KickStarter SKALD: Against the Black Priory - retro RPG inspired by Ultima

[Charleston]

Finished it about a week ago. You guys managed to put Iben out of his misery, right?

The developer may well have been inspired by another lovecraftian GOAT, True Detective as well. Talking about eternal recurrence and black stars and what not.

I'd play a sequel for sure.

Yeah the ending got a lot of bashing, but I really enjoyed it.

May have been inspired, but I feel like a ton of Lovecraftian stories end in similar ways.

 

[rumSaint]

Finished it about a week ago. You guys managed to put Iben out of his misery, right?

The developer may well have been inspired by another lovecraftian GOAT, True Detective as well. Talking about eternal recurrence and black stars and what not.

I'd play a sequel for sure.

Yeah the ending got a lot of bashing, but I really enjoyed it.

May have been inspired, but I feel like a ton of Lovecraftian stories end in similar ways.

Yeah I have read some complaints that

Spoiler

All choices don't matter, and saving people, or finding little girl teddy are meaningless

, but let's face it, it's an eldritch horror and all signs were there from the start. Especially first chapter which allows for more interaction, shows some signs of things to come

Spoiler

where you can fuck up game by giving in to dragon in a well when looking for children, or overal weird signs of worms, mutated animals etc

. Ending is especially dark, but it's a fitting end to the story. Dark as fuck.

 

[Infinitron]

I wonder how many people noticed that the optional Tower of Ash location is an odd remix of Lovecraft's short novel The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.

Its plot is really completely different, but it shares some elements with the story. A wizard who lives with his double (in the story it was a physically similar descendant, in the game they're actual clones), summoning beings from beyond using their "essential salts" and casting them back again, with a horrific pit of leftovers from past experiments.

 

[Lord Ruthven]

I wonder how many people noticed that the optional Tower of Ash location is an odd remix of Lovecraft's short novel The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.

Its plot is really completely different, but it shares some elements with the story. A wizard who lives with his double (in the story it was a physically similar descendant, in the game they're actual clones), summoning beings from beyond using their "essential salts" and casting them back again, with a horrific pit of leftovers from past experiments.

This is some nice trivia.


I haven't read that one from Lovecraft. I've only read - The Music of Eric Zann, Dagon, The Haunter of the Dark, The Strange House in the Mist and The Call of Chthulhu.

I know there's some good works that are pending, I'll get to them eventually.

 

[Zurbo]

. Ending is especially dark, but it's a fitting end to the story. Dark as fuck.

Yeah, that's why it's memorable. Nobody would care if it ended with "we defeated big bad and returned the daughter to the father". When I think about the skald, I recall, that it's the game with THAT ending.

 

[ShiningSoldier]

As for me, the game was "Lovecraftian" only at the very beginning (with the well quest) and at the very end, in the ending. Almost every other part was quite generic classic fantasy. I was especially disappointed in monsters - there were no "ancient ones", just some boring classic creatures.

 

[Lord Ruthven]

As for me, the game was "Lovecraftian" only at the very beginning (with the well quest) and at the very end, in the ending. Almost every other part was quite generic classic fantasy. I was especially disappointed in monsters - there were no "ancient ones", just some boring classic creatures.

I don't disagree on this.

I'd say the wizard in the tower quest, at least the end has a Lovecraftian creature but the quest does lack that vibe.

I didn't mind the fantasy themed stuff in the middle because it made me appreciate the Lovecraftian bits more. They sort of acted like "hopeful breaks". The village with the festival section and Katak's baby had a lot of Lovecraftian potential but it got squandered away. That's the part I take issue with.

I did browse other threads on this topic and per my understanding not a lot of games manage to nail the Lovecraftian vibe. Seems like most game devs go "Fish monster go brrrr".

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

You can't have horror non-stop. For something to be alien and bizarre, it needs to stay mysterious and infrequent. It's easy to overdo it. Restraint is imperative.

 

[Infinitron]

Most quests in the game are references to Lovecraft stories and other classic horror (eg, the Firgol festival is inspired by Robert Chambers' The King in Yellow). So much that the bits that actually are just "generic fantasy" stand out (yay, random thieves guild in the sewer!).

Maybe even Lovecraft isn't always Lovecraftian.

 

[thesecret1]

Personally, I liked the little things a lot, perhaps even more than some quests. Like the world reacting whenever the Dragon got mentioned with flickering flames, elongating shadows and so on.

 

[Lord Ruthven]

Personally, I liked the little things a lot, perhaps even more than some quests. Like the world reacting whenever the Dragon got mentioned with flickering flames, elongating shadows and so on.

Agreed. The one kid reciting that creepy ass poem caught me off guard.

 

[Machocruz]

Sounds like this game would make a great double-bill with Look Outside.

 

[Blaine]

You can't have horror non-stop. For something to be alien and bizarre, it needs to stay mysterious and infrequent. It's easy to overdo it. Restraint is imperative.

Your opinion seems inspired by the proven horror genre principle that the monster should rarely be shown, and that's as true in Lovecraft as it is in 1980s slasher flicks—however, the relentless atmosphere of dread, despair, and impending doom is NOT infrequent in Lovecraft, but usually starts at the first paragraph and builds in intensity until the story's end. It's in fact non-stop, with absolutely no breathers whatsoever, except perhaps a dangling of false hope or memories of better times.

Without that masterful cultivation of atmosphere, you have a big squid or a fish person and not Lovecraft.

 

[damager]

Personally, I liked the little things a lot, perhaps even more than some quests. Like the world reacting whenever the Dragon got mentioned with flickering flames, elongating shadows and so on.

Agreed. The one kid reciting that creepy ass poem caught me off guard.

Me too man. The game waited just long enough until I let down my guard on that cozy island with the summer festival.

I could imagine killing of one of your followers in the midgame in some horrible creepy way wouild have been a nice addition to keep people on their toes regarding the horror aspect and would be a way to make you feel uneasy and sad.

I can say I really cared for the followers at the end. So seeing them in that condition... He got me good with it. But I loved it.

 

[Zurbo]

I can say I really cared for the followers at the end. So seeing them in that condition... He got me good with it. But I loved it.

Spoiler

After fight with the dragon herald it was like "Well Roland, someone simply needed to be killed for the dramaturgy. At least you died like a warrior". Ten minutes later it was rather "Shit Roland, you were the lucky one..."