Stygian - Review @ IndianNoob

Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones Review :: Brilliant Lovecraft Adaptation, Good RPG

As a fan of Lovecraftian fiction, I took great pleasure in reviewing two of the latest adaptations recently, Cyanide's Call of Cthulhu and Frogware's Sinking City. CRPGs are basically my bread and butter over at The Indian Noob and I try not to miss out on any new releases. Thus, I've been waiting for Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones for quite some time; Cultic Games' new RPG that supposedly combines otherworldly cosmic horror with deep RPG mechanics. You don't get to play supernatural RPGs every day and the fact that its Lovecraftian horror makes it even better. With our sci-fi aficionado Sailesh Singh riding shotgun, I ventured into the bizarre world of Stygian to pass the final judgment.

Story & Setting

Stygian is a love letter to the works of Lovecraft and those who followed. To my surprise, it takes more inspirations from Dream Cycle, The Shadow Out of Time and The Haunter of the Dark than Call of Cthulhu or Shadow Over Innsmouth, which is quite refreshing. Nevertheless, everything you expect from pulp and weird fiction is present in its full glory, and then some. A town in the verge of ruination? Check. Its denizens slowly turning insane thanks to cosmic entities and indescribable horrors? Check. Helplessness, hopelessness and a lot of unanswered questions? You bet.

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VERDICT

Stygian: Regin of the Old Ones is hands down one of the best Lovecraftian video game adaptations out there. It's also a good RPG that's just short of excellence due to the average combat, relatively short length and somewhat limited exploration. A dark, brooding setting, narrative-driven gameplay, satisfying role-playing options and plenty of choices await those who buy Stygian. If the current price seems a bit too steep, don't forget to add it to your must-play list and pick it up down the line.

Score: 8/10

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booboo said:

They really have nailed the lore and atmosphere, I think…I quite like the weird art style too. I am finding money (cigs) a little too scarce though and now that my character is paranoid combat has become more random.
It also seems to be quite hard to level up your 'power' i.e. I don't feel much of a sense of progression as I level. I'm level 5 now, after 7 hours, and don't feel I'm ready to tackle the challenges ahead…

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Barghest said:

I've heard you can only get 15-hours out of this game, is that true?

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Barghest said:

I've heard you can only get 15-hours out of this game, is that true?

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I'd like to share some insight on the scope of the game as well. When I first wrote the script of Stygian, I wasn't aware that its scope would actually be much wider in terms of the playtime than what we envisioned for Reign of the Old Ones. The complete saga that I had written would have lasted around 50 hours to complete but we were trying to achieve a 15-20 hours experience with a lot of re-playability. At some point in the production, I was obliged to make a tough decision (like any good RPG): rushing the last chapter, breaking the pace of the game or complete it on a cliffhanger and leave some space for future installments.

Stygian is not a short game and it definitely can not be categorized as episodic, since it is teeming with content; but I have to state that we won't be solving all the mysteries at the end of this game. Going the other way would have spoiled some really good scenes, characters and situations for the sake of having just a closure. For better or for worse, I thought you needed to know that.

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DarkELVES said:

I've read steam reviews claiming that you can't manually save? Is this correct?

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Barghest said:

I've heard you can only get 15-hours out of this game, is that true?

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