@nilkilla
**Special Contributor**
CALL OF CTHULU (Cyanide Studios/Focus Home Interactive – PS4, X1, PC – TBA) – With the power of the Unreal 4 engine, Cyanide SA is ready to enter their first foray into the horror genre since Blood Bowl. Inspired by HP Lovecraft’s short story, Call of Cthulu offers gameplay based on Chaosium‘s pen and paper tabletop RPG of the same name. The open world story finds you playing as Private Investigator Edward Pierce, investigating the tragic deaths of the artist Sarah Hawkins, her husband and their son on Darkwater Island, in the year 1924.
There are many paths to clues, including interviewing citizens, observations of your surroundings and even breaking and entering. Despite his time as a soldier in the Great Way, Pierce is not a fighter. There will be no guns ablazing, shoot ’em up option. Between his alcoholism and the incredible discoveries Pierce will face along the way, insanity is inevitable. Much like the RPG, sanity plays a huge factor in interacting with the world. While it is best to protect Pierce’s fragile psyche, there are some secrets that only madness can penetrate. A complete loss of sanity will result in loss if control of Pierce. For example he might bolt from a hiding spot when confronted with so much fear that he risks a heart attack.
There is a considerable character sheet, influencing what you can or can’t accomplish and what options you have for discovering clues. For example, dialogue tree options are affected by stats such as persuasion and intimidation. With a current estimate of 20+ hours of mind-bending mystery and exploration, I’m looking forward into this latest foray into the Cthulhu mythos. 3/5 Tentacles (would prefer to see 40+ hours to convince me there’s time for alcoholism)
-Tim Hall