14 DAY TRIAL // The new Call of Cthulhu game developed by French studio Cyanide and published by Focus Home Interactive will make its debut on PC at the end of the month, but we had the chance to play the first four chapters and here is what we've learned.
Call of Cthulhu plays like a first-person action game, but it includes elements from different game genres, including adventure, horror, RPG and shooter. It makes perfect sense since it's a recreation of Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu classic pen and paper RPG.
In Call of Cthulhu, you take on the role of private investigator Edward Pierce, a World War I veteran trying to drown his nightmares into gallons of alcohol and thousands of pills, to uncover the secrets behind the tragic death of the Hawkins family on the isolated island of Darkwater Island.
The investigation aspect takes the spotlight in the beginning of the game, as you start gathering clues about what really happened with the Hawkins family. The feeling of anxiety and gloom is ever-present throughout first chapters of the game, so that's certainly a plus.
While investigating the Hawking case, you'll employ the help of some skills like Psychology, Investigation and Spot Hidden, while others like Strength and Eloquence will help Pierce pass some checks when talking to NPCs. There are also two other skills that you can't improve when you “level up” by putting points into them: Medicine and Occultism. These two skills can only be improved by finding objects in the environment, such as books and ritual items.
The game let's players think that their choices matter, but for what I've experienced, the outcome remains the same. Basically, every problem in the game has multiple solutions depending on which skills you've decided to improve.
The first few chapters solely focus on investigation, so it plays much like an point-and-click adventure game, but with a Lovecraftian atmosphere. The story was engaging enough to keep me hooked from start to finish, so that's a plus, but the visuals and the way some of the gameplay mechanics have been implemented do not make the franchise justice.
Most of the animations and the characters' face models could use some improvement. Also, don't expect top-notch visuals, although some of the landscapes perfectly match the Lovecraftian universe. I've also noticed some glitches, but they didn't really spoil game immersion.
I don't expect many of the visual issues I mentioned above to be addressed by the time the game is supposed to be launched, but I'm willing to overlook them since the other parts of Call of Cthulhu are solid enough to keep me interested.
Cyanide's Call of Cthulhu adaptation will release for PC, PS4 and Xbox One on October 30, and I admit I'm pretty excited to see how it ends.
