Review - Call of Cthulhu... Seven Out of Tentacles

 

Image courtesy of Cyanide

As much of a horror buff as I am, it's a bit of a surprise that I typically don't venture down the horror game path. I think it might have to do with the fact that a lot of them end up being campy and lame, and the truly good ones like Alien: Isolation are so few and far between. The trick must lie in the source material, and for me I guess it looks like Lovecraft speaks my language.

  Earlier this year I reviewed Call of the Sea, a Lovecraft-inspired puzzle adventure that I actually thought did a good job fleshing out its story. Call of Cthulhu is another trip down Lovecraft Lane, but this one is definitely more solidified into the horror genre than anything else.

  We take on the role of a private investigator named Edward Pierce, and through his WWI shell-shocked perspective we get assigned a delicate task off the bat. That mission is to find the truth behind the death of a wealthy Bostonian businessman's daughter. This woman, a debutante-turned-tortured-artist, left the family dynasty to marry the supposed love of her life in a backwater island that is literally named Darkwater. When Pierce arrives, he finds Darkwater with a disagreeable disposition towards any outsiders. The townsfolk don't like the people who don't know much about fishing. The criminal element doesn't like anyone poking their nose anywhere. The police don't like disruptions of their day to day routines. It's a bad day to be a private detective just trying to find some answers, and when those answers lead to an underground cult trying to rearrange the fabric of society... things go from bad to worse.

The Good

I would say that the story is the best thing that Cyanide did here. They weave a web, have all the pieces in place, and keep very strong ties to Lovecraftian lore. That alone is incredibly impressive. Most games in the same vein wouldn't bother to give us as much attention to detail. Callisto Protocol... you disappoint me.

  I think the eeriness that goes with the gameplay in a title like this is critical. If it's not going to at least creep you out a bit, then what's the point? Keep in mind there aren't going to be any jump scares, here. Call of Cthulhu is all about the build-up. There are plenty of tense moments here and there, but it's the investigative parts that fuel the desire to keep going and discover more. The gameplay hones in on those investigative elements with various ways that Pierce can put together a puzzle. The choice is yours. Seemingly. Clocking in around eight hours, the game is not a difficult pill to swallow.

The Bad

I think that for when this game released, the visuals are a little lackluster. You can tell what everything is supposed to be, of course, but Cyanide did themselves a disservice by drawing attention to things they absolutely should not have. Why do we get so many close-ups of Pierce's eyes? When they look like stark-white marbles with black circles thrown on, they completely take me out of the moment. His hair too. Lank and stringy? Not really. It looks more like a mops of straws tossed onto his head when the psychosis starts to kick in.

  Audio could have been better too. Some moments of the game were perfectly audible while others were certainly not. I had to keep the remote with me for volume up-downs whenever the shit hit the fan. We've all experienced games or shows like that. And it has nothing to do with spikes of adrenaline. It's just bad sound editing and mixing.

The Madness

Overall, I think Call of Cthulhu was a good game. The lore and the world developed specifically for the game help to save it from mediocrity. Would I spend full price on it? No. Half price would also be a hard sell, to be honest. When it clocks in at only eight hours, I would say to look for it in the bargain bin. Better yet... if you have PS Plus Extra and can throw it on for free, you won't regret the time spent with this one.

7/10

Good Enough

For a game that also dives into some creep factor while delivering an incredible story, check out Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden.