REVIEW : Call of Cthulhu (PC)
Cyanide Studios the creators of Styx have worked on Call of Cthulhu which faithfully recreates the atmosphere of original material. Call of Cthulhu is a first-person game which plays out like survival horror while you control the game’s protagonist Edward Pierce.
Edward Pierce is a detective who travels to Darkwater to investigate the deaths of Hawkins family. The graphical presentation of the game is kind of a mixed bag, low resolution, slow loading textures, low polygons and clunky animations which gets better as you progress through the game.
The game follows Cthulhu mythology faithfully and is filled with enemies like Killer Whales in gutter, tentacles monsters and overall atmosphere of deterioration and bleakness.
The core gameplay is balancing the psychology of protagonist, taking alcohol help keep you sane but hiding for too long can add to the anxiety. The game features over 12 endings which play out based on Pierce’s mental state.
Interaction with environment and NPCs in Darkwater is handled superbly, with branching dialogues and engage you further more into the lore. Large chunk of gameplay involves you checking the environment for clues to elaborate on the mystery. There are also visual cue’s which help in reconstructing scenes.
The game is quite slow paced as a detective game should be but limited to no focus on combat and other factors of gameplay play an important role in creating the atmosphere. The stealth mechanics are basic and AI is just there but these sections are important as they progress the story forward. Some other sections have Pierce running from monsters, these scenes are frightening and tense. Further, adding to the complexity are the panic attacks which requires you to reach safety to calm the protagonist down. There are 7 categories in which player can skill up in RPG style system which open up new gameplay opportunities.
