Call of Cthulhu - Review Roundup

Call of Cthulhu has been released on Steam to a mixed reception.

Gamespew

Call of Cthulhu doesn’t quite sell your character’s (inevitable) descent into madness, though the choices you’re offered at its conclusion are perfectly on point. You do, briefly, get to play as different characters throughout the game, though I would have welcomed the opportunity to spend more time in their shoes. Despite its somewhat shaky history (the game having changed hands midway through development), Call of Cthulhu has emerged from the shadows unscathed.

Trusted Reviews

Most of all, Call of Cthulhu comes closer than any previous adaptation – from Dark Corners all the way back to Shadow of the Comet and Prisoner of Ice – in replicating the substance of the Chaosium RPG. While it could be more sophisticated in its handling of research and detective work, Cyanide’s effort keeps both front and centre, always resisting the temptation to just say blow it and start the gunplay. There’s stuff going on here that’s far from perfect, but that could be fantastic with a bit more care and polish.


Is this the season’s must-have horror game? Nope, but there’s a lot here that fans of Lovecraft and Call of Cthulhu will appreciate. Sure, there’s still a sense that the truly great Lovecraft adaptation has yet to push back the door of dread R’lyeh and rise to the surface, but until it does – or a sequel brings improvements – this will more than do.

Cultured Vultures

Call of Cthulhu is a perfect example of a game that needed some more spit and polish before being released. Everything from the game’s visuals to its animation and even some of the world building feels like it came out of the early PS3/360 era rather than today. What it does have is tons of atmosphere and a genuinely Lovecraftian story that does a decent job of scratching that eldritch itch. It also earns a gold medal for resisting the urge of putting in tacky combat mechanics: the game has some limited combat, but it’s handled in a good and suitable way.

More information.

Err that Gamespot one is a bit old. It is from Dark Corners.

Doesn't sound positive.

Originally Posted by fabrulana
Err that Gamespot one is a bit old. It is from Dark Corners.

Noted and removed.

TL;DR

Game seems to be of two halves:
1st half: a great detective game, with lots of skill checks and exploration
2nd half: a not so great scripted survival video game with annoying stealth and gunfight

Ouch.

This never looked good, got bad vibes from the start.

Of course. It's Cyanide. I still buy their games, but never full price.

Cyanide always had awsome ideas yet every time they screw up something.
All their games, at least those I've played, start interesting and somehow in the middle "the cow kicks the bucket and spills the milk". And my best bet why this happens is - lack of budget.

Another review:
https://www.gamewatcher.com/reviews/…-review/13075#

Call of Cthulhu is an undeniably fun adventure game with some great ideas, cool stealth moments, and it never devolves into a shooter like Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth did. However, it also wastes its sanity mechanic, and the second half of the game consists of smaller and smaller locations that seem in a rush to get to an abrupt ending. The first few hours of the game are fantastic, but the rest feels like the team were forced to cram around 20 hours of exciting adventure-RPG gameplay and story into just 4 hours. The story skips to the end, the characters change instantly, and then the credits roll without the name “Cthulhu” even being mentioned. A huge disappointment.

6/10

Here's hope the publisher will recognize the potential and fund a sort of "director's cut" where second half of the game won't feel halfdone/rushed.

I like seeing the comparison to the Chaosium game, but knowing this product is from Cyanide, I read it with caution. I'll read some future reviews and maybe snag this at the bargain bin down the road.

Here's a very positive review on the game. The guys seems very knowledgeable about lovecraft. So I trust his opinion a lot more than the random people on the internet that have no idea what a good game is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp2F7wwaa2I



I've played it for about 30 mins, and found it very nice. It sounded amazingly, and the atmosphere was great. Also very unnerving and unsettling.

It is a divisible game and will depend highly on what you're looking for. I completed the game 4 times and had a good time. You're not stuck to running and hiding 24/7. Each mechanic follows one another very well and doesn't overstay its welcome. Story and atmosphere are both great. And the emphasis is on atmospheric horror rather than jumpscares. I think this is Cyanide's most polished game. Did a detailed review on it in Indian Noob and it's in the home page of rpg watch. Don't buy the game if you're looking for an Outlast or Amnesia though.

Originally Posted by yemeth
Don't buy the game if you're looking for an Outlast or Amnesia though.

What if we never heard of those two? Or it's one title?

Originally Posted by joxer
What if we never heard of those two? Or it's one title?

Then you can try it out. Steam refund policy should help if it falters

"and then the credits roll without the name “Cthulhu” even being mentioned."
Also this part of GameWatcher review is wrong though. That's only one of the depressive endings.

I do think that a lot of the overly negative reviews completely missed the point on what makes a good Lovecraftian game. Plus Cyanide was very clear on the whole linearity of the game. It could have been better and bigger, but the one we got is not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination imo. Let's hope that they'll do a Mountains of Madness sequel which will improve upon what is already there. Quoting my brief Steam review,
"Call of Cthulhu is easily the best adaptation of Lovecraft and Chaosium's works. But be warned this is not an Amnesia, an Outlast or even a Penumbra. This is a very linear experience which mixes elements of exploration, investigation, stealth and scripted set pieces one after the other. No single mechanic appears in the game for too long to wear out its welcome. There are also some nice light RPG mechanics which provides you with different ways to approach a situation in the first few hours. The game manages to capture the essence of Lovecraftian horror and the focus is not on jump scares (there is a handful of them which are well implemented of course). The story is engaging and it lets the player figure out some of the plot points and what is not explained directly to you (can confirm with my 4 playthroughs). Voice acting is also decent with only a handful of NPC dialogues sounding phoned in.
There are also some nice nods to Dagon, Shadow Over Innsmouth, Shadow out of Time, The Pickman Model and a few other Lovecraft stories.
I've completed the game 4 times for the sake of this review and should say that I've had a good time. Definitely worth playing if you don't mind the linear structure, bad facial animations and dated textures and character models (Especially considering the regional price). Could have been better (stealth is pretty basic and AI exploitable, choices should have more impact on the gameplay) but no way as bad as a lot of reviews make it out to be."

A Mountains of Madness sequel?

Wait, are you saying this is literally "The Call of Cthulhu", as in, based on the actual short story? Like in 3 to 5 parts where each of the narrators in a men's social club discover they have a connection to a nearly identical cult from cultures completely disparate from each other? (its not a spoiler to say that)

Another half baked mixed bag Cyanide game say it ain't so.

Originally Posted by Lucky Day
A Mountains of Madness sequel?

Wait, are you saying this is literally "The Call of Cthulhu", as in, based on the actual short story? Like in 3 to 5 parts where each of the narrators in a men's social club discover they have a connection to a nearly identical cult from cultures completely disparate from each other? (its not a spoiler to say that)

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No not a direct adaptation. Even Dark Corners of the Earth devs were going to do a Mountains of Madness game. Maybe Cyanide will do one too, considering it's one of Lovecraft's renowned stories.

Originally Posted by yemeth
It is a divisible game and will depend highly on what you're looking for. I completed the game 4 times and had a good time. You're not stuck to running and hiding 24/7. Each mechanic follows one another very well and doesn't overstay its welcome. Story and atmosphere are both great. And the emphasis is on atmospheric horror rather than jumpscares. I think this is Cyanide's most polished game. Did a detailed review on it in Indian Noob and it's in the home page of rpg watch. Don't buy the game if you're looking for an Outlast or Amnesia though.

The game was released earlier today and you've completed it 4 times? That's pretty impressive.

I'm kidding of course. I assume you got a review copy awhile back? Who do you work for?

*Edit* Duh… I missed the part where you mentioned Indian Noob.

Approximately how long is one playthrough?

Originally Posted by JDR13
The game was released earlier today and you've completed it 4 times? That's pretty impressive.

I'm kidding of course. I assume you got a review copy awhile back? Who do you work for?

*Edit* Duh… I missed the part where you mentioned Indian Noob.

Approximately how long is one playthrough?

The first playthrough took me around 12 hours (actually the first playthrough got canned at 8 hrs when steam cloud erased my saves due to a power outrage. India is fun) Took my time exploring and recording some clips, so you can probably complete it in 10 hours. Next few playthroughs took me around 4-5 hours because I knew what to do and where to go then. Got all achievements and endings and the whole shebang. Also worth noting that the game around $20 in Indian Steam store.