Call of Cthulhu PS4 review: Treads the line between Lovecraft and hate

The influence of H.P. Lovecraft on modern horror cannot be overstated. 

Whenever a video game horrifies you with a writhing, tentacled monstrosity from another world; whenever you shudder at the story of some fanatical priest allowing their body to be grotesquely twisted and deformed in their dark god’s honour; whenever you are deeply disturbed by the tale of a visionary writer driven insane by his insights; know that all of these hellish visions first crawled out of the mind of Rhode Island’s darkest son, around a century ago.

Overrated, underrated, genius, loathsome racist; Lovecraft has been called many things, and all with some justification. But the strength of his legacy cannot be denied. 

Even those people who don’t readily recognise the name ‘Cthulhu’ will be familiar with the likeness of Lovecraft’s colossal, squid-headed cleric. 

It is an image that recurs, along with many of his other favourite themes (inbred fishing villages, ancient civilisations, inter-dimensional travellers that defy human comprehension) throughout countless video games, including Bloodborne, Doom, Quake, Dark Souls and Resident Evil, to name a few of the more recognisable incarnations.

However, despite this abundance of homages, there are surprisingly few games that directly reference the works of Lovecraft.

So, as a big Lovecraft fan, it has been with a swelling sense of anticipation that I’ve kept tabs on the latest Call of Cthulhu game, hoping that Cyanide’s adaptation will finally do justice to the mythos.

The production boasts an impressive voice cast, a deliciously sinister setting, and some tantalising trailers, so when the game finished loading and the menu screen prompted me to press X to ‘enter madness’, I immediately knew I was in safe hands/claws/tentacles.

The game begins by introducing us to troubled detective Edward Pierce as he potters around his office, boozing and muttering about military tragedies in his past.  

The bereaved father of a dead woman visits him, hoping to hire Pierce to unravel the mystery surrounding his daughter’s death on the appropriately ominous-sounding Darkwater Island (what do people expect to happen when they give a place such a creepy name?), bringing one of her terrifying paintings as the only clue.  

This is the launch pad for an utterly daft but gripping plot that manages to sustain a compelling pace, while retaining an element of intrigue until the final chapters, and sprinkles Lovecraftian characters, locations and other clichés throughout with contagious joy (expect to encounter unspeakable asylums, forbidden books, surly sea captains, mysterious artefacts and, err, boatloads of fish).  

As a Lovecraft fan it feels like a joyous celebration; as a non-fan, I think the game’s appeal will depend upon whether you enjoy its setting and characters.

The setting is particularly strong, with Darkwater Island shrouded in mist, oil lamps casting an eerie emerald glow over the dilapidated buildings and heaps of whale bones (seriously, I haven’t played a game this green since the first Metal Gear Solid).  

The distant sounds of drunken sailors’ shanties, baleful chanting, creaking floorboards and suchlike are expertly deployed, creating a strong sense of unease that permeates the game’s gloomy environments.

This atmosphere is further buoyed (no more nautical puns, I promise) by the voice acting.

Although the characters are mostly one-dimensional stereotypes, the vocal performances are good enough to fill them out, and I found myself genuinely caring about the plight of some of them, particularly good-natured Officer Bradley and the brusque, sullen protagonist Pierce himself.

The gameplay also deserves an honourable mention, as the developers have clearly tried hard to achieve a sense of variety throughout, each chapter introducing some new mechanic ranging from hunting objects through stealth to first-person shooting.  

The crime scene investigation segments are particularly enjoyable, with Pierce reconstructing a scene from the clues left behind; although I couldn’t help thinking that The Vanishing of Ethan Carter did it better.  

In fact, that was probably my overarching sense while playing through this game: an impressively diverse experience, but each element has been better delivered by other titles.

There are other issues. The loading times between chapters are painfully long, although mercifully much shorter when you die and must restart from a previous checkpoint.  

The script is clunky and long-winded in parts, and despite the quality of the voice acting, some of the conversation sections feel painfully dull.  

The game is festooned with text – whether it’s from books your character discovers, his own notes in his diary or simply the recaps of key plot points that appear during chapters – which would be fine with if it wasn’t presented in an unreadably small font and riddled with basic spelling and grammatical errors, which really do pull you out of the narrative at times.

These are the sorts of quibbles that prevent Call of Cthulhu from being a great game, but it is certainly an experience I’d recommend.  

The game is a solid outing for H.P. Lovecraft and his most recognisable creation; but if you want to experience true Lovecraftian horror of the highest order, and with great gameplay mechanics to match, I’d still suggest you go and buy yourself a copy of Bloodborne instead.

This game was reviewed by Jon Richter, writer of dark fiction and connoisseur of weird stuff. Follow him on Twitter @RichterWrites or visit his official website.