Call of Cthulhu - Review Roundup

yemeth said:

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.

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Thanks. I'm interested in playing it, but I'm not sure if it's worth what they're asking for it over here ($45). I'll probably wait for a decent sale.

Game is fabulous from this Lovecraft fans perspective. I'm very happy with what they've done here. My daughter and I played 7 hours of it together yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and story.

If you're not super into HPL, i'd wait for a half off sale. If you are a fan, then you already own it ;-)

Cthulhufan said:

Game is fabulous from this Lovecraft fans perspective.

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Then a story-related question: is the main story a HPL cliché, that is:
a. shocking realization that Big C is messing around, and we, humans are insects -- yawn
b. shocking realization that Creepy Village's Even Creepier Residents are cultists, trying to revive Big C -- snore

OR...

something more original than the hmmm... original short story, but keeping HPL's themes and style (e.g. Eternal Darkness, Prisoner of Ice)?

What I'm looking for (rubs nose to nose with fellow HPL fan) is a story similar to these selected works:
- Strange High House In the Mist (poetic fable-horror at its best)
- Whisperer In Darkness (a genuinely gripping story)
- The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (traditional HPL themes with a twist, pt 1)
- Shadow Out Of Time (traditional HPL themes with a twist, pt 2)
- Color Out Of Space (HPL does something different - and it works!)

duerer said:

Then a story-related question: is the main story a HPL cliché, that is:
a. shocking realization that Big C is messing around, and we, humans are insects -- yawn
b. shocking realization that Creepy Village's Even Creepier Residents are cultists, trying to revive Big C -- snore

OR…

something more original than the hmmm… original short story, but keeping HPL's themes and style (e.g. Eternal Darkness, Prisoner of Ice)?

What I'm looking for (rubs nose to nose with fellow HPL fan) is a story similar to these selected works:
- Strange High House In the Mist (poetic fable-horror at its best)
- Whisperer In Darkness (a genuinely gripping story)
- The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (traditional HPL themes with a twist, pt 1)
- Shadow Out Of Time (traditional HPL themes with a twist, pt 2)
- Color Out Of Space (HPL does something different - and it works!)

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Dream Quest is my favorite ( I know, pull my nerd card ).

Bear in mind that we are 7-9 hours in and have been really taking our time just absorbing and enjoying the atmosphere.

I get: Dagon, Shadow Over Innsmouth, The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Mostly those. This is very much it's own tale so I get reminded of those while playing so far; not so much "it's ripped right from the page" but these are the vibes I get.

Although very different, it's easily on equal footing with Conarium which, before now, was the single best HPL interpretation I've played to date.

There are some clichè moments, big surprise there, but I have to say I'm quite impressed. We are streaming the game to our 49" TV in our geek dungeon running with a 5.1 surround setup via Steam Link running at 2560x1440 at max settings and it is absolutely gorgeous even if the graphics are a bit rough. Atmosphere is a solid and nice. Great to play in the dark with a few candles.

Obviously I'm biased but I have no problem calling out rubbish when I see it (such as Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth). This is not rubbish.

Hope that helps.

joxer said:

… from the review link you posted:
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.

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Really? That's pretty fucking interesting right there. I wonder if we are playing the same game. Maybe the reviewer was a shooter fan or not used to looking at details and just rips through games as fast as possible. That statement right there completely dis-qualifies the review: they fail. Utterly. I'm only half way in and I can tell you with certainty that squid boy has been more than inferred.

So, was it the drawings, the cultist chants (if you hung around and paid attention), the statues, the reference material or something else? Kind of really interested how you could miss the elephant in the room there...

All said from the rose colored glass perspective of a fan of this stuff; I am certainly biased.

Cthulhufan said:

I get: Dagon, Shadow Over Innsmouth, The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Mostly those. This is very much it's own tale so I get reminded of those while playing so far; not so much "it's ripped right from the page" but these are the vibes I get.

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Great stories. I particularly liked The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Have you ever seen The Resurrected? It's low-budget as hell, but I think it's the best film adaption of a HPL story out there.

Cthulhufan said:

Although very different, it's easily on equal footing with Conarium which, before now, was the single best HPL interpretation I've played to date.

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I purchased Conarium today after reading that. I've had it on my wishlist for awhile but wasn't sure if it was any good. I haven't started playing it yet, but I'm always looking for any quality game that's HPL related.

The streamer CallOfCthulhu performed a special show for this product from the release hour.
The stream is a bit more than nine hours, is a complete run and was delivered by a streamer well versed in the mythos who thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

JDR13 said:

Great stories. I particularly liked The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Have you ever seen The Resurrected? It's low-budget as hell, but I think it's the best film adaption of a HPL story out there.

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Hi, JDR13, YUP that is the single best film to date in my humble opinion.

JDR13 said:

I purchased Conarium today after reading that. I've had it on my wishlist for awhile but wasn't sure if it was any good. I haven't started playing it yet, but I'm always looking for any quality game that's HPL related.

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It is my sincere hope you enjoy the hell out of Conarium; it is a slow burn but really takes off after you get going. Very fun story, very good ambiance and very good presentation; it is a walking simulator though so be advised.

I mentioned "ripped from the pages" before; Conarium is absolutely ripped from the pages. I haven't seen it's equal yet.

Streamer CallOfCthulhu did a second run, giving a fairly complete view on the product.

Second? There are dozens of reruns. Each lollygagging and not playing to earn more $ from stalling, each failed to play the game they way I would.
If something is fairly complete there, it is misuse of a product. Then again phones with vibration turned on are making people happy in bed so who am I to criticize.

ChienAboyeur said:

Streamer CallOfCthulhu did a second run, giving a fairly complete view on the product.

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Without spoilers (we haven't finished yet), was the story different on any meaningful level on the reviewers second play through?

Assuming the reviewer chose different skills on the second run; we are completely trying to focus on investigation, secret finding (whatever that's called) and speech craft as well as making it a priority to find all occult knowledge (we want to go insane) for our maiden voyage.

Hoping things can turn out very differently if you go into str, pysch etc ...

joxer said:

Second? There are dozens of reruns. .

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Only two played by CoC though. And this product is right the kind the able streamer can add to. And CoC added to it a lot.

Cthulhufan said:

Without spoilers (we haven't finished yet), was the story different on any meaningful level on the reviewers second play through?

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Closely as meaningful as different options are in Tell Tales products.