Call of Cthulhu

Introduction

Call of Cthulhu was my first actual consumption of the Lovecraftian lore; prior to playing, all I knew about it was that Cthulhu was a colossal being that lived in the depths of the ocean. I had no idea what was actually meant to be expected out of this particular Cthulhu story, but every theme and idea that was introduced while I was playing, was a most welcome one.

Taking place in the post-Victorian era, the same period that H. P. Lovecraft lived, this iteration of Call of Cthulhu takes place on the fishing island of Darkwater, off the coast of Massachussetts.

Frequent allusions and references to whaling, fishing, and the occult really creates the atmosphere early on in the game. It paints a solid and clear picture of where you actually are and what you are dealing with at all times. The characters bring the story to life - there are no boring or useless characters in this game - every character has at least something to tell or do. The story is written well, and the character interactions really flesh out the characteristics of everybody you’re talking to.

Visually, the game is easy on the eyes, although for a game made in 2018, it does feel like there might have been some room for improvement with the actual visual quality, however given the scale of both the game and developing studio, it is understandable why they didn’t push for a very beautiful looking game.

The gameplay is fairly simple: you mainly solve puzzles, walk around, explore and uncover the mystery of the island. The story unwraps itself around you as you progress, and you can see where the story is going, and what you can expect.

Story

Although I have yet to read other iterations of Cthulhu and his awakening, I know at least this particular one is not a replication of Lovecraft’s original work. The story still sticks to it’s dark, grim, and nautical roots and uses it a tool in storytelling. The prospect of fishing and the abolishment of whaling helps the player understand just what the entire island is effectively going through at the time and how they go about living their lives.

The story and pacing is fairly linear, however there are certain instances where a particular idea and/or theme is introduced and will be closed later on in the game. Despite of this, everything does all converge together at the end and it doesn’t feel like there are any loose ends or weirdly unanswered questions.

The game features different endings, each I believe (although I’m not entirely sure) gets decided at the last chapter. Each ending is satisfying enough and doesn’t sabotage itself. The endings itself encapsulate the consequences of your choices against Cthulhu; it was interesting to see the different outcomes that could happen throughout the events of the entire story. I’m unsure if there are any other endings, but I have played through three of them at least. I cannot comment on the fidelity of the lore, and if anything here is accepted within Lovecraftian lore as I am very unaware of what constitutes it.

The characters in this game are considerably fleshed out and understandable. There is a satisfactory amount of depth in the important characters, and even the not-so important characters get enough coverage and personality that interacting with them doesn’t feel shallow and formulaic. Everyone has something to bring to the table. The voice acting really helps support the characters in painting their image. Really nobody felt out of place or uninteresting (that is if you enjoy Lovecraftian settings). I very much enjoyed my time going through the dialogues with each of the characters and seeing what they have to say about what’s going on in Darkwater.

Gameplay

The gameplay itself is straightforward. There isn’t anything particularly too special about it. It’s most often a walking simulator where you’re exploring the environment and learning about the events of the story. Your character frequently narrates about objects and things you interact with, doing so in a way that guides you to the importance of what you’re interacting with. Exploring each area was a treat, the rooms and levels aren’t boring; there’s always some piece of lore and story in each room that plays a significant part of the story - and this knowledge at least made me want to explore every nook and cranny of the rooms.

Puzzles are frequently scattered across the game as well. The types of puzzles are not static, throughout the game there are different puzzles you have the solve to progress the story and the level. The difficulty of the puzzles isn’t a concern. There aren’t any puzzles that are overtly long or is a headache to deal with - they are all fairly straight forward and shouldn’t confuse the average person.

The visuals of this game is a love-letter to the older story-driven role-playing games. Undoubtedly there are games from this game’s release that look superb in comparison to this. However, the engine used for this game definitely proved to be more than enough, as there weren’t any sacrifices to necessary details. The general ruggedness, lighting, and atmosphere produced by the engine is by no means a bad characteristic of the visuals. For the scale of this game, which focuses more on storytelling than anything else, provides a favourable charm to the dark ambience of the game. The game doesn’t really benefit from having photo-realistic models and high-quality assets - it’s just not that type of game. The game still looks wonderful the way it is and I by no means have any issue with it.

The game itself is actually fairly short, only taking 10-15 hours to complete 14 chapters. The length doesn’t necessarily bother me, however for the price of this game, it is difficult to justify.

Conclusion

The story and characters are fleshed out well, the gameplay and exploration is enjoyable and doesn’t feel off-putting. The visuals and voice-acting are very well done and fitting for the atmosphere of this game. In spite of all this, the game is essentially quite simple, there isn’t much complexity in it and doesn’t try to break any barriers. If the trailer and promotional images entice you and you don’t mind simple video games - even still - I can only recommend purchasing this game when it’s on sale. It serves as a small short game you can leisurely enjoy without having to fear you might have to commit a long time to the game.