Call of Cthulhu PC Gameplay – Melissa is PETRIFIED!

Halloween might be over but we're still in the mood for some horror. This week, BoMenzzz sat down to try out ‘Call of Cthulhu', based on the classic H.P Lovecraft story. This is a survival horror game first and foremost but it does contain some RPG elements too. 

At the start of the game, we are immediately thrown into the shoes of the main character and trapped in a cave system. The opening has us sneaking around, hearing strange voices, chants and seeing shadowy figures. After making it through this, we learn that the main character here is Edward Pierce, a private detective who is unfortunately at a low point in his career. That is until a mysterious man shows up and supplies Edward with a case, in hopes of solving the mystery surrounding deaths in his family.

This ominous meeting is displayed via a cutscene, which unfortunately contained audio issues on PC. Generally, as you play through the game, sounds play at normal listening levels but for some reason, cutscenes are significantly quieter. This means that the audio needs to be adjusted regularly in order to hear cutscenes properly and also leads to uncomfortably loud moments when jumping back in to gameplay.

Fortunately, it isn't all bad news. Moving around in the game and accessing various systems like the journal, skills, clues and inventory all feels smooth and controls very well.

In terms of skills, your character can invest points in strength, psychology, spot hidden, eloquence, investigation, occultism and medicine. You'll get skill points as you go through the game and can spend them accordingly depending on how you want to play. Some skills will unlock new dialogue options, while others will help you spot hidden clues.

Graphically, this isn't the best looking game of the year. However, the game is designed with a dark, slightly grainy aesthetic, which seems like a solid choice for a horror game.

After getting through the initial opening and story prologue, we are sent off to ‘Darkwater' to investigate. Upon arrival, you can start walking around and talking to the local residents, many of which look very similar to each other. Over all, there only seems to be a handful of NPC variations (I counted 4). So be prepared to see familiar faces with small adjustments to facial hair, nose size etc.

The lack of NPC variety is a bit off-putting as it feels a little lazy, particularly for a game that costs £40 on PC and £50 on consoles.

As you continue exploring Darkwater, you get the chance to interact with a lot of people and explore certain areas. The game is semi-open, with more areas of the map being opened up after hitting certain story points or speaking to the right people. Occasionally, the game helps guide you in the right direction by putting a glowing green question mark on the left side of the screen, which means you have entered a room that contains something useful for you to find.

Without spoiling where the story goes, I found myself shocked at certain parts. This isn't the scariest horror game in the world, although I was definitely frightened on a couple of occasions. The story is dark and it knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat.

KitGuru Says: The mystery in Call of Cthulhu keeps things interesting, although it does feel like corners were cut in some places. Are many of you interested in trying this out?

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