by land and sea, and interact with powerful factions and their visions for the world.
Become part of a fantastic community:
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Skald was made possible by crowdfunding and already has a large, passionate and welcoming community that can’t wait to meet you.
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By joining Skald’s Early Access you’ll have a direct line to the developer, get sneak peaks and give feedback on forthcoming plans and help shape the game into a modern classic.
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We will publish the powerful tools used to create the game in an effort to support and encourage modding and content creation once the game has fully launched.
The Story of Skald: A Dream Come True
Skald is the dream-project of a lone Norwegian developer, AL.
AL missed the thrill of delving into grand, immersive games such as ‘Ultima’, ‘Magic Candle’, ‘Wasteland’ and the Gold Box series. When he noticed the lack of newer roleplaying games that combined the classic (early 90s) charm with more modern game design he decided to take matters into his own hands.
AL set to work crafting the game of his dreams.
A highly successful Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaign with 700 backers, and a fast-growing community of passionate fans proves he made the right call.
Collaborators
Despite being a one-man company, Scape-IT has been able to collaborate with some amazingly talented people in creating SKALD:
Danny Salfield Wadeson is a UK-based writer & narrative designer who has worked on BAFTA and TGA nominated narrative games such as Roki, Backbone and Duelyst
Twitter: @MadQuills
John Henderson is an experienced fine artist and illustrator and is also a teacher of Art. Whether using dip pen, oil paint or pixels, John’s work is easily recognizable as being highly atmospheric as well as lovingly created. Having worked on many publications and indie gaming projects he is also currently busy with his own project, Wild Wood for the C64.
Twitter: @JohnHen65953721
Scott Hartill UK based artist and game designer. More interested in pixels than anything else. Currently busy developing a PS1 style survival horror in his spare time.
Twitter : @cluly
Torgeir Fjereide is a Norwegian artist and illustrator. He loves painting mythological and medieval scenes and he’ll take any excuse to paint a bearded man.
Twitter: @TheBrushOfThor
Post Horn Public Relations is a pro-bono initiative created to support talented developers.
Twitter: @horn_pr
Rachael A Edwards hails from England and spends most of her days writing fantasy novels about morally grey characters in worlds filled with mythology, corruption and magic. An avid gamer, Rachael’s love for storytelling began at a young age. She is currently working on a YA fantasy novel and is represented by Rena Rossner of The Deborah Harris Agency.
Twitter: @RachaelAWrites
MementoMoree (formerly known as Paolo Pomes) has been creating art since his late teenage years. Proficient in most types of art, from pencil & paper to highly detailed 4k textures, he’s found solace and pleasure in the retro pixel art!
Twitter: @MementoMoree
Marco Pedrana is a digital and traditional art vagrant. He started as draftsman in advertising and comics, went on in illustration, then painting, then conceptual art. He doubled back on videogame design with Aeon of Sands, creating its graphic, story, and sfx. Lately he freelances as a 3D generalist for indie game and cinema productions.
He focuses on narrative art, regardless of the medium or scope.
Twitter: @marcopedrana
Romanus Surt is the main guy at Graverobber Foundation, the developer behind Das Geisterschiff and Der Geisterturm. He does music for SKALD.
Twitter: @surt_r
Edwin Montgomery is a composer and sound designer for games, films and performance. A long-time RPG obsessive, he wrote the soundtrack for inXile’s remastered 30th anniversary version of “Wasteland”. He has created music and sounds for a variety of fantasy game worlds, including Warhammer 40,000, Game of Thrones and Neverwinter. Edwin does sound design for SKALD.
Twitter: @edwinmyshkin
The Call of Karen
I hate leaving a not so positive review for games, I truly do, but The Call of Karen was just a bit of ….a let down.
As someone who LOVES silly, goofy, mindless games like this The Call of Karen did not deliver. The game play was instantly repeating, but not in a fun or funny way. The crazy mechanics (not sure if this is buggy or the “entity” at work) are the closest things that will get you to laugh but after the first 5 minutes even that wears off. There is minimal game play, a repetitive story and just …nothing to do. The game could be finished in 20 minutes or less but I managed to get an hour out of it since I streamed while playing this the first time. I was hoping for something silly and fun to laugh at while on stream but this quickly became so boring to play I know it may have been a bore to watch with no commentary. I felt like there could have been something fun here but it was squandered. Free game though so …there’s that.
– Real player with 1.1 hrs in game
amzing gme vryn good When the imposter is sus! 😳
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– Real player with 1.1 hrs in game
Call of Cthulhu®
Lovecraft would be proud!
This game is not like most games that claim to be Lovecraftian but are just strange, horror games with no real plot or story-line. This one is quite the opposite. This game creates a rich story-line that gleans themes from many of Lovecraft’s most loved works, and it has the best sanity mechanic in a game I have played! As someone who has read all of his stories (multiple times) this game is as close as they come.
Pros:
Story-line, soundtrack, ambiance, sanity mechanic, replay-ability.
– Real player with 32.0 hrs in game
It’s aite.
Like just aite. Nothing else, nothing more.
It be like that sometimes.
“Scripted insanity is just middling sanity”
– Real player with 15.8 hrs in game
Fresh Body
Interesting game, where you can build your character the way you want. For an early access game, it has alot of stuff to offer for its price. Anyone who likes hack and slash games with random elements, and is not afraid of grinding, should try it out.
Pros:
-Tons of body parts
-You can make character to look like any enemy or boss in game
-You can have same skill set like any enemy or boss in game
-Different rarity body parts, that lets you farm them untill you make a build that you want.
-Additive fast gamestyle
– Real player with 64.8 hrs in game
I wish there was a meh option for Steam reviews; if you can get it on sale, it’s alright. If not, I don’t quite think it’s worth as much as is being asked for right now.
From the beginning, you NEED to have an online connection to play this game. It is not optional; there are some boons to this. Progress is saved and apparently loaded from that server. In case of a computer crash, your progress is saved. However, with it not being optional for a singleplayer game, it’s not appreciated by me personally.
– Real player with 59.2 hrs in game
In Blood
After a night of drinking Eleadora takes a shortcut home through the woods. She’s angry, frustrated, and sad. At the crossroads she trips and cuts her hand on some broken glass. While looking over her wounds she mutters a wish out loud that calls upon an ancient and forgotten force that changes her life forever.
She wakes up in an unknown room, in an unknown house, on an unknown plane of existence. Surrounded by horrors and death she must attempt to find an ally among the other occupants of the house. It’s clear they don’t have her best interests in mind, and trusting them could be deadly.
Survive and try to maintain your humanity.
Escape, if you still want to.
Escape, if they’ll let you.
Features:
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4 romance options (3 guys, 1 woman)
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Multiple endings
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4 routes
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5 CGs in demo (More planned in final game)
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English voice acting in the demo (More planned for final game)
Characters:
Romance Options:
Credits
Writer, Developer, Programmer: Jaime Scribbles
Production Manager, Editor, Voice Director: PMscenarios
Character Artist: Illuminate001
GUI Artist: Sitraxis
BG Artist: Saleha Chowdhury
Illustrator: Meagan Trott and Scherville
Additional Artist: Jen Bird
Audio Director and Sound Designer: Tim Reichert
Music: Antriksh Bali and Kyle Mesce
Voice Actors
Brenton: Kevin K. Gomez
Karon: Kieran Flitton
Tristin: C. W. “Seedub” Brown
Seta: Abigail Turner
Nyarbalte: Bradley Gareth
Eris: Wes Haas
Red Haze
If you are looking for the typical “twist on Red Riding Hood”, you are in for one hell of a surprise. There is nothing typical about this game. Even if you have played previous games by Yai Gameworks (like Close Your Eyes or Take the Dream IX) you know to expect the unexpected. But nothing can truly prepare you for Red Haze.
It’s a unique gaming experience which feels never-ending. Red Haze begs to played over and over, with a dizzying amount of endings and areas to explore: every playthrough reveals new secrets, scares and raises more questions along the way. Once you dive in, it’s impossible to stop. There are items with varied uses, and situations have multiple outcomes. Nothing is as it seems. As you play, each new game will feel a little different, depending on which path you decide to take. The choice is ultimately your own, as the game puts you in full control of poor Rockette’s fate. At least you think you are in control, and then BAM the game gives you a blood-curdling reminder otherwise. If you are familiar with the dev’s previous games, you are already accustomed to a moderate level of difficulty when it comes to puzzles and such. Red Haze isn’t any different in that regard. It’s a game that demands focus and plenty of patience. Don’t worry, though, not even death is the end in this game.
– Real player with 49.5 hrs in game
Red Haze is a great example of hard work, little money, and a great experience. This proves that not every game has to spend a great large amount of money for a quality game, I fell in love with this game, I love Rockette she is a very enjoyable character, and the rest of the cast are very Likable as well, my favourite part of the whole game as far as right now is Rockette with starry’s dress in the Game Host’s show ending (ending H which is 1/4 part of it) scene where
! she seems very dominate and is on top of a naked starry, very cool (honestly Rockette seems cutier in Starry’s dress)
– Real player with 42.6 hrs in game
Fenrir’s Prelude
Good game good design
– Real player with 12.4 hrs in game
You get what you pay for ,_,
– Real player with 10.4 hrs in game