Upcoming Lovecraftian Games: Call of Cthulhu

Call of Cthulhu is an RPG-investigation game adapted from Chaosium’s seminal pen and paper roleplaying game. Set within the universe of Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu” novel, the titular game sets out to deliver a dark and foreboding ambience, filled with puzzles and insanity warping foes. The game is being developed by Cyanide Studios (creators of Styx Shards of Darkness) and published by Focus Home Interactive (publishers of Vampyr).

Set in 1924, on Darkwater Island, off the coast of Boston. Call of Cthulhu promises to fully embrace the Cthulhu Mythos as it was created by Lovecraft. Mysterious religious orders, abhorrent beasts, bizarre scientific experiments and whispers in the dark are all teased at. The game drips atmosphere, Darkwater Island is as bleak and unwelcoming as it is filled with secrets and intrigue. Formerly the site of a whaling industry boom, Darkwater is a decaying shell of its former self. Bilious old sailors and reclusive, yet wealthy and powerful families are all that remain. The island itself is home to rotting and abandoned warehouses left behind by the whalers, illicit speakeasies filled with goggle-eyed natives, unspeakably terrifying asylums, and of course the Hawkins family mansion.

You are Edward Pierce, a veteran of the Great War turned Private Investigator. Hired to investigate a fire that caused the unfortunate demise of artist Sarah Hawkins, you will travel to the Hawkins mansion on Darkwater Island to uncover the truth. The islands' inhabitants are not best pleased by your presence, and local law enforcement is less than helpful. This case goes deeper than you were initially lead to believe. Sinister goings on are afoot on Darkwater.

The game primarily draws influence from “At the Mountains of Madness”, “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”, and of course “The Call of Cthulhu”. Lead level designer Romain Wiart has also cited Amnesia, SOMA, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth and Alone in the Dark as being of significant inspiration to the game.
Cyanide’s Call of Cthulhu is the official adaptation of the eponymous Chaosium pen and paper roleplaying game, which was designed by Sandy Peterson and originally appeared in 1981, much of the world as described there has bled into their work. Enlisting the writing talents of Mark Morrison, most famous for his work producing scenarios for the aforementioned Chaosium Call of Cthulhu game to write the story for the game only further cements that this really is the Call of Cthulhu game.

Gameplay is investigation and stealth based primarily. Combat is an option, but even though Edward is a veteran he is described as “not being a fighter”, even worse is the possibility to find only a single gun in the entire game, with very limited bullets that are only capable of hurting human foes, meaning you shouldn’t expect to be run and gunning this one.
Sneaking past and hiding from enemies before they can slaughter you, or destroy your fragile human mind is definitely the order of the day. I’m sure the Alien Isolation comparisons will be coming thick and fast.

Despite their inhospitable nature, you’ll be able to build relationships with the residents of the island and use this as leverage to persuade them to part with more information to use in your investigations. Just remember that not every person on an island filled with loathsome horrors is going to be credible and trustworthy enough to believe everything they say.

Cyanide have been working hard to create a real feeling of madness in their sanity system, and let’s face it, that’s what we all want from our Lovecraftian horror. One of their biggest challenges was that they did not want the system to be predictable, and thus allow a player to anticipate and eventually overcome the effects. Instead, they wanted the insanity felt by Edward to feel real, unpredictable and become a real obstacle to the player.
Sanity can be affected by many things, coming across a horrifying foe is an obvious one, but in Call of Cthulhu even finding too many clues and possessing too much knowledge, as a result, can impact your mental state.

There’s also the interesting introduction of a phobia system. If you spend too long exposed to fear in certain situations Edward can and will become phobic. Claustrophobia is the last thing you need to develop while hiding from eldritch nastiness. Phobias can cause you to behave irrationally, such as making noises while hiding and alerting the bad guys to your location.
Your rapidly deteriorating mind is also going to hinder your ability to solve mysteries and investigate. Hallucinations and imagined clues are very real in the realm of the mad. The game won’t tell you when you’re wrong and will happily let you wander down the wrong track simply because you thought you saw something that never even existed.

“The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.”
- H.P. Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu"

Players are encouraged to find their own way through puzzles, and there will be multiple ways to achieve your goals. A townsperson may be persuaded to let you into a restricted area, but you’ll also be free to just steal the key and bypass the unpleasant social interaction. Choices will matter in Call of Cthulhu, and the decisions you make as you work your way through the story will ultimately decide the outcome.

As you get closer to uncovering the truth things are going to get nasty. The further you progress the more abhorrent creatures and happenings will come out of the woodwork and holding on to your precious sanity will become a struggle. Keeping your wits about you is the only way you’ll make it through this one.

The game is built on Epic Games: Unreal Engine 4. Making fantastic use of the engine to create beautiful and evocative environments.

Call of Cthulhu is due for release on October 30th of this year, it will be available on Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC. Preorders are open now.

Upcoming Lovecraftian games: The Sinking City

Set in fictional Oakmont Massachusetts near Arkham, Innsmouth & Dunwich, The Sinking City is an open world horror investigation game by Ukrainian indie developers Frogwares. Drawing inspiration from the developer's previous success with their Sherlock Holmes titles, we can hope for carefully crafted investigation and well thought out puzzles. Pitched as an expansion of Lovecraft’s universe by devoted fans of his novels, rather than an official adaptation this Lovecraft inspired adventure game promises open world, open investigation and Lovecraftian horror in spades.

It’s the 1920s, the city of Oakmont is isolated from the mainland and home to strange inhabitants, not fond of outside visitors, and even stranger things lurking in the shadows. Behind the gangsters, jazz music and social instability Oakmont hides many secrets. The history of the city goes back to the 1700s, having been built on several major supernatural sites, this has shaped the individual districts and given them a unique flavour. Each district has developed its own distinct architectural aesthetic as the city expanded over the centuries. Strange religious cults, such as the Esoteric Order of Dagon and prominent families run the city, the secret war for power and influence is a constant undercurrent.

References to Lovecraft's work are everywhere

This dark city dripping with atmosphere and Lovecraftian aesthetic would be more than enough to wet any genre fans appetite, but Frogwares have taken it to another level. Oakmont has been swept by an unforeseen and abnormal flood. Many Streets are submerged and the only way to travel to certain city blocks is in small, fragile boats. The flood didn’t just bring water and inaccessible streets though, terrifying eldritch beasts roam freely and have driven the city into a further state of panic and fear. The locals who have survived thus far are changing, the flood is not the only thing to have come to Oakmont, there is something in the air. People are becoming different, you can see it in their eyes, their complexion. The city is beyond the reach of the Government, and any aid it could offer. Oakmont is in serious trouble.

The Innsmouth look is catching on in Oakmont

“We are building our game on the same underlying themes that Lovecraft explored, fear of the unknown, hopelessness and desolation. This is what the mysterious flood in our game represents. Nobody knows why it occurred, and at this point, nobody has any hopes for help.

People are scared of uncertainty. They realise that the flood is relentless, that it can easily devour the whole city and destroy their lives, they are basically helpless. One thing they are quite sure of is: it’s only going to get worse. It kinda shows how insignificant and powerless people are in this world, and how callous the universe is”, says lead narrative designer, Sergey Ten.

Flooded areas are only accessible by boat

The Sinking City is a third person adventure game with a focus on cinematic story lead content.
Taking to the streets as a private investigator you will be free to explore and discover as you wish, finding side missions and hidden information connected to the main plot of the story. The developers are really embracing human nature and the need for exploration. Optional content will not be signposted in lights and it’s down to the player to really seek it out. Non-linear storytelling is an important part of the game, and missions will have multiple outcome possibilities.

As a P.I. You will be solving mysteries and criminal cases throughout the city, murders and missing persons are standard fare in Oakmont. Question everything is the mantra here, suspects, witnesses, surroundings, even your own sanity and perception. Shadows may be strange creatures, simply the environment or your own lapsing mental state. With cultists, abhorrent creatures and the unfriendly citizens to contend with your personal judgement is more important than ever before.

Not every crime is perpetrated by the supernatural, however. It’s down to the players and their deductive capabilities to discover whether the mysterious events are the result of blasphemous interference or the simple hubris of mankind.

The main story arc is obviously the most important of any game, and while we don’t have many details of what that may be the team have been hard at working creating hooks to draw the player in. The belief that if the content is compelling enough then the players will explore it naturally and organically. We’ve been promised strange unexplainable events that will drive the players innate curiosity. This is definitely not a game that leads you everywhere by the hand.

Exploration will lead the player into the darkest parts of the city

Combat is vital in a city brimming with eldritch horrors. Players will be given a choice of whether they want to play stealthily or go in guns blazing. A suitable arsenal of period based weapons will be available. The developers have been very keen to state that this isn’t another “run away and hide” horror game. Choices are in the players hands, but it’s up to them to make sure they have enough ammunition and resources to deal with the threats at hand should they choose to engage directly. If you’re in this for some gunplay then things are looking good.

Lovecraft wouldn’t be Lovecraft without a healthy dose of insanity, and with that in mind, The Sinking City has implemented an insanity mechanic. When your character witnesses horrifying events, finds mutilated bodies or sees an unspeakable monster it will impact his mental health. Frogwares are a little tight-lipped about how this will eventually appear in the game, but we’ve been teased with visual effects such as camera shifts and tears in the fabric of reality itself.

Horrific monsters can and will impact your mental health

The game is built on Epic Games: Unreal Engine 4 and the developers have created a rather clever city generating tool that has allowed them to create over 4000 buildings. You can read more about the city generator on the Frogwares blog here: http://frogwares.com/discover-frogwares-city-generator-saving-valuable-time-development-sinking-city/
One of the most interesting things about this city generation tool is that Frogwares have plans to open it up to the user. Players will be able to generate their own areas, create characters and quests. With a strong set of tools available, community support looks to be strong. I have great anticipation to see what the player base can produce.

The Sinking City is already no stranger to player generated content, as they previously ran the “Letters from Oakmont” competition, in which writers were invited to put pen to paper for a very last letter from a citizen living through the horrifying events as they unfold. They received over 200 letters and chose nine, which will be discoverable in the game.

Frogwares are aiming for around 30-40 hours of playtime to finish the main story arc and most of the side missions. However, they say that there will be many more hours for the explorers and completionists among us before we even get into user-generated content.

The Sinking City is due for release on March 21st 2019, it will be available on Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC.