Call of Cthulhu: The Official Video Game

You won't mistake Darkwater for being a tourist trap. It's a depressed whaling community where the haggard citizens don't even attempt to mask their corruption and hostility anymore. They're also not very welcoming to outsiders, as private investigator Edward Pierce quickly learns in the newest adaptation of Call of Cthulhu. Little does he know that this creepy old island is hiding a deep and disturbing secret just under the surface, and he may not be prepared for what he's about to find.

The 1920s have not been kind to Edward Pierce. The private investigator has fallen on hard times, picked up a bit of a drinking problem and recently started to have these nasty nightmares about cults and supernatural creatures. But things are starting to look up for the down-and-out gumshoe, as he recently got hired to investigate the mysterious death of a local artist named Sarah Hawkins. All he needs to do is go to Darkwater and investigate a warehouse that is supposed to have something to do with the mystery. It's easy money, right?

Of course, if you know anything about Cthulhu, H.P. Lovecraft or horror fiction in general, then you already know that this investigation will be anything but easy. He's going into a small, tight-knit community that isn't exactly thrilled to have private investigators poking around. But, as it turns out, a few disgruntled townspeople may be the least of his concerns, because this is an adventure that will force Pierce to confront his own fears and finally make sense of those nasty nightmares.

What we have here is a first-person adventure where the investigation is front and center. This is not an action game or a variation on survival horror, because most of Call of Cthulhu involves searching for clues, solving puzzles and getting into lengthy conversations with the people of Darkwater. This is the kind of game where the more clues you uncover, the easier time you'll have interrogating the townspeople and solving the case. If you aren't observant or skip past most of the investigation, then you'll be limited in the dialog choices. It pays off to keep close attention and study every inch of the island.

Sometimes you'll need to use your detective prowess in order to piece together the events. This involves going into something of a mini-game that sees you finding clues and using the evidence to understand the crime scene in a visual way. Although it's a little on the simple side, I like how we're part of the investigation process and seeing the case through Pierce's eyes. And depending on what you do or say, you'll find that your decisions have consequences that will come back and haunt Pierce late in the game. I like that they incorporated the investigation into the gameplay and didn't just make it a character quirk.

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I also like that the Sarah Hawkins case takes us all over the island, adding quite a bit of variety to the locations you need to explore. And even when the game does repeat the same mansion or hospital, they usually try to mix things up in ways I can't talk about without getting into massive spoilers. It helps that the developers have filled each location with a lot of nice touches that aren't necessarily pertinent to the investigation, but go a long way to add personality and context to the island of Darkwater.

Unfortunately, this iteration falls into the same trap that plagues far too many Call of Cthulhu adaptations -- it starts a whole lot better than it ends. The mysteries and set up in the early chapters is effectively creepy and compelling. The first half is filled with big twists that are sure to get under your skin. But as we learn more about what is going on, suddenly the mystery becomes less interesting. It ramps up to something that is entirely too predictable and not all that satisfying.

It's also not especially scary. This is one of those games that constantly hints that something frightening is going to happen, but the disturbing stuff is limited to only a couple chapters. Most of the genuinely effective scares come halfway through the game, and even those lose most of their impact once you realize how to get out of the situation. And instead of building towards a scary finale, the story instead opts for trippy moments and confusing imagery from an unreliable narrator.

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I also think the visuals leave a lot to be desired. Don't get me wrong, I like the attention to detail and will concede that there are some genuinely gorgeous locations on the island, but the graphics vary wildly depending on what chapter you're on. This is especially true when it comes to the cinemas, which sometimes look like they were plucked straight out of a ten year old Xbox 360 game. And it certainly doesn't help that you end up spending a large chunk of your time staring at faces that lack any kind of genuine emotion or expression. Even at their best, the visuals look dated.

One of the things that Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth did so well back in 2005 was make you feel like you didn't belong. You were a complete outsider and you knew it. Nobody was going to help you and everybody wanted you gone. This brand new retelling could have used more of that. You get the impression that you're not welcome, but it's more of an inconvenience than a seething hatred. This is just one of the many examples of the game not spending the time to fully establish the world and characters, something that would have added more weight to the late-game twists.

And that's the problem I had across the board, I just wished there was more to this Call of Cthulhu game. Beyond simply not being very scary, I wanted the puzzles to be a little deeper and more involved. There's really only one major brain-teaser, and even that is fairly straightforward and spelled out for the player. There are so many times when I wanted the game to go darker, be tougher and really get under my skin. Unfortunately, there's a sense that it's constantly holding something back. This is a good game that I enjoyed, but like so many H.P. Lovecraft adaptations over the years, it fails to fully tap into what has made these stories so enduring.