Although Halloween has already passed, the game Call of Cthulhu is still very relevant. Ingrained in culture everywhere, H. P. Lovecraft cemented his thoughts long ago and the stories have been highly regarded ever since. This 2018 game by Cyanide is an interesting version which includes stealth and investigation.
Labeled as a survival horror game, players take on the role of an investigator by the name of Edward Pierce. He is a struggling private investigator that is on the brink of losing everything he has worked for due to his own devices. Luckily, he takes on a case to solve the odd happenings surrounding the death of a daughter of the Hawkins family. Soon he sets off to Dark Water Island near Boston Massachusetts.
From the beginning, the game feels more like a visual novel and even slightly like a walking simulator. There appears to be no combat but the psychological horrors take over quickly. Dark Water Island is filled with the darkness of an old whaling community that once ruled the waters. Now only a few seamen remain to keep what little whaling they have, alive. Along with all of this atmosphere is a lot of reading and questions.
Pierce is built with the ability to upgrade his mental features such as eloquence, stealth, observation and more. By finding clues around the environment, Pierce is able to use points to upgrade his skills in order to get more answers from those around him. When speaking to characters in the game, many options are available but they can go right or wrong depending on the skills built.
A lot of the characters surrounding the Hawkins death are friendly, yet unwilling to really give a straight-on answer. With every clue leading closer to the answer, some of the citizens either recoil or start spilling the beans. The biggest “boss” is the female leader that runs the island with her threats and violence. She’s the scariest person next to the odd visuals that start to kick up depicting Cthulhu in a mist-filled green light. Eventually, the story gets hard to follow and keep up with because the reality is fading away or possibly becoming a legit part of your world.
Among all of the nice visuals and smooth mechanics, the downside to Call of Cthulhu is the ease. From the start, most of the answers just seem to flow right in to place without much work. The answers seem pretty easy to get ahold of which takes a lot of the pressure off of the player. Somehow the balance here in the plotline is off and almost weak.
Overall, the game is nice to play, and for some, the pace might be a little too slow. The psychological part is fun to discuss with those you know but this isn’t a combat-filled adventure. Anyone not familiar with the history of H. P. Lovecraft may find the story completely confusing as well.
7/10
Available on: PC, PS4, Xbox One
