Many forms of media have tapped into the dark and disturbing pit that is the mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. Whether directly or indirectly, countless films, TV shows, board games, and more have been inspired by his stories of untold horrors that drive their victims towards insanity or — if they’re lucky — death. Yet, particularly in the world of games, the interpretations often miss the atmospheric mark. All that menacing dread of the unknown loses a lot of its impact if all you need to do is blast away some tentacled monstrosity with a shotgun.
Thankfully, Call of Cthulhu, the semi-open world RPG from Cyanide Studio, favours a more foreboding mood over many of its contemporaries. It’s a game that scratches at the mind with its mysteries, asking you to explore, investigate, and — when necessary — hide from the otherworldly dangers that have made the trip into ours. After two hours with the game’s opening, we’re feeling drawn to learn more.
Beyond the Wall of Sleep
It begins where many Lovecraftian stories love to dwell, within a dream. Private Investigator Edward Pierce finds himself half-submerged in a giant pool of blood and surrounded by piles upon piles of gooey viscera. Understandably confused and a little grossed out, there’s a strong desire to escape the messy puddle — though what awaits further in the murky caves ahead is no more pleasant.
Pressing on, it doesn’t take long for the cultists to appear, their robed and eerily faceless forms partaking in some bizarre ritual with one of those tentacled monstrosities at its centre. A police officer brandishing a revolver finds the bullets have zero effect (see, now that’s more like it) and is dramatically gored through the gut. Pierce, meanwhile, with the disgusting figure approaching him, suddenly wakes with a splutter.
Back in the mundanity of the real world, Pierce has actually fallen asleep on the dishevelled sofa in his Detective Agency once again, all the while living up to the stereotype of the struggling P.I. surrounded by whiskey, sleeping pills, and an empty case file. Here, Call of Cthulhu gives you some time to find your bearings, as you learn more about Pierce’s past in the military, his alcoholism, and his previous work.
You also get the first chance to decide where Pierce’s proficiencies lie, as you can dump some starting skill points into Strength, Eloquence, Investigation, Medicine, Spot Hidden, Occultism, and Psychology. Like countless RPGs before it, these will form the basis of how you approach many of the game’s challenges. The more you invest, the greater your chance of success.
There’s a small glimpse of how your decisions can alter the story too. Take a swig of whiskey and the words “This will affect your destiny” ominously appear in the corner of the screen. It’s as if Telltale has just poked their head in to say: Cthulhu will remember this.
The Thing on the Doorstep
Soon enough, his malaise is interrupted when a new mystery strolls through his door: one of a daughter who — apparently consumed by madness — killed herself and her family by setting fire to their home. Her father doesn’t believe this tale, though, and sends Pierce to investigate her ashen abode on Darkwater Island with nothing but a hunch and a peculiar painting his daughter left behind of one of her so-called visions.
As far as introductions go, then, Call of Cthulhu is menacingly scratching off all the boxes you’d expect from a Lovecraft tale. With that unsettling tone established, the game itself can begin proper, bringing together the combination of exploration, conversation, and investigation that are a perfect fit for this kind of story to thrive.
Arriving on Darkwater Island, anyone with a hint of logic or reason would nope the hell out of there immediately as something — wait, everything — is so clearly wrong. The port itself is a dilapidated mess: a disparate collection of rotten wooden shacks and ramshackle buildings held together by barnacles and willpower alone. And it only gets worse: a disfigured whale lies beached on the jetty, a statue meant to bring good fortune to sailors has been defaced with some mystical scribblings, and everyone calls you “stranger”. It’s bad signs all around.
Using natural P.I. instinct, the first place to visit is fittingly called The Stranded Whale — somewhere that must be the genesis of dive bar atmosphere, with its shadowy corners, grotty decor, and gruff landlord. It’s here where you see the first signs of how your skills and choices can change how a situation plays out. You can choose to try and diffuse an argument with the barman by threatening him: succeed in the strength test and events may continue to play out as normal, but if you fail, he’ll refuse to serve you.
Back outside, your enquiries lead you to a warehouse but getting inside won’t be so straightforward. Similar to immersive sims like Dishonored and Deus Ex, there’s freedom to find your own route depending on where your skills lie and the information you’ve gathered. Perhaps you can break into the local gang’s stash and blackmail some goons with a harshly-worded letter about their boss, or convince the officer guarding the door to let you in with your silver tongue, or open up new dialogue options with some secrets you’ve learnt around town. Not massively complex stuff, but competently handled.
The Shunned House
A short while later, your search takes you to the scene of the fire: Hawkins mansion. Here the investigation elements ramp up more, with Pierce able to enter his own sort of Sherlock mind palace to reconstruct the events that caused the fire. This doesn’t really require much effort from your side, just a keen eye to spot interesting objects or clues in the environment. It’s a shame as there’s clearly room for some puzzle-solving elements here, but instead, these asides feel a little routine.
Puzzles do pop up shortly, though, as you poke around for a way to open up a secret passage in the mansion. You can take the time to solve the simple teaser, or brute force it if you have the right items or skills. Again, some welcome freedom slipping into the choices you have to make.
And then in comes the weirdness once again. Remember that nightmare from the start of the game? You now seem to be living it. The blood. The viscera. The cultists. The whole gang’s here in the bowels of the mansion. As too is that tentacled being, so the best option is to run, lest the panic and fear sap your sanity.
There the demo ends, with Pierce attempting to crawl from the darkness and into the light outside. A fitting end to a healthy glimpse at what to expect from Call of Cthulhu. It intrigues and it entices, with only a couple of clunky missteps in skill checks and dialogue trees here or there — but these can be easily ironed out before the October release date.
Anyone with experience of previous Cyanide titles — and specifically their RPG adaptation of Game of Thrones — will know that they often create fascinating and mechanically interesting games marred by technical issues or silly design decisions. In its opening couple of hours, Call of Cthulhu does have a few of those frustrating slips, but it also shows a lot of promise in creating that macabre atmosphere representative of a Lovecraft horror story.
