Cyanide's Call of Cthulhu - "RPG-Investigation" game based on tabletop ruleset

[Dodo1610]

Those NCPs in the background look like they come straight out of a PS2 game. The game looks interesting but they should patch the sharpening it makes the low res textures look even worse.

 

[thesheeep]

Aaaaaand... mixed Steam reviews already.

Well, some negative reviews are from graphics whores, so that's to be expected because people are too dumb to get that not every game can look like RDR2.

But the rest seems to be somewhat valid complaints, like none of the gameplay elements being fully fleshed out, the voice actors being partly bad, the sanity stuff being just too much near the end.
And most importantly, the price simply being too much. 45€ for a 6-12 hour game... Who thought THAT was a good idea?

They should just reduce the price to 30 max and reviews would immediately start to improve.

 

[dragonul09]

It seems that the game is very short from what I saw on steam, 5-6 hours and half of it seems to be all over the place. I mean 45$ dollarinos for 5 hours, get the fuck outta here.

 

[Rahdulan]

But the rest seems to be somewhat valid complaints, like none of the gameplay elements being fully fleshed out, the voice actors being partly bad, the sanity stuff being just too much near the end.

So you're telling me it's a Cyanide game.

 

[PrettyDeadman]

 

[Rahdulan]

It's funny that based on Ggg's review this is precisely something I would like. He wanted it to be a survival horror shooter aka game that focuses on the worst delivered aspects of Dark Corners of the Earth. Not to mention talking and investigating your way through situations is pretty much staying true to the original roleplaying game where combat would quickly turn into a meatgrinder for PCs, be it physically or mentally. Now, execution itself is up in the air, though.

 

[Barbarian]

I played for little over one and a half hour before going to sleep yesterday. So far so good, I hope the "game becomes shit after first part" thing is not entirely true.

There are different ways to solve things and skills do matter. That is really good in my book. Too early to tell if C&C is there and that would require replaying the game a few times because of the save system(save scumming and backtracking are basically impossible). Actually, if this game has a replay factor all the criticism about it being short becomes moot. It is quite possibly the case.

Premise is interesting so far and I like the Darkwater setting. Lovecraft influence is palpable so far and it isn't a generic rehash of his work. They went the mile to create a different town with different history.

Only criticism so far are shitty graphics, but who cares? It feels like an indie game and there is nothing wrong with that. Main character is generic detective type #16367673 but at least he has a good voice actor(same guy who voiced Jonathan in Vampyr).

played for about an hour or so, enjoying it so far.. the atmosphere is nice.. Only into Ch. 2 so the beginning pretty much but I've played a bit in the starting area... I like how finding things opens up conversation options with various people around and how skills influence what you can talk about.. Interesting to see how much skills actually play a part, I've heard some say not much but already in the first area I have to get into a warehouse and the most obvious option is to talk to the crime boss who controls the area but if you accept their proposal you will have to owe them a favor later.. not sure if that actually matters or happens or not but I was like nah bitch I'm good... went and talked to the harbormaster he says all the warehouses are connected via sewers so I look around and see some place that has a gate to a sewer looking area, have to find items to fix a winch and pulley system to open it and then pass a strength skill check to turn the handle and lift the gate, so I start to turn it and it is working but then the fucking shit breaks and the game gives me a sub-objective of "find some help to get inside..."


no idea if it is a pure strength check or a dice roll modified by your str.. I wondered if it wasn't just part of the game and it always happens and I found a video on youtube of someone opening it, going down there and finding some weird occult shit and getting in that way. I need to investigate that occult shit man.. the only way to level up medicine or occultism outside of the beginning distribution is to find and interact with those things in the world...

also the game autosaves and there is no way to save scum from what I can see. There is no way to manual save all of your c&c is locked in.

Same thing happened to me. I actually tried to spread my skills wide so far and failed several checks(the strenght check you mentioned and a couple of eloquence checks come to mind).

You know, I consider that a very good sign. It means you need different character builds to actually reach certain content and means replaying the game might be worthwhile. One of the things I found disappointing about "The Council"(also an adventure/rpg hybrid with skill checks) was that by having mimimal points in every skill you could succeed every check. Obviously not the case in this game.

I will probably restart the game and try focusing on certain sets of skills instead of trying to be a jack of all trades. I'm just not sure about which ones to focus. Strenght + spot hidden + investigation seems the most attractive so far but I fear without occultism and eloquence I will miss on the most interesting content.

 

[glass blackbird]

I wonder if maybe the other language voice acting is better? The english track IS a dub after all, and both Focus and Cyanide are non-English companies

 

[DeepOcean]

Im only curious if the skills do matter. I mean, if it is like: persuade guard with different flavours of one liners , I would be disappointed.

Really disappointed that they didnt introduce adventure gaming mechanics more.

You know, collecting finger prints if you go hard on the investigation skill or decyphering books if you had high occultism with real Impact on gameplay.

You know, some well integrated puzzles with skill checks could make the game interesting but I bet they only have Skyrim type of puzzles, puzzles made to make people thinking they accomplished something when they didnt.

I bet you cant fail, the skills are only useful if you want to read more of the backstory.

People gave shit to Dark Corners of the Earth because of the action shooting but turning it on a walking simulator isnt my idea of fun.

So far, not interested, waiting for Sinking City.

 

[glass blackbird]

Some people on Steam seem to have 12-15 hours played, so it's possible you can access different things based on skills, I dunno. Game length depending on what skills and content you do is sort of a plus but who knows. It certainly sounds like it's longer than 5 hours at least which is nice

 

[vota DC]

I played for little over one and a half hour before going to sleep yesterday. So far so good, I hope the "game becomes shit after first part" thing is not entirely true.

There are different ways to solve things and skills do matter. That is really good in my book. Too early to tell if C&C is there and that would require replaying the game a few times because of the save system(save scumming and backtracking are basically impossible). Actually, if this game has a replay factor all the criticism about it being short becomes moot. It is quite possibly the case.

Premise is interesting so far and I like the Darkwater setting. Lovecraft influence is palpable so far and it isn't a generic rehash of his work. They went the mile to create a different town with different history.

Only criticism so far are shitty graphics, but who cares? It feels like an indie game and there is nothing wrong with that. Main character is generic detective type #16367673 but at least he has a good voice actor(same guy who voiced Jonathan in Vampyr).

played for about an hour or so, enjoying it so far.. the atmosphere is nice.. Only into Ch. 2 so the beginning pretty much but I've played a bit in the starting area... I like how finding things opens up conversation options with various people around and how skills influence what you can talk about.. Interesting to see how much skills actually play a part, I've heard some say not much but already in the first area I have to get into a warehouse and the most obvious option is to talk to the crime boss who controls the area but if you accept their proposal you will have to owe them a favor later.. not sure if that actually matters or happens or not but I was like nah bitch I'm good... went and talked to the harbormaster he says all the warehouses are connected via sewers so I look around and see some place that has a gate to a sewer looking area, have to find items to fix a winch and pulley system to open it and then pass a strength skill check to turn the handle and lift the gate, so I start to turn it and it is working but then the fucking shit breaks and the game gives me a sub-objective of "find some help to get inside..."


no idea if it is a pure strength check or a dice roll modified by your str.. I wondered if it wasn't just part of the game and it always happens and I found a video on youtube of someone opening it, going down there and finding some weird occult shit and getting in that way. I need to investigate that occult shit man.. the only way to level up medicine or occultism outside of the beginning distribution is to find and interact with those things in the world...

also the game autosaves and there is no way to save scum from what I can see. There is no way to manual save all of your c&c is locked in.

Same thing happened to me. I actually tried to spread my skills wide so far and failed several checks(the strenght check you mentioned and a couple of eloquence checks come to mind).

You know, I consider that a very good sign. It means you need different character builds to actually reach certain content and means replaying the game might be worthwhile. One of the things I found disappointing about "The Council"(also an adventure/rpg hybrid with skill checks) was that by having mimimal points in every skill you could succeed every check. Obviously not the case in this game.

I will probably restart the game and try focusing on certain sets of skills instead of trying to be a jack of all trades. I'm just not sure about which ones to focus. Strenght + spot hidden + investigation seems the most attractive so far but I fear without occultism and eloquence I will miss on the most interesting content.

Not sure about it, but aren't medicine and occultism skills that you max with items rather than xp/skillpoints? You just need those items, maybe they require a dialogue check to get them rather than spot hidden?

 

[Mortmal]

Some people on Steam seem to have 12-15 hours played, so it's possible you can access different things based on skills, I dunno. Game length depending on what skills and content you do is sort of a plus but who knows. It certainly sounds like it's longer than 5 hours at least which is nice

12 -15 hours for 50 euros ? that's still not much. Kingmaker was 160 hours even if unfinished, bard's tale 4 around 50 hours...

 

[Barbarian]

Im only curious if the skills do matter. I mean, if it is like: persuade guard with different flavours of one liners , I would be disappointed.

They do matter. As an example I would mention the sewer entrance. I failed to open it with a strenght test. When I was exiting the warehouse where said entrance was, I was aproached by the local crime lord who owned the place and threatened me. I had the option of either trying to cut a deal with her(eloquence) or trying to fight her and the two thugs who were tagging along(strenght). I chose the later and got my ass kicked.

I would have to replay the sequence(which would require a new game) in order to find what exactly are the differences, but I can tell you that acessing the sewers requires a strenght check and that by not choosing to cut a deal with the crime boss I had to sneak past her thugs in other entrance to my goal(an old warehouse).

Basically I missed a location(sewers) and an alternative path which probably required a sidequest(someone mentioned here the crime boss demands payback later for the favor of allowing you in her turf). I assume that if I managed to enter the sewers the whole encounter with the boss and thugs wouldn't have happened too! I have only played less than 2 hours but so far my impression in this area is pretty good. Remains to be seem if the rest of the game holds up, off course.

 

[Jenkem]

GGGMANLIVES is wrong about spot hidden btw, he makes it seem it like it just highlights interactables from further away, but there are actually spot-hidden skillchecks when going into a new area and an icon will appear on your screen telling you there is a hidden item.. if that dice roll for the check doesnt go in your favor, that item won't even appear..

if an area has a hidden thing, you can find it, and then restart from last checkpoint and go that same place and it might not appear

 

[Barbarian]

Yeah, the game seems to have quite the replayability being that you are bound to lose a lot of content and there seems to be alternatives to solving everything.

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

If it's just a lovecraft-themed adventure game

I mean...themed? It's developed in partnership with Chaosium and written in part by Chaosium CoC contributor Mark Morrison. I mean...it literally contains the PnP logo as its title. Doesn't get much more "Actually Lovecraftian" than that. The Frogwares game, I wouldn't be surprised, is their abandoned attempt at this game before whatever went sour. That game will literally be "HPL themed" and not officially "HPL" anything.

 

[PrettyDeadman]

Some people on Steam seem to have 12-15 hours played, so it's possible you can access different things based on skills, I dunno. Game length depending on what skills and content you do is sort of a plus but who knows. It certainly sounds like it's longer than 5 hours at least which is nice

12 -15 hours for 50 euros ? that's still not much. Kingmaker was 160 hours even if unfinished, bard's tale 4 around 50 hours...

Dota 2 is from couple thousand hours to infinity and its completely free...

 

[Suicidal]

Watching a stream of this game right now.

The player gets spotted by cultists while sneaking around a cave
Starts being chased
Opens door to the next room, which leads to a custscene
Cultists no longer chase him

Nice horror game you got there

 

[Morgoth]

Removed from inventory for investigative reasons....

Played until Chapter 5 and the game fails to take off. It's not bad, but not particularly gripping either. Take just all features other games have already done to death, and make them even more bland. Voila. Uninstalled.

 

[Life of the Party]

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.pcgamesn.com/call-of-cthulhu/call-of-cthulhu-review

Call of Cthulhu is a clumsy Lovecraft adaptation
The tabletop adaptation has a strong start but it soon descends into the wrong kind of madness

Call of Cthulhu opens with you, detective Edward Pierce, alighting at the docks of Darkwater Island. The boards of the pier curl with age, crusty townspeople stare at you from shadowed doorways, and the corpse of a whale lies swollen on the beach – it’s appropriately Lovecraftian (which makes sense for a Lovecraft adaptation).

You’re there to investigate the mysterious death of a local painter and her family – an investigation that slowly begins to unravel a supernatural plot, and which threatens to tear at the fabric of reality itself.

Your first task in leading your investigation is to talk to the island’s prickly inhabitants. As you do this, you can launch inquiries, the success of which is, in part, determined by character attributes – Eloquence, Investigation, Psychology, Strength, Object Discovery, Occultism, and Medicine. You can improve these over the course of the game but you can’t fill them all out, so you’ll always be missing something from your surroundings – a fact that sows the seeds of paranoia from the very start.

Choose to invest in Eloquence and you’ll be able to talk your way into hidden locations without resorting to violence. Side with Occultism and you may be able to pass yourself off as a loyal member of the Cthulhu cult, avoiding a possible grisly fate. However, as with many games where you can choose your path, your investigations end up at the same point regardless of your choices, making your decisions feel inconsequential.



This is made more bizarre as, like the Telltale games, your most important choices are marked by an in-game notification – this time ‘blank will remember this’ is replaced with ‘this will affect your fate’. Even these choices don’t have any significant impact on the ultimate direction of the story.

Alongside the investigative work is more traditional puzzles – think fetch quests and turning switches in the correct sequence. The best challenges are the ones that push you to play the role of a private investigator – solving text-based clues and cracking codes – tasks that require genuine deduction.

These often involve studying old books or maps for clues that will lead you ahead. While this may sound like dull work, it actually ends up being one of the more rewarding aspects of the game, requiring a level of logical problem solving that makes you feel like the investigator you’re supposed to be.



Combat is less accomplished. You don’t often have to resort to violence but, when you do, it’s a simple business. You don’t need to aim your weapon properly as Pierce lines you up for a head shot automatically. Like Call of Cthulhu’s tabletop source material, self-defence depends entirely on your Strength stat. Having only upgraded Strength once during my playthrough I expected to be in constant danger whenever the threat of violence was near, but, perhaps mercifully, I was able to breeze through these scenarios without any real skill or dexterity.

Most of the time, however, you won’t even be given the option of brute force. In all but a few specific circumstances, you’ll be forced to avoid combat using stealth. Sneaking around guards and other, more monstrous beings lacks the suffocating tension of games like Outlast and it doesn’t lean heavily into the consequences of being caught. Expect to be glared at menacingly for a few seconds before returning to the last checkpoint. Spooky? Nah, consider the stealth sections points of tedium and frustration.

While Call of Cthulhu’s opening is promising, then, the full adventure is inconsistent in its quality. The game plays its hand too early, letting you in on the eldritch forces at work within the first hour, and removing the weight of the slowly-building dread that follows. Once you’ve been knocked flat on your tush by a man with tentacles for arms and an octopus growing from his face, there’s not much the game can do to shock you.



By the time the endgame twists arrive, most astute players will have already pieced together what’s been going on, and where the story is heading. The atmosphere does begin to pick up again as you proceed into the late game but it’s a little too late. Otherworldly forces becoming more prominent, even oppressive, as Pierce’s sanity becomes increasingly difficult to maintain.

What makes it a real shame is that some of the game’s pivotal moments are breathtaking in their bizarre beauty. The game is bookended with these hauntingly atmospheric moments, but as the terrifying visage of Cthulhu began to reveal itself on an apocalyptic cliffside, I couldn’t help but wonder where this kind of evocative imagery had been for the preceding ten hours.

In these stand-out moments, it’s clear that the artists have pored over decades of Lovecraft-inspired artwork, and have drawn inspiration from it. When developer Cyanide gets this right Call of Cthulhu can pull you in like a tentacle from the deep, but these moments are few and far between.

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/121480-call-of-cthulhu-released-reviews.html

Gaming Trend 85/100:

Call of Cthulhu is a thrilling experience from start to end. The monsters may be a little lackluster, but the writing, puzzles, and characters are all interesting enough to keep you going until the very end. While the graphics are disappointing, the art style, vocal work, and atmosphere do enough to make up for it. Fans of horror or mystery will find plenty to love here.

GameSpew 8/10:

It’s not, as the game’s trailer suggests, a terrifying ride; if you’re looking for a title which will have you leaping out of your skin, afraid to even pick up the controller, you won’t find it here. Instead, Call of Cthulhu weaves a supernatural detective tale that’s frequently unsettling, occasionally horrifying and always engaging. Whether you’re a Lovecraft fan or not, there’s a lot here to love – just don’t blame me if you have to clean Elder God-sized arse-prints off your windows.

PlayStation Universe 7/10:

In the end, Call of Cthulhu is arguably at its grim best when its strives for less rather than more. Call of Cthulhu fares much better when it embraces the detective and exploration cornerstones that serve as the foundations of its experience, rather than shonky, ill-advised and face-clawingly frustrating stealth and shooting sections that threaten to undo the good work wrought elsewhere in its design.

In spite of such caveats and a need for a dollop of extra polish, Call of Cthulhu makes for a compelling take on Lovecraft’s horrors and more recently, the pen and paper take on his literature that has proved to be so popular in recent years. If you’re pining for a detective adventure that intertwines good old fashioned sleuthing with the supernatural, you could certainly do worse than Call of Cthulhu.

Trusted Reviews 3.5/5:

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.

Den of Geek 3.5/5:

Call of Cthulhu has some glaring flaws in its presentation and lacks a certain level of polish that would have elevated the game considerably. At times, it can look more like a last-gen title, with grainy pre-rendered cutscenes and low-res, low-poly models all abound. But there’s a good chance that the game’s strong art style and richly detailed lore will be absorbing enough that you’ll forgive its audio-visual weaknesses. This is a decidedly narrative-based experience, and while you’ll encounter far more chills than thrills throughout the campaign, the story is genuinely engaging from beginning to end, and the nightmarish visions Cyanide has concocted are sure to get under your skin.

Push Square 6/10:

Call of Cthulhu’s successfully evokes Lovecraft’s Mythos by delivering an eerie story that ultimately doesn’t stray too far from some well-trodden ground. While anyone expecting a terrifying horror title or an RPG packed will player choice and decisions will need to check those expectations at the door, there’s at least a half-decent adventure game lurking under the surface.

PC Invasion 3.5/5:

Overall, I liked Call of Cthulhu a fair amount. I enjoyed the story, the atmosphere, and the environments. It’s a walking simulator for the most part, sure, but it’s a solid one. Although I can’t recommend it at launch due to price, fans of story-based gaming experiences will likely find a lot to like about Call of Cthulhu. Just don’t go in thinking it’s a stealth RPG and keep your expectations in check. If you can do that, you’ll likely have a good time.

 

[Cromwell]

ot sure about it, but aren't medicine and occultism skills that you max with items rather than xp/skillpoints? You just need those items, maybe they require a dialogue check to get them rather than spot hidden?

You get items, or interact with stuff and get xp for these skills automatically. Theres a book about medicine right in your office which you can pick up (I think it was a spot check) which gives you xp for the skill.

 

[Barbarian]

How much C&C and forking paths are there really? I'm starting chapter 5 now, so I would like some comments from those at the same spot:

Spoiler

I took the cop with me to investigate the manor. If you don't take him with you does he survive? Or does he later appear at the sacrifice scene and dies anyway?

Also:

Spoiler

Pacifying old Silas. How does it play if the cop is not with you?

Also:

Spoiler

If you make an alliance with "Cat" for entering the warehouse instead of sneaking in, how do things play out differently?

 

[Humanity has risen!]

Game journos have long been worthless, but now they're more pathetic than ever.

"It doesn't have an anti-racism message, 5/10"