I've never read any H.P Lovecraft. My knowledge of Cthulhu is entirely from the aesthetics and themes of other games, art and many board games. How accurate Cyanide's Call of Cthulhu is to it's source material I couldn't say, what I can say is I had a really good time with this horror themed adventure title.

Call of Cthulhu is set in 1924 following protagonist Edward Piece, a somewhat burnt out Private Detective (Aren't they all? lmao). He is asked to investigate the Hawkins family and their sad deaths in a house fire on Darkwater Island off of Boston. Once there, Pierce soon finds nothing is as it seems.

I actually really enjoyed the overall story and how it's presented as Pierce investigates. It's described as "a semi-open world investigative role-playing game with elements of stealth and psychological horror." which is fairly accurate. It's played in first person and there is no combat or true action, instead Pierce investigates searching items, talking to people gathering clues to progress to the next area unraveling the mystery as he goes. Where the game is kind of unique to this is it take ideas from the board games giving him stats that you can level up such as strength, spot hidden item, investigate, medicine etc. Whilst these stats don't effect the overall game in a huge way they do allow for different outcomes in how Pierce progresses or learns lore depending on his understanding giving the player different information. I rather liked it as it gives subtle differences when playing on a second playthrough but I do feel this could have been developed a bit more than it was. The game loses points on the gameplay front for me in a couple of sequences I don't want to spoil but essentially they involve dealing with a stalking monster and are just awful to play and frustrating. I think I died on one about 15 times before looking it up on youtube and then beating it in 10 seconds. Really stupid.

Where Call of Cthulhu really nailed certain aspects though was in it's art design and atmosphere. Pierce investigates a variety of different locations like a crumbling whaling dock, old mansion, caves etc. and each location is suitably decrepit and eerie with a good attention to detail in the items and character designs. On a technical level the game is fine, it does the part but the characters faces and animations were a little rough but I feel that's expected in a mid budget game like this so didn't hamper my enjoyment. On the sound side of things it's pretty good overall. I like a lot of the music, it gives a real sense or horror, creepiness and madness. This is the menu theme for example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FKKCgXoNyo

With the price you can pick this game up for now in sales I certainly recommend it. It's a fun little title with a great atmosphere and interesting ideas. It doesn't quite succeed in everything it tries but I feel that's part of it's charm in some ways. I really wish more publishers would make these mid budget games that are a little interesting like Focus Home Interactive does.

+ Slight RPG elements are an interesting inclusion.
+ Art design is excellent / great atmosphere generally.
+ Interesting story.
+ Good music.

- Character animations and faces are very wooden.
- A couple of sequences were frustrating.

Call of Cthulhu was inspired by the tabletop RPG, set in 1924 and featuring a rather sullen private investigator. I swear, this game was made for people like me who go nuts for the Cthulhu Mythos. It was far from perfect with some poor character models / animations as well as some jank systems, but it ticked a lot of boxes: the atmosphere, the visuals, the cult shenanigans and sanity loss.

Any form of combat was minimal, instead it mostly consisted of stealth alongside its detective work of questioning various characters and searching for clues. While some sections were frustrating, I really appreciated the story and had more fun than expected.

It’s… fine. The story is relatively typical if generic Lovecraft, though with some pretty decent performances.

The RPG mechanics leave a lot to be desired and the world/game overall is exceedingly linear. Stealth sucks, and one particular “boss” fight has probably the worst gameplay design I’ve ever seen.

Play if you like the vibe, but of recent Lovecraft inspired games I’d much rather play The Sinking City again that ever play this a second time.

As a fan of H.P. Lovecraft's works, I am always excited to get my hands on any Lovecraftian piece of media. For some reason, the one area where Lovecraftian horror never seems to translate well is in videogames. This game does try but doesn't quite hit the mark, though it does succeed a little better than its counterpart, The Sinking City. Call of Cthulhu focuses on exploration, investigation, and stealth without doing any of these particularly well. The story is serviceable and the atmosphere is probably the strongest feature. Call of Cthulhu is not a must-play by any means, but if you are looking for Lovecraftian content it might be worth checking out at least for atmosphere and story. And it's mercifully short so if you don't like it, at least you aren't stuck with it long.

A part investigation, part stealth, mostly walking simulator Lovecraftian game. You are private eye type man who shows up to town to solve some mysterious deaths only to find that the townsfolk are at like stage 9 of their 10 step Eldritch God plan. This game does a good job with setting up the typical Lovecraftian visuals and establishing a backstory for the town and its characters. If you're familiar with Lovecraft at all, you'll see the plot of this game coming from a mile away, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I would say this game reminds me most of Amnesia, if you removed 90% of the monster encounters. Some of the sections drag on for a bit too long, and the very end was a bit of a let down, but it was better than I was expecting.

Every year in October I try and play a “scary” game. This years pick was not quite on the horror side of things but I think it fit the theme well enough.

I’m a fan of Call of Cthulhu so getting to play a video game that is pulling from the table top game sounded like a fun time. Unfortunately the game is a bit of a mixed bag. I thought the story was solid, the mystery kept me invested but by the end it kinda fell apart a bit for me. I enjoyed the skill upgrades even though I wish they were used more in the game.

Gameplay wise some chapters I really enjoyed, like ones where you’re exploring an area and solving puzzles. There are some stealth segments that were hit and miss. Then there were some parts that were an absolute slog to get through.

I also have to say the game doesn’t look the best. Locations look alright and the character models are okay but the lack of proper lip syncing is very noticeable and kinda comical almost. Overall not terrible but not great.

It’s too bad cause it feels like one of those games that after you finish they want you to play again to see what you could do different. Yet it doesn’t have the quality to be a game I want to start up any time soon

A first-person survival horror, detective simulator RPG. Like most games from developer Cyanide it's a lower budget title. Something you can see in things like the dated graphics and atrociously long load times. Hiding underneath its lackluster presentation however is a deceptively deep experience with one of the richest narratives I've come across in all my years of gaming, making for one incredible dive into the depths of insanity and Lovecraftian lore.

The gameplay is primarily a mix of exploration and puzzle solving, with the occasional stealth section and combat scenario thrown in for good measure. You often have multiple ways to complete your objectives, which encourages experimentation and thoroughness when combing the environments for useful items or information. Searching every nook and cranny will not only reveal all your options for progression, but also rewards players with bits of backstory and clues that can unlock special branches of dialog when talking to NPCs.

The most common way to gain new knowledge though is through skill checks. You essentially have 7 different educations or abilities to invest in, and which ones you choose directly affect what you are able to learn. This being a Lovecraftian adventure each new revelation has a serious impact and your character's mental state, which in turn influences which ending you can receive. Your decisions don't necessarily take you on any radically diverging paths like, say, The Witcher 2 would, but they do offer enough subtle differences to make it worth a second playthrough if you wanted to see how things like another build or dialog choice changes things.

In fact, I'd say going through this more than once is arguably the best way to experience it because you can pick up on all the little details you might have missed. After finishing it the first time I immediately started over and was blown away by how complex my interactions with the story actually were. I was still completing the same stages and tasks, but found myself heading towards an entirely different outcome as my character's understanding of events was radically unlike that of the one on my previous save.

While the mechanics are great, it wouldn't really matter if there wasn't a strong plot to back them up. Luckily, the game delivers in that department as well. As someone relatively unfamiliar with the cthulhu mythos, I was pulled in by its twisted nature and cosmic implications. Everyone you encounter is so well-written and supported by phenomenal voice acting, even if the protagonist seems to struggle with expressing the appropriate emotions in some situations. All of which make for a mystery so enticing and haunting that you can't help but be glued to your controller until the credits roll. By the time I had earned the very last achievement I already knew this had become one of my favorite horror games of all time. Second only to the legendary Silent Hill 2. So naturally I can only give this my highest recommendations.

9/10

Jogo ótimo de exploração, mistério e terror (só uns jumpscare, nada demais). Sua exploração vale ouro, devido a certas respostas só aparecerem tendo achado pistas ou conversado com pessoas, mas também tem um sistema de Pontos de habilidade, igual um RPG de mesa, logo há coisas que precisam de testes ou ter a habilidade no nível necessário para conseguir tal resposta/interação, oque deixa o jogo bastante rico em replay ou vontade de explorar o máximo possível.
Claro que o fator história não deixa a desejar, já que é baseado no próprio RPG, e cada exploração você acha documentos e pistas que enriquecem ainda mais a experiência em fator narrativo. Há 4 finais, então certas escolhas de fato tem impacto, pois não há volta.

The so-far best Lovecraft game I’ve played, this time a RPG venture. That being understood, it’s not without its share of jank. Occasional clipping, cheesy dialogue, and choppy movement are no strangers here on the island of Darkwater. Yet instead of annoyance I found it made the game more charming. A common theme of the game for me. Besides that if there’s one I can commend the game on it's making the game feel a lot bigger than it really is. For how restrictive the locations and interactions are, the settings and puzzles work quite nice. Granted The Call of Cthulhu is a far cry from the arena of larger epics, but rarely does it blatantly feel like it. On the flipside it made it all the more disappointing when I wanted to get more in depth than the game would let me. Most areas are only open a single time and you can’t go back and converse with other characters again.

As for the RPG elements, they were…. there. You’ve got your strength, investigation, eloquence, psychology, and so on. Your standard fare. The problem is, they’re never really explained beyond basic blurbs and you never feel their importance. They unfortunately come across as more cosmetic changes than anything. For it being an indie game I almost reckon they should have just forgone those RPG elements entirely. Again, the game is quite restrictive. Cozy, but restrictive. Having a fully-realized upgrade system is hard to make rewarding in any game, let alone a moderately long indie one with a linear story. They definitely should have waited for when they could make a larger story, where they could have given these mechanics the attention they deserve.

The absolute apex of the game has got to be near the ending, which gives us the best visual of the game. When Cthulhu’s silhouette can be seen across a tempestuous expanse of overcast clouds, heavy fog, and rocky waves. It’s absolutely stunning, and also leads up to one of the four different endings, all of which are tragic to some extent. Though it’s an impressive amount of endings I find it hard to believe you’ll get a specific one without random chance or purposefully trying to get an ending by looking up the requirements. Thankfully the standard ending is the best so I wouldn’t put too much thought into it.

At the end of the day Call of Cthulhu is a good Lovecraft game, but I’m still waiting for a fantastic Lovecraft game. In the meantime, I’ll commend what team Cyanide was able to accomplish in a woefully underutilized subgenre, even if they bit off more than they could chew.

Call of Cthulhu is probably the most underrated mainstream Lovecraft game right now, as people started to love The Sinking City, and the first Call of Cthulhu game, that was very problematic at launch, but it was patched to be an enjoyable experience.

This Call of Cthulhu however, is a very decent walking sim/detective game, that focuses on choices, which can lead up to 4 different endings. I am not gonna lie, this game really surprised me. The animations are rather janky, but the overall atmosphere and gameplay are top notch, and the graphics, especially the more gruesome and supernatural areas, are really well done, despite the lower budget.

For those who seek more Lovecraftian games, I can recommend Call of Cthulhu, especially if you enjoy atmospheric and slow burn horror. The only thing that can ruin the experience is the janky nature of the animations, but everything else is either okay, or excellent.

Give it a go, and visit Darkwater!