Guys, I think we found the one game that perfectly encapsulates Lovecraftian Horror.
Let me start by saying this game isn't for everyone. It's difficult, it doesn't hold your hand, and I was enough of a baby that I had a friend play it for me instead because I am secretly a huge coward :)
Still here? Cool.
After watching a friend play it so I could piss myself vicariously through them instead, I think this may be the perfect game for people who enjoy themes of cosmic horror and the C'thulhu mythos.
One thing that a lot of Lovecraftian horror games tend to miss the mark on is the very thing that makes it scary to begin with: The unknown. A lot of games also give you a way of fighting back, albeit it may prove challenging - this also clashes against what makes cosmic horror so terrifying. You're small, everything's big. You have no power and no ability to defend yourself, that's the point. And while I understand it can be challenging to make a game engaging or fun when you just strip people of their agency like that, this game is proof that it IS possible to make a good game that doesn't compromise the core themes it draws inspiration from.
The graphics are simple, vague, but effective. You don't know what you're looking at until you're right up against it. There's almost a Silent Hill kind of feel to it, with the way everything has this static-y fog obscuring your vision. You have no HUD. You can sprint, and you can get tired. You have HP, and you can lose it as well as regain it via passive regeneration. The enemies aren't so much scary in their appearance, but rather scary in how they come after you. How they move, how they make themselves known. The game is largely black and white, with bright red marking the presence of both threats and items of interest. A blue TV static effect is also found over everything. Old CRT TV stuff, y'know?
Black squiggly things lazily drift around you, obscuring the world even more, making you uncertain if whether or not something is moving towards you, or if it's just those wiggly little creatures doing nothing but float around. Only thing that you know for sure is if you see red eyes, you're in danger - could be a few, could be a dozen. They come closer and closer. By the time you actually see them you're already dead; They charge at you and take you down in one hit. These foes could come from anywhere. Every black shadowy silhouette could grow eyes at any moment and dash towards you. You'll struggle to dodge them, trust me. You can't fight these things, just survive. They'll perish instantly if they don't catch you first, but again, good luck with that.
Never mind the larger threats that loom overhead. Godly and yet unholy, they are unknowable. You will actually die if you stare at them for a few seconds too long - they can also kill you with a touch. You need to evade enemies you can't even look at and hope you make the right move. It's not easy.
You have no instructions, no map, no idea what's happening. You just have to figure out what the weird red lines mean on the stone tablet you hold, and what the red-dot tentacles have to do with it.
The sound design's also not too bad. Nothing to write home about, but there are audio cues to tell you to run a bit faster, for sure.
The atmosphere's creepy and desolate. You'll find things you won't understand. The most you can do is speculate about whatever you're looking at.
Overall, this game's good if you're the target audience. And it's also free, which is kind of astounding to me. Sounds like the team knew what they were working with and used it to their advantage.
11/10 if you're into Lovecraftian horror
5/10 if you're just a normal gamer or you aren't looking for a particularly "eldritch" flavor to the horror games in your library.
