I haven’t played many games as subtly frightening as Call of Cthulhu, which mostly succeeds as a horror game and a thoroughly enjoyable story. Outside of some shoddy stealth segments and muddy visuals, Call of Cthulhu is a deep and enjoyably crazy ride on the Lovecraftian side.
Call of Cthulhu
Developer: Cyanide
Price: $59.99
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, and PC
MonsterVine was provided with a PS4 code for review
Though good old Cthulhu can be seen in just about every type of media now, he’s fallen victim to what I call “the Slenderman effect”. This is when something that is conceptually creative and chilling is reduced to a spooky monster that is used for generic jumpscares and hollow scene-dressing in games and stories that, usually, aren’t very good. Call of Cthulhu rectifies this by embracing the unseen fear behind its titular Old One and the cult that it inspires, making for an original and genuinely unsettling experience.
Based on the tabletop RPG and novel of the same name, Call of Cthulhu follows Private Investigator Edward Pierce. Having recently returned from the first World War in one piece, Pierce struggles with alcoholism as he tries to keep his agency from going under. After receiving a strange request to investigate a suspicious painting and its connection to a horrific housefire, Pierce finds himself on the small island of Darkwater, Massachusets. What started as a somewhat strange case goes off the rails fast, as Pierce finds himself tangled up in occult rituals, crazed cultists, and otherworldly horrors that humanity may not be able to comprehend.
The story’s progression from a fairly average detective story to a cosmic tale of unfathomable horror is, for the most part, incredibly well-paced. Though the ending gets pretty ridiculous at a breakneck pace, it seems to be in service of the story’s tone and atmosphere, so it’s forgivable. Most of the main characters are interesting, though I think Pierce is the best of the lot.
“I never really felt comfortable while playing Call of Cthulhu, which is a very good thing.“
I’m quite impressed with the uneasy atmosphere that Call of Cthulhu effortlessly provides. Even when simply walking around Darkwater, it feels like something is wrong. Everyone is a bit unhinged, and there’s a layer of grime on every building and townsperson. Once Cthulhu and his gang start becoming more prevalent in the story, the game really becomes anxiety-inducing. As my version of Pierce slowly lost his sanity, I found myself feeling as though the world around him was bending alongside his mind. I never really felt comfortable while playing Call of Cthulhu, which is a very good thing.
For most of Call of Cthulhu, you’ll be wandering around different locations in search of clues. Though the Sarah Hawkins case is the game’s main mystery, plenty of smaller riddles, puzzles, and conundrums are liberally peppered throughout the game. The majority of these puzzles are well-made and fun to solve, as they’re challenging but completely fair. Even then, a fair number of puzzles have multiple solutions that are based on your character traits. If your version of Pierce is stronger and more prone to violence, then a brute force-based solution may subtly present itself, while a Pierce with more points put into “Investigation” may be able to piece a logical solution together more easily. I never got tired of solving each puzzle and mystery throughout all of Call of Cthulhu, as it’s simply a damn good detective game.
“It really comes down to how you want to play Call of Cthulhu, as there is plenty of variety to go around.“
The levelling system is one of Call of Cthulhu’s greatest strengths, as it gives you an impressive amount of freedom in deciding how you’ll play the game. Different dialogue options and, as previously mentioned, puzzle solutions will be available to you if you’ve levelled specific skills up. My version of Pierce was a master investigator who could talk his way out of any situation, though I had just as much freedom to make him a violent no-nonsense detective who understands psychology as well as he understands combat. It really comes down to how you want to play Call of Cthulhu, as there is plenty of variety to go around.
Even beyond these skills, Pierce’s sanity is tied to his knowledge of the occult, meaning you can sacrifice bits of your sanity to gain a better understanding of the supernatural things around you. It’s another layer of character-building that makes both Pierce and the world around him more interesting and more dangerous.
There are small stealth sections dispersed throughout Call of Cthulhu, all of which stand out as weak when compared to the rest of the game. Hiding from monsters that have a finicky sense of where you are isn’t particularly fun when you’re stumbling around in the dark without checkpoints. Hiding from guards and monsters in closets isn’t much fun either, even if Pierce’s claustrophobia makes the concept a bit more interesting. These sections aren’t too frequent, but they always slow Call of Cthulhu down when they come up.
The other area in which Call of Cthulhu does struggle is its visuals, which are best described as inconsistent. While the supernatural creatures and eerie surroundings look fantastic, the human models run the gamut from creepy to laughably stone-faced. Some big moments in the story are dampened by the goofy blank faces that NPCs would make, which were made sillier by the game’s surreal artstyle.
The Final Word
Call of Cthulhu is a chilling adventure that succeeds as a game for both Lovecraft fans and horror fans alike. Though its stealth segments and visuals are imperfect, the story and deep character building make it easy to look past these issues.
