That’s not to say that 2019’s The Sinking City was a bad game, but the first attempt at a moody investigative thriller set in flooded environment was clearly marred by budgetary issues, overambition and even a prolonged legal battle between Frogwares and the title’s initial publisher. These problems resulted in fans receiving a decidedly worse version of the experience at launch, though a much improved (but still flawed) remastered edition of the game was finally released last year.

Yet, for all its missteps, the original game still contained all the hallmarks of a legitimately great Frogwares production, from excellent writing to faithful recreations of Lovecraft’s eldritch mythology as well as a genuinely kick-ass premise.

Fast forward to 2026 and in spite of a myriad of real world issues interfering with the sequel’s release. including a literal war that put the Ukrainian developers at risk, copious amounts of fan support coupled with good old-fashioned perseverance resulted in a brand new game that completely overshadows its janky predecessor.

In The Sinking City 2, which is a standalone adventure set during the roaring 20s, players take on the role of Private Investigator Calvin Rafferty as he refuses to evacuate the flooding city of Arkham, Massachusetts in order to try and save his catatonic lover, Faye. Faye’s body has been lying dormant since a mysterious incident that occurred while exploring the mystical Dreamlands, and Calvin’s only hope of waking her up lies in conducting an occult ritual that may very well be connected to the disaster currently destroying the city.

Flooded Arkham Is the Real Star of the Show

In gameplay terms, this results in the player having to explore flooded sections of Arkham while scrounging for supplies and fighting eldritch threats brought on by the rising tide – threats which include dead bodies reanimated by slithering eel-like creatures as well as the occasional waterlogged monster. Along the way, you’ll also solve intricate puzzles and investigate the secrets behind Faye’s predicament, all the while learning more about the city’s ill-fated inhabitants and their own attempts at escaping the flood.

Compared to the first game, the biggest difference here is in the overall approach to the material. Despite the surface-level similarities in the third-person traversal and combat, The Sinking City 2 is much more of a traditional survival horror experience than the proto-open world RPG hybrid we saw in the original.

This means that the new title feels much more linear, though it also results in a much more focused and tightly-paced experience.

Even then, Arkham feels even more massive and imposing than the previous game’s Oakmont despite your exploration being limited to a handful of ruined buildings and neighborhoods. While part of this is due to the apocalyptic scale of the conflict here, as the flood takes the form of an ongoing (and oddly beautiful) cataclysm rather than a passive element of the setting, the meticulously-crafted level design also makis this world feel much more alive than the procedurally-generated Oakmont and its generic NPCs.

A More Focused Survival Horror Experience

This time around, the gameplay here borrows heavily from more recent takes on survival horror rather than trying to feel like an RPG. In fact, the title wears many of its influences on its sleeves as you progress through an experience that could very well have been made into a Lovecraftian-themed DLC for titles like Alan Wake 2 and even the Resident Evil 2 remake.

The Sinking City 2 isn’t quite as polished as these aforementioned titles, especially where gunplay and enemy variety are concerned, but this is still the first Frogwares release I’ve played that could possibly be referred to as a AAA production. Sure, some of the janky cut-scenes and infrequent visual hiccups can occasionally break the illusion and reveal that this isn’t a blockbuster production, but these rare blemishes pale in comparison to the quality of the overall narrative.

Frogwares has always excelled at Lovecraftian intrigue, and their latest release marks the first time that one of their carefully crafted yarns isn’t locked behind frustrating deduction mechanics and antiquated exploration. That makes it much easier to appreciate the genuine pathos behind our protagonist’s quest.

There’s something undeniably compelling about a lone hero who decides to defy nature itself during a hellish catastrophe so that he might save the person he loves – no matter the cost. In classic Cosmic Horror fashion, things turn out to be much more complicated (and terrifying) than that, but I love how the title grounds speculative ideas from classic tales like The Shadow Over Innsmouth and At The Mountains of Madness with a deeply resonant emotional core.

And while you don’t necessarily have to be an expert on H.P. Lovecraft’s expansive mythology to keep up with the narrative here, hardcore mythos fans are sure to enjoy the many references and Easter eggs that help to flesh out Arkham and its inhabitants.

Final Verdict: A Love Letter to H.P. Lovecraft Fans

At the end of the day, The Sinking City 2 doesn’t quite reinvent the survival horror wheel with its familiar attempts at inventory management and desperate combat, but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining. While some players may be put off by the old-fashioned backtracking and repetitive combat encounters, I’d argue that these retro elements only make the game seem more like the ideal Lovecraftian survival horror title that I’ve been dreaming of ever since playing Bethesda’s Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth all the way back in 2005.

That’s why I believe your overall enjoyment of the game will likely depend on your existing fondness for its source material, especially since the story hits the ground running and expects you to be familiar with concepts like the Dreamlands and the fishy children of Dagon.

However, it’s precisely details like these that make me appreciate The Sinking City 2 as a horrific love-letter to all-things Lovecraft.

Review code provided by publisher. The Sinking City 2 launches August 18 for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.

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This minimalist city-builder has you placing buildings to grow your settlement and appease the Elder Gods. They in turn reward you with new islands and structures. Discover synergies to improve your score, or you can choose to just relax and build in the game’s creative sandbox mode.

You’ll have over 60 different structures available to discover, with the aforementioned synergies between buildings adding visual interest to your creations. No two games are the same, with unique deck order and island placements each time. You can even share seeds with your friends to see who can get the best score using your map.

In keeping with the laid back atmosphere, Isles of Innsmouth also features a Photo Mode, where you take control of the camera, lighting, and weather effects to capture the perfect photo of your island creation. The whole experience is capped off with the game’s “gloomy ambient” soundtrack.

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Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft‘s cosmic horror short novel, in The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu, players take on the roles of explorers searching for legendary treasures deep within a hostile jungle. Before each expedition, players gather aboard the galleon to choose a contract and divide up weapons and equipment. Once they arrive on the continent, the explorers set out in search of treasures and resources to bring back to the galleon’s captain. A simple task in theory, but one that holds surprises.

As they venture deeper into the jungle, the adventurers must face numerous monstrosities, but the greatest threat will be their own minds. Their perception of reality is gradually corrupted until their mental health reaches a critical stage. Visual and auditory illusions disorient the adventurers, potentially causing accidental sabotage that could jeopardize the mission. Even death offers no respite: companions who have fallen in battle may return in a corrupted form and turn against their allies.

The explorers are inexperienced, equipped with extremely limited ammunition and breakable gear. Faced with the dangers and monstrous entities of the cursed jungle, the chances of survival are slim for adventurers who set out to slay every creature that stands in their way. The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu emphasizes horror over action and encourages players to avoid unnecessary confrontations in order to successfully complete their contract and return alive from their expedition, even if that means opting for stealth or a hasty retreat.

The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu will launch July 15 on PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, and the Xbox Series.

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You’ve just been made a member of The Order of the Void Eaters, and your job is to track and carve up an array of Lovecraftian-inspired horrors across the galaxy, then discover what they taste like. The better you cook, the stronger you become, but there’s always something more terrifying on the menu to hunt next.

As mentioned, you’ll be dismembering limbs, tentacles, and organs mid-combat, weakening your enemies while stocking your pantry with the freshest ingredients. You’ll have a variety of weapons to help you out in getting your ingredients, but that’s only part of it.

The other part is, of course, meal prep. Elderfeast touts a “unique immersive in-world cooking grid” that rewards clever placement and creative combinations, turning your hard-earned ingredients into something extraordinary. Master the cooking system to craft dishes that enhance your abilities, turning every successful recipe into a step toward becoming a more formidable chef.

Of course, it’s easier said than done, as you’ll be facing off against monsters that will eat anyone and anything. Feed them toxic ingredients, poisoned meals, and other creatures or you’ll find yourself at the top of the menu.

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Set in a mysterious 1920s world inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, The Lightkeepers places you and your friends as sailors venturing to mist-shrouded islands during the day to explore ruins and venture into forgotten undergrounds in order to reap the resources and increase your wealth. At night, however, you’ll be facing off against unearthly creatures, for which you’ll need to keep at bay until sunrise.

Luckily, you can use your wealth to purchase supplies and weapons. But going at it alone is certain doom. You and your team will need to share responsibilities, craft grenades, lay mines, feed the hungry, and heal the wounded. The Lightkeepers also features a progression system that allows players to unlock and upgrade starting weapons and earn cosmetics for their characters.

When night does fall, you’ll have to slash, chop, shoot, and blow your way out of trouble with an array of 20 weapons. Plan your tactics with your crew or revel in the chaos of battle. Any strategy is good, as long as the light doesn’t go out.

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Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s cosmic horror short novel, The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu invites players to form a squad of 2 to 4 members to embark on an uncharted continent in search of a legendary city containing invaluable treasures deep within a hostile jungle. The Steam Next Fest demo supports up to 4 players in online co-op, letting you experience the first few hours of the game. Several types of missions are available, ranging from simple treasure hunts to battles against fearsome creatures.

Before each expedition, players gather aboard the galleon to choose a contract and share weapons and equipment. Once they arrive on the continent, the explorers set out in search of treasures and resources to bring back to the galleon’s captain. Ancient forts, remnants of lost expeditions, await discovery. They allow players to establish a new starting point to venture deeper into the jungle as expeditions progress.

But the jungle hides even more terrifying dangers. As they venture deeper into the jungle, their perception of reality gradually becomes corrupted until their sanity reaches a critical point. Visual and auditory illusions disorient the adventurers, potentially causing accidental sabotage that could jeopardize the mission. Even death offers no respite: fallen comrades may return in a corrupted form and turn against their allies.

The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu will launch July 15 on PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, and the Xbox Series. Pre-orders for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series versions are now open.

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In addition, pre-orders for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series versions are now open. To accompany this announcement on the Steam side, a special promotion has been set up where the launch price on Steam will be discounted based on the number of wishlists reached at release. With over 400,000 wishlists on Steam already, the community can rally to unlock a bigger discount.

Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft‘s cosmic horror short novel, The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu invites players to form a squad of 2 to 4 members to embark on an uncharted continent in search of a legendary city containing invaluable treasures.

You and your companions are on the deck of your galleon. El Capitán has given you a contract to fulfill: gather as much wealth as possible, find a missing person, locate an ancient fort, and, if possible, return safe and sound from this perilous expedition. As soon as you set foot on the shore, at the edge of the jungle, a vague sense of dread takes hold. In this jungle, treasures and mysteries await you, but so do unspeakable entities ready to make you regret ever setting foot in their territory.

The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu will launch July 15 on PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, and the Xbox Series.

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The story concerns years of the eerie “Black Rain” that have drowned the entire world, leaving few survivors. A race against time has started, as the Rainmaker, an Eldritch Divinity, has given humanity one final choice: recover its sacred idols hidden deep within the “Abyssal Pool” in under 40 days, or face extinction in the final Flood.

Players will lead a desperate camp of survivors clinging to the last remnants of land. To succeed, they will balance managing their camp on the surface, while making deadly descents into the Abyssal Pool below. Every dive is a gamble against dwindling oxygen, physical injury, and the creeping madness, thanks to the otherworldly horrors that lurk in the darkness.

On the surface, players will rebuild infrastructure, assign survivors to vital roles, and upgrade diving gear. Each decision is a trade-off between immediate survival and long-term preparation. Below, you’ll need to efficiently navigate among the depths and those that dwell there, while hoping to return to the surface with much-needed resources and live and dive another day.

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Not only did he co-write, direct, edit and star in the first truly successful adaptation of an independent horror game without bowing to any of the major studios, but he also managed to secure worldwide distribution for his passion project by enlisting the fans themselves as part of the flick’s marketing – all the while opening doors for fellow industry outsiders to develop their own “impossible” videogame adaptations.

The best part? The Iron Lung movie actually kicks all kinds of ass, with Mark intuitively understanding the inherent differences between film and video games as unique artistic mediums.

That’s why the adaptation features a series of (mostly) minor discrepancies when compared to the source material, despite the game’s creator, David Szymanski, being heavily involved in the screenwriting process. With that in mind,here are five of the biggest changes that the Iron Lung movie made to the original game and why they improve the viewer experience.

For the purposes of this list, I’ll be focusing on major story elements that actively alter the narrative rather than smaller details like how the titular submarine’s design was altered in order to feel more realistic. That being said, don’t forget to comment below if you think I missed any important changes that you think are worth discussing.

One more thing: major spoilers ahead!

With that out of the way, onto the list.

5. A Bloody Ocean of a Threat

In the original game, the blood ocean served as more of a thematic detail than an immediate threat, especially since the SM-13 vessel operated as if it were in regular seawater once it was submerged. The movie changes this up a bit by exploring why researchers are interested in this inexplicable mass of human blood in the first place, while also depicting the liquid itself as a corrosive and possibly mutagenic substance with a mind of its own.

As the film goes on and blood begins to trickle into the vessel, Simon’s body and the submarine itself are altered in increasingly horrific ways, with the final act leaving our protagonist painfully disfigured – though no less willing to face Eldritch terrors in order to complete his tragic mission.

4. The Siren’s Call

Both the original game’s “Frog” monster and the film’s enormous “Elli” are heavily inspired by real-life Anglerfish, so I found it appropriate that Mark decided to depict the antagonist here as more of a Lovecraftian siren luring explorers to their death through lights and sound rather than a mere animalistic predator.

While it’s entirely possible that Simon is hallucinating his interactions with the beast, he may very well be communicating with a god-like entity linked to the Quiet Rapture itself, which is why I think this was a worthwhile addition to the lore.

3. Radiation Exposure

The Iron Lung game never explained why the submarine’s pictures looked so freaky or how the camera was even operational despite being immersed in literal blood, so it makes sense that Mark would decide to correct this oversight by expanding on the technology behind the device itself while also using it to add extra tension to the story.

In the film, Simon accidentally discovers that he’s actually operating a giant nuclear-powered X-ray machine, with the constant exposure to radiation explaining why the vessel continuously overheats. Radiation might also have something to do with Simon’s altered mental state in the latter half of the experience, an idea that leads into my next favorite change…

2. Carbon Dioxide Poisoning

It’s entirely possible to finish watching Iron Lung and accept its story as a literal sequence of narrative events, but I think it’s far more interesting to take the experience with a grain of salt due to the flick’s repeated hints that Simon is slowly losing his mind due to a combination of radiation and Carbon Dioxide poisoning.

Hell, one could even make the argument that the entire second half of the feature takes place almost entirely within our protagonist’s mind, with this alternate interpretation feeling just as (if not more) impactful as a traditionally literal reading of the script.

1. A Glimmer of Hope

I’ve always been a defender of mean-spirited stories about grimdark futures and existential terrors, but while the original Iron Lung could afford to end on a sour note due to it being a gameplay-focused experience where the players themselves provided character backstory and motivation, the adaptation needed something a bit more concrete in order to turn its bleak finale into a satisfying conclusion.

That’s why I appreciate how Mark and Dave decided to turn the original ending on its head by having Simon defy fate and actually achieve something with his suicide mission despite the source material clearly stating that the SM-13 expedition retrieved nothing of value. While there’s no guarantee that Simon’s heroic efforts will lead to humanity’s salvation, the implication that there’s still hope turns Iron Lung into a humanist parable critiquing the cosmic horror narratives that inspired it.

The post Five Key Differences Between Markiplier’s ‘Iron Lung’ And The Game appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Expected to launch later this year, with future plans to release on PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series, The Wake is a little different than other fishing sims. Combining fishing, combat, exploration, and dark adventure in a world inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, The Wake sees the player searching for their long lost father, only to be caught in a supernatural storm. Washed ashore on a mysterious island chain, sinister shadows watch your every move as you are confronted with your family’s dark past.

The waters surrounding the islands are teeming with a variety of unknown and primordial fish species. The player must discover their habitats, diets, and weaknesses. To do so, you’ll have several fishing rods, hooks, and baits at your disposal.

In The Wake, driving your boat across the dark waters will attract these sea dwellers, with each fish featuring unique attacks and different arcane powers. You’ll need to dodge attacks and gradually drain their energy using combat skills, debuff attacks, and finishing moves.

Proper combat tactics and target prioritization are crucial for survival here. While exploring the islands, the player will find useful resources to upgrade their fishing rods, weapons, and ship. You can dissect your catch in order to upgrade your gear, as well as perform eldritch rituals to customize your fishing rod according to your playstyle. You’ll also have access to runes, which allow for the customization and enhancement of magical incantations.

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So enthuses Tommaso Nuti, Game Director at Big Bad Wolf and creative mind behind the recently-released Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss, when asked why H.P. Lovecraft’s singular imaginings seem to be so much more popular in the gaming world than they are in other art forms. Indeed, while there’s a relative dearth of cosmic horror outings nowadays in cinema or on television, it sometimes feels like you can barely move for them on the Steam store. 

Within the past half-decade alone, we’ve had The Necromancer’s Tale, RailGods of Hysterra, Forgive Me Father (both 1 and 2), the Alone in the Dark remake, and Bloody Disgusting favourite DREDGE. All of which are either heavily inspired by, or directly situated within, Lovecraft’s iconic universe of shoggoths, dreamlands, and Old Ones. 

With such a crowded marketplace — let’s not forget that The Sinking City 2 is on the horizon — any developer hoping to make their own contribution to this genre will need to have a fresh take. Otherwise, they’ll just get lost in the shuffle. 

Fortunately, Nuti and co. are aware of this imperative and have come up with something quite distinctive in The Cosmic Abyss. Modernising the so-called Cthulhu mythos, they’ve left behind the stodgy 1920s period setting that we typically associate with this genre and have instead situated the action within the year 2053. 

Here, we are confronted with a bleak vision of tomorrow where corporations are avariciously depleting the planet’s natural resources, important work is being outsourced to artificial intelligence, and inexplicable, ominous events are occurring on the world stage that defy all logical explanation. So, you know, nothing at all like 2026! 

In this frightening dystopia, you play as an Interpol investigator named Noah, whose latest assignment has taken him to the very depths of the Pacific Ocean. Here— alongside his A.I. sidekick, KEY — he must get to the bottom of a mysterious tragedy that has befallen the workers of an underwater mining facility. 

What initially starts as a cut-and-dry missing persons case soon reveals itself to be something far beyond his comprehension. Eldritch gods, Atlantean cities, and mind-bending hallucinations: you know all that usual Cthulhu goodness. What makes this so unique, however, is that The Cosmic Abyss eschews traditional horror conventions like jump scares, combat, and stealth. Replacing them is a focus on clever detective mechanics and branching path storytelling. 

To find out more about this intriguing blend of futuristic sci-fi, classic noir, and literary horror, we caught up with Nuti for an exclusive interview.

Bloody Disgusting: Movies rarely dip their toes into the Cthulhu mythos, certainly not on a big scale anyway. Yet it’s conversely very well represented in the video game arena. As someone who has now put their own stamp on Lovecraft’s material, why do you think it’s got such a strong foothold in this particular medium?

The success of the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game [helps] explain why this universe is so popular in video games. RPG and tabletop players already form a receptive audience for this type of experience. 

[On] the cinematic side, translating a universe that is — by its very nature — meant to remain unimaginable presents a significant challenge […] That said, it is certainly possible. 

Perhaps today the license is not yet established enough among cinephiles to encourage major studios to invest heavily, even if some projects and names — such as James Wan or Guillermo del Toro — suggest a growing interest. Personally, I would not be surprised to see Cthulhu reach the big screen in a major way in the coming years.

BD: What is your own relationship with the work of Lovecraft? Have you always been a fan?

TN: I discovered Lovecraft’s work when I was quite young, and I also had the opportunity to play the tabletop role-playing game. To be honest, I never imagined I would one day adapt this universe myself […] The idea for this project emerged during discussions with our publisher, NACON, where many people are very familiar with the universe. 

After those conversations, I returned to the original short stories, as well as other books and films inspired by them. This allowed me to rediscover Lovecraft from a fresh perspective. For any horror fan, it is a unique opportunity and an incredible creative playground.

BD: Presumably, The Call of Cthulhu was one of the key texts you referred to here? Were there any other specific Lovecraft stories that were big inspirations for The Cosmic Abyss?

TN: We drew inspiration from many of Lovecraft’s short stories to adapt the mythos. Our focus was on using the broader lore to build continuity within this universe, rather than directly adapting a single story. 

Among these, The Call of Cthulhu is of course a key reference, along with The Shadow over Innsmouth and The Haunter of the Dark, as well as another cult short story that I would prefer not to reveal, in order to preserve the surprise.

BD: Looking outside of Lovecraft himself, what else influenced the direction of this title? Are there any other video games, movies or pieces of literature that were swimming in your mind while making it?

TN: On the video game side, we are always very curious to play, test, and analyze what [else] has been done [in] the genre we are exploring. For example, The Outer Wilds informed our approach to investigation design, as did The Forgotten City. Dishonored 2 was also interesting to study in the way it suggests alternative paths to the main objective without stating them explicitly.

For the first-person approach, which was a first for the studio, we looked at Cyberpunk 2077, Resident Evil 7, and Resident Evil Village as case studies.

BD: One of the ways you are putting a fresh spin on the Cthulhu mythos here is by translating the action from the 1920s to the near future of 2053. What motivated this decision, and how do you think it changes the experience?

TN: Horror and science fiction form a compelling combination, one that has already proven to be an effective mix across cinema and video games. The decision to set the game in 2053 came from several reflections on the themes we wanted to explore. We wanted to echo current issues, such as resource depletion, climate change, the influence of large private fortunes, and the rise of AI. Placing ancient creatures and relics within this futuristic world allowed us to create a strong contrast between our civilization and theirs.

A near-future setting also gives players more familiar reference points than the 1920s or 1930s, reinforcing the sense of rupture when they arrive in [the canonical prison city of Cthulhu] R’lyeh. They leave a known world to discover another that is radically different.

Finally, Lovecraft set his stories in a contemporary setting, bringing horror closer to a reality [that was] familiar to the reader. Very early in development, we felt that taking the game in a thriller, horror, and science fiction direction was a risk worth taking.

BD: Tying into that futuristic setting, we don’t have a human companion accompanying us on the investigation here. Rather, our partner is an in-universe artificial intelligence. Could you talk a little about the character of KEY? What role do they play in the game?

TN: KEY is a fundamental component of the experience. From a diegetic point of view, they explain Noah’s tools and [act] as his companion. If Noah is Sherlock, KEY is Doctor Watson. Except KEY evolves.

Including a character who is immune to sanity loss and brings a different perspective on discoveries allowed us to revisit the mythos in an original way, while adding a new dynamic to the duo. More human than mechanical, KEY accompanies Noah throughout the adventure but cannot intervene directly in dangerous situations. This leaves [Noah] alone to face what he encounters, preserving the feeling of solitude.

BD: Obviously, A.I. is a hot-button issue at the moment, and there are lots of concerns about the ethnicity with which it is used, the reliability of the information it gives, and the biases it can internalize. Without wanting to go into spoiler territory, have any of these real-world anxieties informed how you characterize Key in the game? 

TN: At the beginning of the game’s conception, generative AI technologies were just emerging, and we projected the kind of ambiguity this could introduce into our world. By choosing a near-future setting, we were moving into speculative fiction, and it was important for us to shape this character in a way that would remain relevant and coherent by the time of the game’s release.

We imagined what these types of virtual assistants could become if applied to the work of a detective. While KEY is designed to assist Noah, it is through its interface that he interacts with the world. The more he relies on it, the more it defines and refines itself.

The central question we explore is: Who is really the tool of whom, and what are the consequences?

We were careful not to take a purely negative view and instead approached the character with nuance. The game offers its own answer, but it is difficult to say more without revealing too much. What we can say is that the line between valuable assistance and manipulation is much thinner than it may first appear.

BD: This is largely pitched as a detective title, and the primary way we interact with its world is by solving puzzles and collecting evidence, rather than by dealing with eldritch monsters up front. Indeed, you seem to have deliberately avoided more conventional horror game mechanics like stealth and combat. What was your rationale for this?

TN: We want to put players in the shoes of an occult investigator exploring a universe that is completely beyond them. Which is why we ruled out combat from the start. That said, the absence of combat does not mean the absence of threats. Many elements can kill you in R’lyeh, whether it’s the ruins themselves or the creatures that inhabit them.

From a logical standpoint, no conventional weapon would be effective, and direct confrontation would lead to certain death. Only your tools and your reasoning allow you to progress through the adventure. This also reinforces the idea of humanity’s insignificance when faced with these ancient entities.

To bring the myth to life and allow players to truly conduct an investigation, we structured the experience around this constant sense of danger. To survive, players need to understand the rules that govern this world, either by accepting them or by learning how to work around them.

BD: Yeah, I think it’s actually quite on brand for a Lovecraft story! Typically, the protagonists in these things are trying to wrap their heads around incomprehensible truths or just digging into past events. They don’t tend to jump gung-ho into action. Still, it must be difficult to create an effective horror experience when the player isn’t in real peril most of the time. How do you ensure that there is still tension here and that people feel on edge?

TN: Beyond cutscenes and scripted events, tension also comes from the player’s own way of investigating. Imagine exploring an environment for twenty minutes and becoming familiar with a place. Then you discover a clue that unlocks a new frequency on your sonar, revealing traces left by a creature all around you.

In an instant, the place you thought you understood changes and becomes hostile again. This is just one possible scenario. Players might discover these elements in a different order or miss some entirely while following other leads. This is where one of the game’s strengths lies: letting tension and twists emerge naturally [in a way] that is unique to each player.

BD: On the subject of this being a detective game, it seems like there are a lot of variables that affect how this can play out. Based on the evidence you collect, how you interpret it, and what tools you use, the player could potentially arrive at different conclusions, solve certain mysteries early, or miss out on vital pieces of the story altogether. As a developer, how do you keep track of all these threads and make sure that the player has a satisfying experience?

TN: We built on everything we developed in our previous games, especially in terms of branching narrative. The main challenge was shifting the paradigm, moving from “an investigation in which you are an actor” to “you play an investigation, and the story emerges largely from your actions.” 

This may seem subtle, but it implies a very different development approach. 

BD: And how branching is that investigation? What kind of things can end up changing depending on our choices?

TN: In each chapter, players investigate very freely within open areas. The more curious they are, the more threads they can pull, allowing them to make informed decisions and protect themselves from Cthulhu’s corruption.

As a result, players can approach and resolve obstacles in different ways. During investigation phases, the game does not present explicit choices. It is up to players to follow leads and understand the possibilities available to them. This makes the way they progress essential, as [it determines] their level of corruption. And corruption has a determining impact on the game’s endings.

BD: Speaking of the “corruption” mechanic, could you talk a little about that and give us an idea of what kind of things we can expect from it? How far does it go?

TN: Throughout each chapter, players make decisions that grant access to specific actions, scenes, and chapter conclusions. Depending on these choices, corruption may increase or remain stable, and in the end, they will face the consequences.

It primarily influences the game’s endings and the character’s narrative arc, but it also affects gameplay. Some abilities can transform, improve, or break depending on the player’s corruption level. It acts as a sword of Damocles hanging over the player.

BD: When it comes to the puzzles, how do you balance making them challenging and worthwhile, without leaving the player completely flummoxed?

TN: We want players to experience that real “eureka” moment when they find a solution […] It is that familiar moment from detective films, when the investigator suddenly connects all the clues, and everything falls into place. That is exactly the feeling we want to deliver.

Achieving this relies primarily on iteration, balancing, and, whenever possible, playtesting […]  Sometimes it comes down to small adjustments, such as refining a clue, reconsidering its wording, moving a key object to make it slightly more visible or, on the contrary, more discreet if it feels too obvious. Or it could even just be a case of rephrasing an objective.

We have also included a “Story Mode” for players who prefer to focus on the narrative. They can request hints and receive help from KEY to progress more easily. 

BD: While there are some details given in his stories, Lovecraft would often leave things up to the imagination of the reader when it came to thinking about what his various creatures, eldritch gods, and sunken cities look like. There’s a lot of “indescribable” and “formless” horrors in his works. Obviously, you don’t have that luxury in a visual medium and have to commit to showing these things properly on screen. How did you approach that? Did you try to piece together what you could from Lovecraft’s vague descriptions, look at some illustrated interpretations, or go in your own direction?

TN: Bringing this universe to life was a major challenge, led by Thomas Veauclin, our Art and Creative Director, along with the entire graphics team. Among our inspirations were artists such as François Baranger, Zdzisław Beksiński, H.R. Giger, and Gou Tanabe.

To take a concrete example, Cthulhu himself is an entity that has been represented in many different ways, and whose design has become relatively codified over time. This served as a starting point for our [depiction]. In the game, he retains the defining elements that make him recognizable, while being reinterpreted through a more personal vision.

This adaptation work was essential. We needed to find the right approach to translate this universe, while giving it our own identity. On that note, I would also encourage you to explore the game’s artbook, which goes into more detail on these choices and shows how the artistic direction was developed.

Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. 

The post Big Bad Wolf Talks Lovecraft And More as Inspiration for ‘Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss’ [Interview] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

There are various ways in which a filmmaker might try to unnerve viewers, and the most difficult is arguably atmospheric. 1974’s Messiah of Evil may be a low-budget feature, but it’s a masterclass in capturing a disturbing and disquieting sense of place. Its eerily empty seaside town just seems off, and when its occupants do arrive, all pasty-faced and quiet, the film’s increasingly upsetting atmosphere finds incredible terror in mundane locales like supermarkets and movie theaters.

Fans of the film should seek out the “Father’s Day” segment of 2016’s Holidays and Mickey Keating’s Offseason (both coincidentally starring the great Jocelin Donahue) for some similar vibes. Now keep reading to see what I heard on the commentary for…

Messiah of Evil (1974)

Commentators: Genre film experts Kim Newman and Stephen Thrower

1. The film went through various titles during production, including The Second Coming and The Blood Moon. It was also released at various points as Return of the Living Dead – a short-lived venture quickly shot down by George Romero’s lawyers – Dead People, Revenge of the Screaming Dead, Blood Busters, and Return of the Damned.

2. The man running and dying before the title card drops is future filmmaker Walter Hill.

3. Co-writer/director Willard Huyck attended UCLA alongside the likes of George Lucas and John Milius, and all three competed against each other with short films in a film festival at the time. The Los Angeles Times’ review of the fest singled out Huyck’s short as the best of the bunch.

4. Huyck never found his peers’ level of success as a director, but he did go on to direct 1986’s Howard the Duck. He had more luck as a writer alongside his fellow co-director/writer Gloria Katz, and went on to co-write American Graffiti, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and more.

5. Katz’s brother, Stephen Katz, is the film’s cinematographer, and he went on to shoot The Blues Brothers, I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, and more.

6. Newman draws a line, of both style and themes, between this film and other “counter culture-inflected, slightly Lovecraftian” movies like The Witch Who Came from the Sea, Let’s Scare Jessica to Death, and the work of French filmmaker Jean Rollin.

7. “There’s a kind of wry wit to this film, but the characters exist in this sort of [Michelangelo] Antonioni J.G. Ballard-type ennui as they drift to their dooms,” says Newman, and this kind of line is exactly why you get him and Thrower on your commentaries.

8. Thrower adds that the dialogue walks a fine line between the pretentious and the more Lovecraftian, literary means of communication. “If you try to speak Lovecraft out loud, it’s kind of difficult to bring that off without adopting a very melodramatic persona to do it.”

9. Huyck and Katz were locked out of the editing room after they finished filming, but what followed wasn’t “a hack job.” The people who stepped in clearly knew what they were doing and made their best efforts to complete the film and stay true to its intentions.

10. We watch as Laura (Anitra Ford) walks through an eerily empty town, and Thrower comments that the feeling we get from it is sadly relatable these days after we’ve all been through the pandemic lockdown.

11. Newman suggests there’s been some debate over the years as to what exactly the “monsters” are in the film. Zombies, vampires, possessed people, a cult… “It’s good that you can’t define” what exactly these folks have become. Part of that, of course, could be due to the filmmakers being unable to film the intended, bigger, more clarifying ending.

12. The score is by Phillan Bishop, and they talk about how it’s among the early electronic scores in cinema. They mention a few more examples, including Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, and a common thread between them is their place in the horror genre, something that speaks to the genre’s typical low budgets more than anything else.

13. Gloria Katz cameo at 55:35 as the woman selling tickets at the movie theater.

14. The film on the theater marquee is 1950’s Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye, a James Cagney crime picture, that was chosen strictly for the terrifically appropriate title.

15. They reach the film’s most memorable scene – Toni (Joy Bang) takes a seat in an empty theater only for the seats to fill up behind her as the trailers play – and Thrower recalls a similar incident he experienced. In his case, he had gone to see Mario Bava’s Shock, took a seat in a fairly full theater, and turned around barely ten minutes into the film to realize that he was the only one there.

16. “If you really tap into the mood of it, then it really does start to pay off,” says Thrower regarding the film’s slow burn that explodes with legitimate horror at various points, like the supermarket and theater scenes.

17. The edits during both the supermarket kill and theater kill drive home one of the film’s themes on rampant consumerism consuming us all. As Laura is eaten, we get cuts to the empty supermarket aisles, and when Toni is attacked, we see shots of empty theater seats and a concession stand.

18. The stunt performer set ablaze towards the film’s climax is Buddy Joe Hooker, who went on to have a long, distinguished career in stunts as both a performer (Prophecy, The Entity, The Guardian) and a second-unit director (Mannequin, Gleaming the Cube, and Vanilla Sky).

19. They agree that the only real disappointment here is that the film’s ending wasn’t completed and was instead hobbled together by producers and editors after the fact. The bookends here, that Arletty (Marianna Hill) is simply a crazy woman recounting her madness via voiceover – as opposed to these events having really happened – do feel like an unfortunate afterthought.

Quotes Without Context

“It’s that strange moment when the political revolution of the sixties has died away and fizzled out, but all the love children and hippies are left trying to work out what to do next.”

“People tried to do Lovecraft in the sixties, but in a way that made me think they’d never read a Lovecraft story.”

“I think that’s true of this house as a whole; it looks incredible, but you’re supposed to find it unnerving and off-putting.”

“If the camera panned away from the youthful shenanigans of American Graffiti and went down a different street, you might find the beginnings of the horror developing in this story.”

“Another theme in this film is that cops are useless.”

Keep up with more horror commentary breakdowns here.

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And if you were looking for similar titles, you can grab Roots Devour as part of bundles with titles such as Look Outside, Menace from the Deep, and Out of Hands.

Roots Devour casts you as a newborn Eldritch, having been summoned into this world. What else are you going to do other than grow in power to ultimately devour the world? To do so, you’ll need to extend your roots—piercing, entwining, and draining the lifeblood of the creatures you encounter. Meticulously plan this frantic spread, expanding through the unknown darkness until you dismantle the world, reconstruct it, and ultimately, consume it whole.

Unlike traditional card games, you must lay out your cards and expend resources to forge connections, fuelling your relentless expansion. At its core, Roots Devour revolves entirely around the concept of “connection.” While fundamentally a card game, it breaks away from conventional Roguelike loops and turn-based combat, using cards as tactical tools for exploration and expansion. Players must strategically connect cards to extract vital blood, create new pathways, and venture into uncharted territories. Every card placed is part of a living ecosystem, where positioning directly affects triggers, buffs, and resource consumption between neighboring cards.

This design fosters a strategic experience that is persistent yet accessible. Unlike titles that demand heavy numerical calculations or the constant hesitation of “which card to play,” Roots Devour prioritizes the evaluation of risk and resource. The challenge lies in determining the optimal place and distance for card placement—using them as bridges to extend your reach toward your prey and maximize your gains across the map.

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Featuring 30+ investigative solutions (depending on your choices and methods), the demo sports 20-45+ minutes of gameplay, with almost the complete gameplay feature set, including the atmospheric Noir Mode.

Set in the smoke-filled alleys of a city drowning in secrets, Obsidian Moon is a text-based detective adventure rooted in 1930s noir and psychological tension. Players take on the role of Carter, a once-respected homicide detective haunted by grief and failure, tasked with solving a series of interconnected murders through logic, instinct, and the steady collapse of his own sanity. Every decision matters, and every lead comes at a cost.

In the demo, players will take on the first murder investigation, navigating a dense web of leads, choices, and consequences. Whether you interrogate witnesses, dig through records, rely on forensic work, or take more questionable shortcuts, the case adapts to your methods, offering more than 30 different investigative paths depending on how you approach the case.

You can expect Obsidian Moon to launch later this year.

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The Submarine is a new entry in the Static Dread universe, taking place in a strange near-future world where a catastrophic aurora has erased much of modern civilization’s achievements. The results have forced humanity to face unfamiliar threats and impossible choices. Deep beneath a northern sea in the submarine known as Ares, you and your crew fight isolation, failing systems, and something far older than any map. It’s up to you to guide the Ares through black water, piece together what the aurora awakened, and decide how much you and your crew are willing to sacrifice to see the next dawn.

New to the game is the sonar exploration mechanic, where active and passive scans reveal wrecks, trenches, and things that answer back. You’ll need to decode these messages to uncover the secrets buried on the seafloor.

And much like The Lighthouse, players will be performing their duties aboard the Ares in order to keep the sub and its crew functioning properly. That also means that if a crewmember dies, you’ll need to assume their duties as well as your own in order to keep going.

At the same time, your route, your priorities, and your acts under pressure determine how the story concludes, leading to one of many endings.

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In Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss, an occult threat grows ever more blatant, as strange, incomprehensible events increase in activity. Around the world, as land resources become more scarce, corporations instead turn to the uncharted depths of the oceans. However, they do so unaware of the ancient horror that lies beneath. The player takes on the role of Noah, voiced by Jua Amir (Detroit: Become Human), an agent specializing in occult cases. His mission is to investigate the disappearance of miners at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, aided by his personal AI, KEY.

KEY is equipped with a range of useful tools to assist the player in their investigation, such as a sonar for analyzing clues or revealing things that are difficult to see with the naked eye. While exploring varied environments, both on land and at sea, Noah will face numerous riddles and puzzles that can be solved in different ways. One of the game’s iconic locations is none other than R’lyeh, the city where, according to the Lovecraftian myth, Cthulhu is imprisoned. Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss marks the first time that R’lyeh has been depicted in a video game.

As Noah progresses through the city’s maze and encounters eldritch horrors, the line between nightmare and reality begins to blur under the influence of the most powerful of cosmic creatures: Cthulhu. If he hasn’t lost his sanity by then, Noah will have to make a decisive choice at the climax of his investigation. Several endings will then become available, depending on the player’s previous actions.

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Players assume the role of Nil, who on a trip with friends that starts in the forest, falls asleep and awakens in 1693 in Valderit, a village inspired by La Mussara, a real abandoned village in Tarragona, Catalonia. Separated from your friends, Julia and Enric, you soon discover the dark secrets of this cursed village, which is home to a mysterious sect.

Together with its adaptive AI mechanic, Myth of Valderit combines exploration, survival elements, and puzzle-solving. The AI system constantly changes between four types inspired by the four ways that humans respond to fear: fight, flight, freeze, or fawn.

Nil will have to survive and avoid being chased by the sect of Slygaroth without no weapon to defend from them. And seeing as Lovecraft is involved, you must also deal with the game’s sanity mechanic, which distorts perception, moves walls and objects, and conjures hallucinations.

Currently, Loom Studios is working on a demo for Myth of Valderit, which is set to be released soon.

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However, there exists a criminally underseen duology of films that managed to overcome the inherent difficulty of adapting Lovecraft by bypassing his original work entirely and instead replicating the pulpy thrills of a certain tabletop RPG. Naturally, I’m referring to Spain’s The Valdemar Legacy and its sequel, The Valdemar Legacy II: The Forbidden Shadow (which is really just the second half of the same movie). With the Halloween season finally upon us, I believe this is the perfect time to look back on these films as unofficial adaptations of the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game!

Despite being considered a high-profile release in Europe, The Valdemar Legacy was actually an independent passion project brought to life by the blood, sweat, and tears of writer-director José Luis Alemán. A lifelong connoisseur of Weird Fiction, Alemán wished to combine his favorite scary stories into an epic pastiche made by genre fans for genre fans.

Unfortunately, the scope (and subject matter) of such a project made it nearly impossible to guarantee funding through the government subsidies that keep Spanish cinema alive – especially after the box-office failure of Stuart Gordon’s underrated Lovecraft adaptation Dagon.

Left with no other choice, Alemán decided to risk everything and finance the picture himself, selling off assets and picking up a few loans in order to bring his ambitious screenplay to life as a two-part epic. This resulted in Spain’s first major genre film produced without government resources!

Of course, financing was only half the battle, as both parts of the story ultimately required over 19 weeks of principal photography to complete, as well as an extensive post-production process in order to sort out the visual effects. The biggest difficulty resulted from the director’s wish to portray the script’s two timelines in completely different styles, with the modern-day investigation playing out like a Stephen King novel and the flashbacks being presented like a long-lost Hammer Horror picture.

In the finished film, we follow real estate specialist Luisa Llorente (Silvia Abascal) as she unwittingly becomes part of a paranormal conspiracy involving disappearances at a decaying Victorian mansion previously owned by disgraced occultist Lázaro Valdemar (Daniele Liotti). As the film’s dual timelines unfold, we slowly uncover the tragic series of events that cursed Valdemar’s estate in the past as well as the terrifying part that Luisa is meant to play in the mansion’s dark future.

With early previews of the film being mostly positive, Alemán was shocked when the first chapter of his horrific saga released to scathing reviews and disappointing box office numbers. Not only were audiences claiming to have been cheated by the lack of Lovecraftian elements in what was advertised as a Lovecraft adaptation (with the first film’s narrative feeling a lot more like one of Roger Corman’s Edgar Allan Poe adaptations than anything resembling Cosmic Horror), but the odd structure and abrupt cliffhanger ending resulted in extremely negative word-of-mouth.

And while The Valdemar Legacy and its follow-up had been conceived (and mostly filmed) as one big story from the outset, additional shooting was required in order to fully complete the sequel – meaning that fans had to wait two years for a proper ending! Thankfully, revisiting these films today means that we can immediately head into The Forbidden Shadow, with the second film picking up right where the previous one left off and finally expanding on the Lovecraftian elements that were only hinted at before.

Watching the complete story unfold in one go made me realize that the duology has a lot more in common with the popular event series of the 90s (think Rose Red or Intensity) than actual movie franchises. Even the expansive cast and their interpersonal melodrama are far more reminiscent of what you’d expect from a serialized TV show than a feature film, and that’s why The Valdemar Legacy sometimes feels like an impeccably shot miniseries rather than two movies – or at least a long-lost Call of Cthulhu campaign where the Game Master (or Keeper) prepared an elaborate Victorian backstory but had little control over the modern-day players.

And while this chaotic mix of literary, television, and even role-playing game influences sounds like it shouldn’t work, trust me when I say that the end result is one of the most entertaining pieces of Lovecraftian fiction I’ve seen in years. At its best, the Valdemar story feels like a long-lost Stuart Gordon film, but even at its worst, it still feels like a charming made-for-TV production filled with paranormal intrigue and memorable characters (with the exception of the bland real-estate ensemble).

From the disturbed groundskeeper who keeps a family of creepy mannequins to Lázaro Valdemar himself (who is arguably the real protagonist despite mostly appearing through extended flashback sequences), there are plenty of original characters here that would feel right at home in a real Lovecraft yarn. The films also feature a number of amusing appearances from historical figures ranging from Aleister Crowley to Lizzie Borden and even H.P. Lovecraft himself – all connected by a conspiratorial web of occult intrigue involving portals to other dimensions and the infamous Necronomicon.

This is exactly the kind of historical horror that originally got me into the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game in the first place, so I appreciate how the film is set up almost exactly like a classic campaign – i.e., a group of regular people slowly uncover an eldritch threat at a cursed location only to barely escape with their sanity. Sure, this means that the modern-day “investigators” are basically cardboard cut-outs rather than actual people, but that’s par for the course with this kind of yarn.

Though these films aren’t particularly scary, the excellent cinematography, impressive sets, and extensive mythology make the Valdemar saga worth experiencing despite obvious budgetary issues. Even when things get silly (like in the case of the CGI-enhanced Ghoul or even the Cthulhu-inspired “final boss”), Alemán’s efforts feel more sincere than cheap. In fact, some of the rough edges enhance the overall pulpy atmosphere.

The only real issue here is pacing. The Valdemar Legacy should either have been a single three-hour film cutting out all of the extraneous subplots or an extended mini-series interweaving both timelines together through alternating scenes instead of lengthy chunks of story.

At the end of the day, The Valdemar Legacy duology isn’t the best Lovecraftian adaptation out there, with both films suffering from inconsistent logic and janky effects work, but there’s so much genuine love for the source material here that it’s easy to overlook these surface-level flaws and enjoy the retro thrills. That’s why I’d recommend giving this hidden gem a chance if you’re a fan of RPG-inspired scares or long-form frights!

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Touted as an “unapologetically tough single-player shooter,” Beneath features scarce ammo, merciless enemies and a sense of the unknown that combine in a story-driven campaign built for both veteran gamers and those seeking an old school experience.

The game casts you as seasoned diver Noah Quinn. A routine expedition has plunged into chaos, trapping him in the depths of the ocean, where an ancient evil lurks. As supplies dwindle and nightmarish creatures close in, Noah must confront horrifying mutations, creeping madness, and a sinister conspiracy that threatens humanity itself. With his daughter’s life hanging in the balance, Noah is pushed to his limits in a desperate race against time. Can he uncover the truth and stop an ancient horror from surfacing, or will the abyss consume them all?

And in case you missed it, Beneath is part of Steam Next Fest this year, so go get that demo if you’re in the mood for a golden-era PS3/Xbox 360 vibe wrapped in Lovecraftian dread.

The post Lovecraftian Horror Title ‘Beneath’ Comes to PC October 27, Consoles on October 28 [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

A Lovecraft-inspired survival FPS built by two brothers, Beneath is an “unapologetically tough single player shooter.” Scarce ammo, merciless enemies and a sense of the unknown combine in a story-driven campaign built for both veteran gamers and those seeking an old school experience.

The demo features a taste of what players can expect from the game, which sports a “golden-era PS3/Xbox 360 vibe wrapped in Lovecraftian dread.” Along with the scarcity of ammo and resources, you’ll need to think twice when it comes to encounters. Will you sneak past dangers or confront them head-on? Those dangers range from ruthless soldiers to grotesque Lovecraftian abominations, which you’ll need to their behaviours in order to survive.

The game casts you as seasoned diver Noah Quinn. A routine expedition has plunged into chaos, trapping him in the depths of the ocean, where an ancient evil lurks. As supplies dwindle and nightmarish creatures close in, Noah must confront horrifying mutations, creeping madness, and a sinister conspiracy that threatens humanity itself. With his daughter’s life hanging in the balance, Noah is pushed to his limits in a desperate race against time. Can he uncover the truth and stop an ancient horror from surfacing, or will the abyss consume them all?

In addition to a Steam release, Beneath is also currently in development for release on PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series.

The post Steam Next Fest Demo for Lovecraftian Survival Horror FPS ‘Beneath’ Out Now [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, The Order Of The Snake Scale is a surreal survival horror set in an alternate universe, where power over humanity is exercised by Unions of States and Corporations. The prohibition of religion, mass sterilization, the appropriation of people’s property, eugenics, the subjugation of humanity to the NML Corporation, this is the new world order.

Players take on the role of a detective investigating the mysterious death of a woman in the town of Happy Rock. As you work to solve the Happy Rock case, you will learn about the history of the Universe, and its inhabitants. However, it’s also easy to die in this world, particularly in the least expected moments. Along with gathering clues for the case, you’ll need to stock up your inventory, fight, make decisions and most importantly, survive.

Sporting a control scheme and mechanics that pay tribute to classic horror games of the past, gameplay includes the aforementioned combat and resource collecting, but also solving logic puzzles as well as platforming, and various interactions with the environment.

The post Lovecraftian Horror Title ‘The Order Of The Snake Scale’ Now on Xbox, Coming to PlayStation and Switch [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Inspired by Lovecraft, Don’t Look Now, Midsommar, Kill List, and The Wicker Man, the story for Carnival centres around journalist James Maynard, who arrives in 1930s Venice to cover a controversial road bridge project. However, his investigation spirals into something far darker. Ancient carnival traditions hide disturbing secrets, and a hideous core to the notion of Venetian pride. Complicating matters is James’ narcolepsy, which makes every conversation, every witness encounter, and every memory unreliable.

Clocking in at around 4-5 hours of gameplay, Carnival features atmospheric low-resolution pixel art graphics, multiple locations drawn from Venice itself, and developing relationships with NPCs, allowing the player to influence events in the game, leading to one of the game’s two main endings. There’s also a secret ending for the fastidious players.

The post Folk Horror Adventure Game ‘Carnival’ Out Now on Steam [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Set to launch on Steam in 2026, INFERIUS sees you awaken as a Pilgrim, lost, damned, and marked, in a realm that reflects your forgotten sins. Armed with only your lantern and a growing deck of Tarot-inspired Major Arcana, you must survive the nine dominions of hell, each ruled by a grotesque entity and shaped by sin and fear. Combat unfolds through tactical card duels, where every draw is a choice, and every sacrifice has weight.

The deeper you descend, the more your sanity begins to fracture. INFERIUS rewards persistence through its unforgiving roguelite loop: die, return, rebuild, and try again with new insight. Each level of Hell has a ruler, and defeating each one grants you power, but also distorts your perception. Brands, Sigils, and Minor Arcana allow you to mutate your cards in unpredictable ways, pushing your strategy—and your mind—to the brink.

The nightmarish creatures in each realm will attempt to catch you in the dark. To counter this, you must use your lantern to bend and manipulate the environment around you as you traverse through the Inferno. It illuminates paths, solves puzzles, reveals secrets, and prevents your sanity from slipping into madness.

The post Psychological Horror Deckbuilder Game ‘INFERIUS’ Combines Lovecraft With “The Divine Comedy” [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

As a lone lighthouse keeper, it’s up to you to maintain the beacon of an ancient lighthouse after calamity has befallen the world. But beware, as seafarers have reported encounters with creatures beyond the reach of science, and ships have been drifting back from distant waters completely empty, their crews vanished without a trace.

As your duties grow more perilous with each night, the fate of the nearby town and passing vessels are in your hands. You’ll meet a variety of odd characters, many of whom whisper prayers to sea gods and perform rituals to raise the dead. Your choices will determine their fate. Survive the Lovecraftian terrors, and use your radio to guide the ships entrusted to you through the abyss, and don’t let the shadows consume you.

The post Lovecraftian Sim ‘Static Dread: The Lighthouse’ Out Now on Steam [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

As Carter, a once-respected homicide detective haunted by grief and failure, you’ll be asked to solve a string of interconnected cases through logic, instinct, and the steady collapse of your own sanity. Armed with vintage forensics, gritty intuition, and limited amount of time, you’ll follow leads, interrogate suspects, and make choices that may bring you closer to the truth, or break you entirely.

“We wanted to build a detective game that gives players true investigative freedom, not just to solve the case, but to lose themselves in the process’’, explains Obsidian Moon Director, Yannis Antonakakis. ‘’The entire design is built around one question: what if all the clues were laid out in front of you, and the only thing standing between order and chaos was your mind?”

Echoing titles like Stacklands, Papers, Please, and Cultist Simulator, players will have 10 murder cases to solve that converge into a wider conspiracy. You must interrogate witnesses, run forensic reports, dig into criminal records, or go the route of using your magnum to extract a confession (which isn’t recommended). Throughout your playtime, you’ll juggling three narratives: track the crumbling psyche of Carter; the reactions of Chief O’Hara; and the naive wonder of your partner, “The Kid.”

Seeing as this is Lovecraft we’re talking about, you’ll need to choose between stability or spiraling. Every lead costs you time and money, and maybe your own mind. Obsidian Moon includes multiple game modes, including a Hardcore permadeath mode and immersive Noir black-and-white filter.

Obsidian Moon is available now to wishlist on Steam.

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I believe this is also the case with the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. While cosmic horror as a concept can be effectively applied to nearly any time or place, the irrational fear of foreign cultures and incomprehensible alien beings was much more poignant before ideas like extraterrestrial invaders and alternate dimensions escaped the confines of pulpy magazines and entered mainstream culture. That’s why it’s so difficult to adapt Lovecraft’s stories to a modern setting, as both society and media have evolved to the point where it’s hard to imagine someone going mad just because they learned that they’re related to fish people – and that’s not even mentioning the inherent issues with translating the author’s vague monsters to a visual medium.

Does this mean that it’s impossible to properly adapt Lovecraft to the big screen? Of course not! There are several great cinematic incarnations of the Cthulhu Mythos, and this year happens to mark the 20^th anniversary of one of the very best. Naturally, I’m referring to what is undoubtedly the most faithful adaptation of the Providencean writer’s work, the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society’s faux-silent film The Call of Cthulhu.

Originally founded in 1986 by a group of friends united by a combined love of theater and the writings of H.P. Lovecraft (with their interest in the Mythos having been sparked by Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu role-playing game), the HPLHS was no stranger to adapting the author’s work into other mediums. In fact, their first adaptation was a shot-on-VHS rendition of The Statement of Randolph Carter produced all the way back in 1988.

Of course, as the Society grew, so did their artistic ambitions. After a series of comedic musical productions, the group eventually decided that it was time to invest in a more serious adaptation of a Lovecraft yarn. So began a grueling eighteen-month-long journey as Andrew Leman and his fellow Society members decided to bring 1933’s The Call of Cthulhu to life as it might have been adapted to the big screen soon after publication of the original story.

With help from their talented editor and cinematographer David Robertson, the team developed what they would later refer to as the “Mythoscope” process – a technique through which the digital shoot would be converted into a realistic facsimile of vintage film stock, complete with lighting and composition that would have been popular during the 1930s. This process involved a mix of both painstakingly crafted sets and cleverly disguised locations, with the globe-trotting adventure actually being shot almost entirely within California on a shoestring budget.

This is especially remarkable when you consider that almost all of the effects were achieved in-camera. The sunken city of R’lyeh was actually built at three different scales in order to allow for more creative use of non-Euclidean geometry while also facilitating the stop-motion sequence towards the end of the picture, and that’s not even mentioning all of the eerie artwork that had to be hand-painted/sculpted before shooting. Of course, the stop-motion monster effects are probably the most famous element of this adaptation, with the flick’s Harryhausen/Richard O’Brien-inspired take on Cthulhu having become more famous than the movie itself.

In the finished film, which follows the 1928 story so closely that it even incorporates the original text into its intertitles, we accompany a series of nested vignettes about a mysterious cult and their eldritch God. These sequences are connected by an overarching narrative concerning a distraught protagonist going through the files that drove his deceased uncle mad. Naturally, this curious nephew soon begins to lose his own grip on reality as he slowly pieces together a cosmic puzzle and realizes that there are things man was not meant to know.

Right off the bat, the movie’s dedication to retro authenticity is remarkable, with very few details giving away the illusion. As a filmmaker myself with experience in replicating old-timey aesthetics, I’m aware of how hard it is to convincingly simulate aging film stock and early 20^th century lighting/lenses without the aid of a sizable budget like in the case of David Fincher’s Mank. However, I’m pleased to say that Andrew Leman and his team managed to push their limited resources to the very limit here – to the point where I honestly think that the film might have fooled casual audiences if it benefited from a wider release.

This visual fidelity extends to The Call of Cthulhu’s aforementioned effects, with the final act featuring gorgeous lo-fi puppetry that -ironically enough- is actually a little too advanced for the era that the film is attempting to emulate. The climactic encounter with Cthulhu may not seem particularly scary for modern audiences, but the janky movements of the Great Old One’s tentacles add so much texture and charm to the experience that I think the movie is already worth watching for this sequence alone.

Of course, The Call of Cthulhu is faithful to its origins to a fault, with the adaptation becoming so lost in the original work’s convoluted web of stories within stories that it may be difficult for uninitiated viewers to follow what’s going on. This is exacerbated by the fact that Lovecraft’s prose valued depth over clarity – meaning that some of the intertitles are way longer and more complex than they needed to be.

And yet, some of the nuance present in the source material was inevitability lost in translation due to the very nature of film as a visual medium. Cthulhu is a lot scarier as a barely comprehensible description of an octopus-dragon carving than as a literal monster, so the adaptation unfortunately lacks some of the monstrous impact of Lovecraft’s original work.

I was never really bothered by this, as Leman’s team seemed to view the project as more of an experiment in simulating a film that might have been made rather than actually making a thrilling picture for current audiences. From the period-accurate orchestral score (courtesy of an incredibly talented ensemble of five composers) to lighting and set design that wouldn’t feel out of place in a legitimate example of German Expressionism, there’s a lot to love about this little passion project if you’re into film history.

Personally, I enjoy the movie in much the same way as I appreciate 2018’s faux cursed film Antrum – a similar exercise where filmmakers wished to pay homage to a bygone era of genre filmmaking. And much like Antrum, the obscure nature of Leman’s film also lends it an air of “lost media,” as one could easily imagine that this cursed silent picture was struck from history books due to the subversive nature of Lovecraft’s writing.

In the end, whether or not you enjoy HPLHS’s Call of Cthulhu mostly depends on your tolerance for aesthetic gimmicks and your opinion of the original short story. As a huge fan of the Cthulhu Mythos and a defender of creative teams willing to commit to a bit, it stands to reason that I adore this 47-minute experiment, though your own mileage may vary. However, whether or not you like the movie, I think it’s safe to say that this is the most faithful Lovecraft adaptation ever made, and it’s just as impressive now as it was back in 2005.

The post ‘The Call of Cthulhu’ – Looking Back on the Faux Silent Film 20 Years Later appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The Bornless takes place in 1967 on Farmouth Island, a stretch of wilderness off the Massachusetts coast. Face off against other players, summon demons, and build factions in the game’s Lovecraftian world. Use Black Magick, acquire powerful weapons, upgrade your Safehouse, and strategize to survive.

The main game mode in The Bornless is Ritual Mode, a three-phase PvPvE survival horror extraction game where you’ll face off against demonic forces and rival players. In the first phase, Loot and Explore, you and your partner start out in an isolated cabin and navigate through the forests of Farmouth Island. You’ll fight for Sigils, battle cultists and demons to complete quests, and gather valuable items.

In the second phase, known as The Ritual,  players will use Incense to activate ancient ritual sites known as Gates, which yield rare Sigils that are necessary for the final confrontation. However, each completed ritual highlights  your location to rival players, who will attempt to take the Sigil for themselves.

The final phase, Hunt or Be Hunted, summons a demon, which will begin hunting the remaining players. You must now find an extraction point before the time runs out to escape the island. Each successful extraction increases your power, and builds up resources and collectibles from the game’s rarity-based loot system.

That includes unlocking new skins, loadouts, and other customization options as you level up. The Bornless will also employ a faction mechanic, where you can join other players in global campaigns and seasonal tournaments. You’ll also be able to build and customize your Safehouse, a pre-match hub that “is a testament to your success in The Bornless.”

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In The Necromancer’s Tale, players assume the role of a minor noble in the 18th Century, drawn into the dark necromantic arts as you seek knowledge and revenge. With a narrative heavily influenced by H.P. Lovecraft, great power awaits as you master forbidden rituals and command an army of the undead, along with the weird, the morbid, and a gradual descent into madness. Before you lies a great spellbook, filled with powerful rites of death and reanimation. Can you decipher the pages and master its arcane rituals without losing your mind or being strung up by the townsfolk?

Unlike conventional RPGs, necromancy is not just a skill—it’s an immersive journey into secrecy, manipulation, and moral decay. Inspired by titles like Disco Elysium and Pillars of Eternity, this dark origin story is touted as the first of its kind to explore what it truly means to become a necromancer, unravelling mysteries of death and power in a richly layered narrative spanning over 400,000 words, and 180+ NPCs. The game’s branching dialogue and faction-based trust system mean that every choice matters.

“In The Necromancer’s Tale, necromancy isn’t just another branch of magic—it’s the heart of the story,” say Game Director Sam Redfern and Marketing Director Kirsty Halloran. “It’s about choice, sacrifice, and the slow, inevitable pull of darkness. We want players to feel the weight of every decision, every ritual, and every life they take—or bring back.”

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Players take the helm of a fishing trawler as they navigate the Submerged Land, a world full of submerged islands and ruins of a forgotten civilization. Much like DREDGE, you’ll be catching fish and selling your yield, allowing you to upgrade your ship. You’ll also be building equipment and managing your inventory. However, you must also be ready to fight back against mutated creatures, beware of radiation, as well as those who are after more than just your catch…

Throughout your journey in DREADMOOR, you’ll encounter more than 100 species of dangerous and rare prey. Search for the best fishing spots, experiment with baits, compete with nature to get your catch. Sort your yield, and remember to keep an eye on the hold, as your catch has a penchant for eating each other. The more dangerous the catch, the higher price is given by the traders.

As well, simple scrap metal or old blueprints found in abandoned buildings, caves and shipwrecks are also invaluable items for trades. You can also use the things you collect to make baits, harpoons, rare medicines, and more.

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In the century or so since the author first published his stories about fish cults and elder gods, countless other creators have repurposed his particular brand of cosmic horror for everything from satirical splatter films (like those of the late, great Stuart Gordon) to even sanity mechanics in gaming (like those in the Call of Cthulhu tabletop RPG). And with such a vast web of influence, it should come as no surprise that many artists have attempted to pay homage to their idol by including him as a character in their work. With that in mind, we’ve decided to compile six of the most memorable H.P. Lovecraft cameos in horror, as this shy writer has actually popped up in more media than you might initially think.

For the purposes of this list, we’ll be limiting entries exclusively to appearances by the author himself rather than references to his iconic creations like Cthulhu and the Deep Ones. That being said, don’t forget to comment below with your own favorite H.P. Lovecraft cameos if you think we missed a particularly memorable one.

With that out of the way, onto the list.

6. H.P. Hatecraft in Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated (2010)

Mystery Incorporated is my personal favorite incarnation of the Scooby Gang aside from the original series and Zombie Island, and that’s partially because the show’s writing manages to hint at cosmic horror while still remaining true to its humorous and family-friendly roots. And with so much material borrowed from Lovecraft, it makes sense that the showrunners would also want to include a direct reference to one of their biggest influences by bringing him to life as the fan-favorite H.P. Hatecraft!

An obvious satire of Lovecraft, this recurring character is a writer and university professor who likes to hint that he may have actually witnessed some of the otherworldly terror mentioned in his books. And the best part? The grumpy author is played by Jeffrey Combs, a man who happens to know a thing or two about Lovecraft adaptations.

5. The Redeemer in Alan Moore’s Providence (2015)

Alan Moore has always incorporated elements of Weird Fiction into his genre work, and I’d argue that very few writers can compete with his metafictional charms. However, while tentacles and madness are common enough in the English author’s stories, it’s Moore’s inclusion of H.P. Lovecraft as a character in Providence that earns a spot on this list.

A twelve-issue comic-book series, Providence follows a gay, Jewish writer named Robert Black as he travels across the United States in search of occult inspiration for his great American novel. Along the way, Robert gets caught up in an eldritch conspiracy that inevitably leads him to a fellow author who has apparently been ordained to bring about the apocalypse. Naturally, this author is H.P. Lovecraft himself.

While I won’t go into details in order to avoid spoiling the conclusion to this metafictional epic, suffice to say that Moore’s refreshingly honest examination of Lovecraft as a troubled individual who was both deeply prejudiced and deeply gifted remains one of the most interesting entries on this list.

4. H.P. Lovecraft in Supernatural (2005)

I’ve always been of the opinion that Supernatural should have ended with the satisfying conclusion of Season 5 back in 2010, but even I was excited when I heard that the following season would focus on the pre-Adamite “Old Ones” who inhabit the alternate dimension of Purgatory. While I wasn’t a fan of how the showrunners ultimately handled the Leviathan threat, we were fortunate enough to get a surprise homage to H.P. Lovecraft during that year’s two-part season finale.

Once again implying that the author’s literary visions of eldritch terror were actually based in reality, the episodes Let it Bleed and The Man Who Knew Too Much feature flashbacks where Peter Ciuffa portrays H.P. Lovecraft as the leader of a paranormal-obsessed cult attempting to open a portal to another realm. When a dark ritual inevitably backfires, the writer is tragically murdered by an entity that possesses his innocent maid – an amusing idea when you consider that, despite his posthumous success, the real Lovecraft tragically died in poverty.

3. Randolph Carter in Fate/Grand Order (2015)

You wouldn’t expect to see H.P. Lovecraft show up in a free-to-play Gacha spin-off of the Fate/stay night series of videogames, but Fate/Grand Order stands out in this list by effortlessly incorporating the writer into the franchise’s substantial lore while still keeping true to his genre origins.

In this turn-based RPG, players magically command “Servants” from both history and mythology in order to battle the forces of evil. One of these Servants happens to be a time-traveler going by the alias “Randolph Carter,” with this occult-obsessed author dedicating himself to protecting the world from The Outer Gods. Not only is this Servant’s name a reference to Lovecraft’s self-insert character from the Cthulhu Mythos, but his overall design is also based on the writer himself.

2. Beth’s Hallucination in Incident in a Ghostland (2018)

Also referred to as Ghostland in some territories, Pascal Laugier’s 2018 captivity thriller Incident in a Ghostland may not be for everyone, but it’s also the scariest movie on this list by a wide margin. In fact, the surrounding events are so dark that H.P. Lovecraft’s hallucinatory cameo (where he’s played by Paul Titley in heavy prosthetic makeup) comes off as one of the film’s most tender moments. There’s something deeply compelling about watching a traumatized protagonist resort to soothing herself through an imagined conversation with her favorite author.

While I’m a fan of it now, this respectful nod to the master of Cosmic Horror bothered me back in the day due to the fact that the rest of the film doesn’t really resemble the kind of supernatural dread that the author is usually associated with. However, years down the line, I’ve come to realize that Lovecraft’s inclusion in the story is likely meant to show that people can in fact be driven mad by more grounded terrors than eldritch sea gods.

1. H.P. Lovecraft in Necronomicon (1993)

The second Jeffrey Combs performance on this list, H.P. Lovecraft’s appearance in the wraparound segment of the 1993 horror anthology Necronomicon is one of my favorite interpretations of the Providence-borne author in any media. Clad in exaggerated makeup in order to better personify the author, Combs plays Lovecraft as something of an overly serious historian who resents his reputation as a writer of mere fiction.

While the rest of this odd film is something of a mixed bag, even the most jaded fans of Cosmic Horror are likely to appreciate the absurdity of Necronomicon’s action-packed conclusion. After all, you get to watch as Lovecraft concludes his reading session with Abdul Alhazred’s cursed tome by sword-fighting against an eldritch abomination! Now that’s some quality pulp fiction.

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The story for The Dark Rites of Arkham concerns Detective Jack Foster, who after experiencing a traumatic incident, rejoins the police department to take over the investigation of what appears to be mere political blackmail. However, he’s soon faced with the discovery of a gruesome ritual murder that took place in a sealed room, from which no one could have gotten in or out without being seen. Along with his new partner, cult expert Harvey Whitman, Foster dives deep into the shadows of the city of Arkham.

Things get even darker when the duo find out the murder is related to three witches that escaped the Salem trials in 1693, and a conspiracy that could put an end to the world as we know it.

Along with the usual adventure game tropes of inventory management and puzzle-solving, you’ll also meet up with well-known characters in the Lovecraft universe, such as Herbert West, Keziah Mason, Doctor Carl Hill, and Henry Armitage. You can also choose to test your knowledge of H.P. Lovecraft and horror cinema of the 30s on Maxwell Fontaine’s radio show.

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From April 4 – 7, Stygian: Outer Gods will be available for players to try out via the free beta. You’ll need to sign up to get access to it, but that’s a small step. The beta greatly expands on the introductory section which was available during the recent Steam Next Fest, and will allow players to explore a large part of Kingsport, where they will be tasked with gaining access to the mysterious Brasko family mansion.

Meanwhile, the new trailer offers up a glimpse of the horrors you’ll face in Kingsport, while also showing off some of the game mechanics.

Set in the universe of 2019’s Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones, Outer Gods involves the events preceding the Black Day. You’ll take on the role of a mercenary accompanying the enigmatic girl to the foggy settlement of Kingsport to uncover her family’s dark secret. Unfortunately, you become shipwrecked, and soon encounter the nightmares that have haunted this place for centuries. You must now find your way out while preventing the coming of the ancient Outer Gods, all the while keeping your sanity.

Stygian: Outer Gods launches into Early Access on Steam on April 14. The game will release for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series for the game’s 1.0 launch at a later date.

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Those who do give the game a test are encouraged to hit up the Kuuasemais Discord to relay your impressions to the team, including any bugs you find.

Set in the 1920s, you assume the role of a cult leader looking to grow their influence by generating chaos and fear around you. In order to do that, you must build, defend, and expand your lair, summon Eldritch creatures, and orchestrate sinister missions.

Said missions range from stealing artifacts to converting new followers. You’ll also be customizing your cult leader and monsters for each mission, equipping them with helpful items and powers. Also, you’ll be giving your cultists tasks like research, monster care, and setting traps. Collect flesh, valuable artifacts, and clay tablets to fuel your research and expansion.

As your lair grows, you’ll be drawing attention from rival cults, detectives, and the police. As a result, you’ll need to set traps and strategically place spells to defend your cult against invaders.

Cthulhu Keeper is currently in development for PC via Steam.

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Taking place in the year 2053, an occult threat grows ever more blatant, as strange, incomprehensible events increase in activity. Around the world, as land resources become more scarce, corporations instead turn to the uncharted depths of the oceans. However, they do so unaware of the ancient horror that lies beneath.

You are Noah, an agent of Ancile, which is a secret Interpol division specializing in occult cases. You’ve been tasked with investigating the mysterious disappearance of miners in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Aided by your AI companion, Key, you must explore the vast, labyrinthine prison of R’lyeh—an ancient, sunken city of cyclopean proportions—and resist the creeping madness caused by Cthulhu’s influence. At its core lies a secret that could shatter your understanding of reality.

As Noah, you must follow leads, gather scattered clues, and sharpen your detective skills to solve the immersive and complex puzzles found in R’lyeh. Uncover hidden truths and look beyond appearances to choose your path to resolving the case. Every mystery offers branching routes and secret passages waiting to be discovered. But beware, as you’ll face nightmares and cosmic abominations that will push your sanity to its limits, along with the knowledge that your choices and understanding will shape your fate.

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In this documentary-esque reveal, viewers are candidly treated to a never-before-seen peek behind the development of Ritual Tides, offering glimpses of the eerily stunning landscapes and its grotesque inhabitants.

“We’ve been developing games for clients for years and we’ve built towards this rare chance to craft our dream game and, hopefully, in some small way, disrupt the stagnating AAA space,” says Macleod. “We want to prove to audiences that what matters is the dedication, love and respect a team has for its project and vision, and we’re crafting a game we genuinely want to play.”

Described as being “exceedingly dark” and “not pulling any punches,” Ritual Tides sees players finding themselves washed up on a beach on the aforementioned island, with the only goal being to uncover the island’s horrific secrets. Players will have a “gun” at their disposal, but not in a typical fashion, which will set this title apart from other games within the genre.

The game is being developed using what the team describes as a ‘two stream’ approach, meaning design and game mechanics are prioritized alongside art research and development. As avid gamers and horror fans, the Vertpaint Games team states that they’re crafting something genuinely memorable, and that Ritual Tides will be sure to stick in players’ minds long after the credits have rolled.

Currently, the game is slated for a Q3 2025 launch, followed by releases on console. Keep tabs on the game’s development for now via the official website.

The post New Documentary-Gameplay Teaser Released for Lovecraftian Horror Title ‘Ritual Tides’ [Watch] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Set in the 1920s, you assume the role of a cult leader looking to grow their influence by generating chaos and fear around you. In order to do that, you must build, defend, and expand your lair, summon Eldritch creatures, and orchestrate sinister missions.

As the description sounds, Cthulhu Keeper has the similar lair-building mechanic as its inspiration. Heck, the game even has a similar severed hand for a cursor (no word yet on if you can backhand your summoned creatures). You’ll start off by carving your lair from solid rock, setting out the halls and chambers, create dedicated rooms for rituals, and strategically place defenses to fend off intruders.

That doesn’t mean that its a carbon copy of Dungeon Keeper. You’ll be planning and executing missions in the outside world, from stealing artifacts to converting new followers. You’ll also be customizing your cult leader and monsters for each mission, equipping them with helpful items and powers. Also, you’ll be giving your cultists tasks like research, monster care, and setting traps.

As your lair grows, you’ll be drawing attention from rival cults, detectives, and the police. As a result, you’ll need to set traps and strategically place spells to defend your cult against invaders.

No release date has been set for Cthulhu Keeper, but you can add the game to your wishlist on Steam.

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The Next Fest demo introduces players to the game’s “deviously clever systems” that lie at the dark heart of The Horror at Highrook, while slowly enveloping them with its enigmatic narrative.

Inspired by HP Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe and Bram Stoker, The Horror at Highrook sees players lead a team of occult investigators into the dark maw of Highrook Manor in search of the Ackerons – a noble family, who following rumours of dark pacts and shadowy rituals, have now vanished without a trace.

As players explore the haunted estate grounds, they will summon dark entities and craft powerful protections in a bid to uncover the fate of the missing family, all the while choosing their own path through the darkness.

A unique and cunning puzzle box of a game, The Horror at Highrook offers deeply rewarding tabletop inspired gameplay, tactile card manipulation, and an engrossing gothic-horror narrative. As the dark manor begins to unravel its secrets, it is brought to life with bold, eye-catching illustration and satisfyingly tactile animation.

The Horror at Highrook is scheduled to launch for PC via Steam later this year.

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Nyarlathotep Rising takes place against the fallout of the Wall Street crash of 1929, and sees you taking control of one of three people —Anna, Mark or Victor— with each having a different psychic predisposition about the world around them. You must guide them physically and psychologically through the upcoming turmoil, as cultists seek the rebirth of Nyarlathotep. Your decisions drive both the fate of your current character’s destiny, and that of the two other characters who evolve alongside you. Will you become a zealot of The Crawling Chaos, or try to stand against him?

HPL: Nyarlathotep Rising is an immersive visual novel with a Lovecraftian atmosphere, supported by captivating settings, complex characters and an intriguing soundtrack. Throughout your adventure, you must collect information and clues, artifacts, weapons and spells to help you face the cultists and other unseen monsters. Your interactions with the other characters, your discoveries, your questions, your use of objects, all influence the rest of the scenario and lead to one of many possible endings.

HPL: Nyarlathotep Rising arrives February 19 on Steam.

The post New Demo for ‘HPL: Nyarlathotep Rising’ Released Ahead of February 19 Launch [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Set amidst the fallout of a world shaken by the Wall Street crash of 1929, Nyarlathotep Rising sees you taking control of one of three people —Anna, Mark or Victor— each having a different psychic predisposition about the world around them. You must guide them physically and psychologically through the upcoming turmoil, as cultists seek the rebirth of Nyarlathotep. Your decisions drive both the fate of your current character’s destiny, and that of the two other characters who evolve alongside you. Will you become a zealot of The Crawling Chaos, or try to stand against him?

HPL: Nyarlathotep Rising is an immersive visual novel with a Lovecraftian atmosphere, supported by captivating settings, complex characters and an intriguing soundtrack. Throughout your adventure, you must collect information and clues, artifacts, weapons and spells to help you face the cultists and other unseen monsters. Your interactions with the other characters, your discoveries, your questions, your use of objects, all influence the rest of the scenario and lead to one of many possible endings.

Meanwhile, you can check out the introductory podcast below.

The post Lovecraftian Narrative RPG ‘HPL: Nyarlathotep Rising’ Launches February 19 [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Players take on the role of Arthur, who finds himself at an abandoned Soviet research station in the Antarctic. The station happens to be home to an ancient, otherworldly presence. You are compelled to navigate the station and uncover its secrets. In order to do so, Arthur must avoid the Frostwalkers: chilling creatures that detect body heat.

In NEDRA, in order to avoid being spotted and attacked by the Frostwalkers, Arthur must purposely lower his body temperature almost to the point of hypothermia to avoid the creatures. Obviously, if his body temperature drops too low, he risks dying from the cold. To regain warmth, Arthur needs to drink an iodine-alcohol mixture, which raises his temperature to normal levels, but will also make him visible to the Frostwalkers. Therefore, you’ll need to constantly balance on the edge, managing survival, stealth, and combat.

Speaking of combat, you’ll need to do the expecting scrounging for supplies and ammunition. In doing so, you’ll be having to navigate the labyrinth of the research station, uncovering lost history and face dilemmas where survival isn’t always the ultimate goal.

The post Lovecraftian Survival Horror Game ‘NEDRA’ Takes You to the Antarctic [Teaser] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Inspired by board-games, wikis, ghost stories and escape rooms, The Horror at Highrook puts players in charge of a team of investigators who must explore a the eponymous Highrook manor. Home to the Ackeron family, a noble house fallen into disrepute. Following rumours of dark pacts and shadowy rituals, the Ackerons have vanished. At the request of the city council, a team of occult investigators (that includes you) has been dispatched to investigate.

Inspired by HP Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe and Bram Stoker, you must investigate a gothic-horror mystery through disturbing letters, fraught conversations and and evocative artwork. You must master a deep, nonlinear crafting system as you progress through the story, gaining the strength and insight needed to succeed. Similar to Darkest Dungeon, you will assemble a team of investigators for your quest, made up of the city’s elite guilds, each with their own skills and perspectives. And much like the mechanics of Darkest Dungeon, you must keep your team safe from Hunger, Injury and Madness.

“I’m delighted to be partnering with OuterSloth,” says Tom Betts of Nullpointer Games. “It’s been a rough few years for indies, well, for everyone in the industry really. The Horror at Highrook arose as a result of another larger project deal falling through, and it had been a passion project of mine that had been bubbling away for a few years.”

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A spiritual successor to the cult classic Scratches, Asylum is a first-person horror adventure crafted in the grindhouse style of 80s horror, drawing inspiration from H. P. Lovecraft’s stories, the iconic gothic style of Hammer Films, and the twisted horror legacy of Lucio Fulci.

Senscape is purposely keeping the story for Aslyum under wraps for now, but it’s set within the sprawling, decaying walls of the Hanwell Mental Institute. The game aims for a gripping journey filled with mystery, puzzles, and an ambiance that will keep players on edge throughout its 15 hours of gameplay. Asylum aims to be a slow-burning horror experience, designed to chill rather than shock, with only a few “carefully placed” scares.

“After years of work, I might finally take a vacation,” jokes Agustín Cordes, director of Asylum. Funded through a highly successful Kickstarter campaign and later supported by an Epic MegaGrant, Asylum has “continuously pushed the boundaries of horror storytelling and immersive gameplay.”

The post Long-Awaited Horror Adventure Title ‘Asylum’ Coming March 6, 2025 [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Currently in development for PC, Ritual Tides sees players finding themselves washed up on a beach on the aforementioned island, with the only goal being to uncover the island’s horrific secrets. While details are currently under wraps with plans to reveal more in February 2025, the game will feature gruesomely designed enemies, danger around every corner, with players either having to hide or run to survive. Ritual Tides will have a “gun” available to players, but not in a typical fashion, which will set this title apart from other games within the genre.

According to the press release, Ritual Tides is being developed using what the team describes as a “two stream” approach. This translates into design and game mechanics being prioritised alongside art research and development. As avid gamers and horror fans, the team at Vertpaint is looking to craft something “genuinely memorable” for players. Enemy variation is central to the development ethos, and unlike other horror focused titles, Ritual Tides will provide a wealth of encounters.

“At Vertpaint, we’ve earned a reputation amongst developers as innovators,” explains James Macleod, CEO & Creative Director at Vertpaint Games. “With Ritual Tides, we cannot wait to show the world why as we take players on an escapade that combines the charm of true horror and original character designs, all brought to life through meticulous animation and artful conception.”

Ritual Tides is currently in development for a Q3 2025 launch, followed by releases on console. Those keen on following the game’s development can keep an eye on the official site.

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And a challenge it is, as chaos will ensue as players strive to complete the ceremony, a tough endeavour by itself, before law enforcement busts down the door. Candles need to be lit, pentagrams drawn and blood sacrifices need to be made.

Even then, a lot can go wrong. Never mind the police, someone might slip on some blood, trip over a candle and suddenly there’s a house fire. Then of course there are spirits from beyond that can also cause mayhem.

Each stage challenges players to summon an Old One, with some stages introducing new rituals and others expanding on previous ones. Ritual Party may sport a macabre yet cartoony aesthetic, but the Old Ones, however, are something different entirely.

You’ll also get to explore a multitude of eerie, otherworldly locations inspired by Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos, where cosmic dread and ancient mysteries challenge your perception of reality.

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Edge of Sanity is a psychological survival horror game with an intense atmosphere inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Set in the unforgiving wilderness of Alaska during the Cold War, you play as Carter, a member of a resupply group helping scientists working in the Alaskan field lab. Finding the site devoid of humanity, you stumble upon horrifying creatures, and during the escape your group splits up. You were lucky enough to make it out alive and set up a provisional camp to plan your future expeditions to find out what happened.

However, it won’t be easy. You must use anything you find to stand a chance against these Eldritch horrors, uncover secrets of the mysterious Thurul Stone, and unveil a tragic story of missing scientists. Learn your enemies weaknesses, impair their senses, manage resources and make use of crafting abilities and the surrounding to survive against them. Even if you’re out of options, you can always rely on your trusty ax, but don’t be surprised if things don’t get in your favour.

Along with having to manage food and supplies, you’ll need to manage your own sanity. Each dramatic event during your traverse across Alaska leaves a permanent scar on your mind. Accumulating madness results in acquiring traumas, affecting Carter’s actions and sense of reality, opening new dialogue options, and enabling you to craft entirely new items.

In addition to Steam, Edge of Sanity will also launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and the Nintendo Switch.

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Inspired by Dome Keeper and Spelunky and launching on August 16 on PC via Steam, Feed the Deep‘s story is a simple one. We’ve begun building floating cities in the ocean, but we didn’t exactly count on the ocean being home to a hungry Lovecraftian behemoth lurking below. As a result, you must feed the creature before it decides to head towards the surface to feed on the populace.

In order to accomplish your mission, you’ll dive into procedurally-generated undersea caves and collect resources that can be traded for upgrades and items on the surface. As you progress, you’ll be exploring increasingly deeper waters, managing dark spaces, limited oxygen, and hostile wildlife. While the horror might not be apparent at first, the thought of becoming trapped underwater as your oxygen levels drop while trying to appease the appetite of an undersea monster seems to go hand in hand with Black Salt Games’ title.

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Set in the universe of 2019’s Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones (also published by Fulqrum Publishing), Outer Gods involves the events preceding the Black Day. You’ll take on the role of a mercenary accompanying the enigmatic girl to the foggy settlement of Kingsport to uncover her family’s dark secret. Unfortunately, you become shipwrecked, and soon encounter the nightmares that have haunted this place for centuries. You must now find your way out while preventing the coming of the ancient Outer Gods, all the while keeping your sanity.

Inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, Kingsport holds its fair share of secrets, requiring you to solve puzzles and open new paths. As you might expect, you’ll be in constant danger, either from the monsters lurking in the shadows, or the numerous traps scattered about. Physical damage is one thing, but the mental is another. Mental afflictions will impact gameplay, requiring you to look for materials and recipes and craft the tools, medicines, and remedies necessary to withstand the horrors.

Stygian: Outer Gods will allow you a flexible play style. You’ll unlock new abilities, find eldritch artifacts, and experiment with different ways to interact with the environment. You’ll have plenty of have choices and multiple paths to progress, but you’ll also have to deal with the consequences.

There’s no release date as of yet for Stygian: Outer Gods, which is currently in development for PC via Steam and the PlayStation 5.

The post Lovecraftian Survival Horror Game ‘Stygian: Outer Gods’ Announced for PC, PlayStation 5 [Teaser] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

In The Tribe Must Survive, players are transported to a mystical Stone Age world where survival is not only a test of skill but a journey into the unknown. You must find ways to grow your tribe and protect them from whatever lurks in the shadows around it. That includes the usual strategy game mechanics such as resource collection, building, and technology research/advancement. All of your tribe members have their own personality and will, generally only doing what they want. Fortunately, you can point them in the right direction on how to survive.

And survive they must (as the name of the game implies), as you must safeguard the tribe not only from their internal conflicts and the world itself, but also from the whatever lurks in the darkness itself. You’ll need to ensure to have the resources and foresight to prevent any members of your tribe from falling victim to despair or to the unseen horrors of night itself.

According to the press release, The Tribe Must Survive will spend its first three months in early access, and this time will be used to fine-tune the game balance as well as act on community feedback received during that period. This will lead to “the best possible version of the game” in time for its Early Access exit, along with some additional planned content.

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Originally a physical manifestation of the fear of the atomic bomb, with the first film being produced a mere 7 years after the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Godzilla would end up spawning a multimedia franchise as the radioactive dinosaur accidentally became a national icon. Over time, toys, games and countless toned-down sequels ended up diluting the character’s original purpose: to terrify audiences as a giant monster inspired by real-world horrors.

While several of these sequels would attempt to return Godzilla to his previous glory as a horrific antagonist, such as Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (where the original monster’s bones are used to construct an undead cyborg with PTSD) or GMK: Monsters All-Out Attack (where he’s literally possessed by victims of the Japanese Imperial Army), none of these films managed to escape the merchandise-friendly tropes of a traditional kaiju film. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as Godzilla is versatile enough to be an interesting character whether he represents natural balance or atomic energy gone wrong, but it was a shame that Toho mostly refused to fully embrace the scary side of their iconic property.

That is, until the company partnered with Shinji Higuchi (director of the highly successful Attack on Titan adaptations) and Hideaki Anno (creator of the iconic anime Neon Genesis Evangelion) to produce a genuinely frightening throwback to the monster movie that started it all. Titled Shin Godzilla, with the prefix “Shin” meaning “new”, “true” and “God”, this 2016 remake was a colossal success, going so far as to win the Japanese Academy Award for Best Picture as well as several international prizes.

Since its release, there have been plenty of think-pieces about how the movie touches on serious themes like the inherent evils of bureaucracy and the real-world mishandling of the 2011 Fukushima disaster, and while these are all notable parts of what makes this such a compelling cinematic experience, what I love the most about the film is how it’s probably the closest we’ll ever get to seeing a Lovecraftian Kaiju flick – and I think that’s worth discussing.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a God-like entity rises out of the sea and proceeds to show humanity just how tiny we are in the cosmic scheme of things, with our protagonists woefully unprepared to deal with the existence of a creature that defies everything we think we know about the world. From The Beast From 20 000 Fathoms (which actually inspired the 1952 Godzilla) to numerous post-Godzilla creature features, this could be the synopsis to any number of giant monster movies, but it’s also a brief summary of H.P. Lovecraft’s first entry in the Cthulhu Mythos, 1919’s Dagon.

Lovecraft obviously doesn’t hold a monopoly on sea-dwelling abominations, and it’s more likely that these monster movies were simply inspired by the same legends that informed his imagination, but the American writer did pioneer the idea of scary stories where primitive beasts actually represent the fear of an uncaring universe. In these stories, the real terror comes from the existential implications of realizing that the antagonists exist in the first place – not from a simple fear of death or destruction. And when you get down to it, I don’t think any monster movie encapsulates this better than Shin Godzilla.

The titular monster is much more than just a radioactive dinosaur in this incarnation, with the creature taking on the added dimension of an otherworldly force meant to punish the world (and more specifically Japan) for its sins. His coming is even foretold by the prophetic scientist Goro Maki, an enigmatic character that sets off the main mystery of the movie but never actually appears onscreen other than a photograph which is actually of the legendary director Kihachi Okamoto.

While a traditional Kaiju flick would have made Goro a central character meant to provide sci-fi exposition rationalizing the monster, Anno’s decision to have the character commit suicide at the beginning of the flick rather than face what was about to happen gives this story yet another similarity with Lovecraft’s dreary yarns and their ill-fated protagonists. And without a source of ancient knowledge to demystify our monster, the film becomes free to explore the fear of the unknown.

Hell, even the soundtrack hints at the idea that this version of Godzilla is not just a simple mutated animal, with the melancholy Who Will Know track featuring chorus lines spoken from the monster’s point of view. The ominous chanting here seems to describe Godzilla’s internal struggle with his own freakish existence, with lyrics suggesting that the beast is in fact a conscious being in an incredible amount of pain.

The soundtrack also features plenty of repurposed music, both from Evangelion as well as the original Godzilla. While the 1952 tracks serve to showcase how Shin is meant to be a return to form for the franchise, the references to Evangelion seem to reflect the common themes between the film and anime. Appropriately enough, Evangelion was an existential deconstruction of the Mecha genre which used giant monster battles as an excuse to dive into the psychological struggles of its main characters while appropriating religious iconography to explore metaphysical concepts. That’s why it makes sense that a film about a newborn God wreaking havoc upon humanity would share some common ground with the iconic anime (which even referred to its monsters as “Angels”).

While these preternatural elements of the movie are fascinating, the truly terrifying moments of Shin Godzilla are the ones closest to reality. Revisiting the film after a global pandemic reframes the entire experience, as watching bumbling government officials tragically mishandle a deadly crisis as deaths continue to mount makes for a decidedly uncomfortable viewing experience after Covid-19. While this clearly wasn’t Anno or Higuchi’s intention, it’s hard not to remember the race for vaccines when characters are forced to negotiate raw materials with factories in order to produce an absurd amount of coagulant to stop Godzilla in his tracks, much like real-world governments had to negotiate with companies to produce and distribute vaccines on an unprecedented scale.

These real-world horrors contribute to the movie’s scare-factor, as unlike a typical monster movie where protagonists are often finding themselves into ridiculous situations in order to justify them being near the main attraction, you’re never afraid for a single character here – you’re afraid for the world. Our heroes never even get close to the radioactive monster, and the final battle is truly won by committees and blue-collar workers, not giant robots or gun-toting action heroes. But even then, the movie makes it clear that it’s only a matter of time before Godzilla may rise again.

In all fairness, for Shin Godzilla to be truly a Lovecraftian piece of fiction, the mere sight of the monster should have been enough to drive the residents of Tokyo to madness and destabilize the entire world (though his cancerous redesign comes close to doing that to viewers). However, while Lovecraftian creations like the tentacled Cthulhu were never meant to be seen as physical beings, with that entire story hinging on how the Old One’s true form and intentions couldn’t be grasped by the human mind, film is a visual medium, and Shin Godzilla is likely as close as we’ll ever get to a big-screen representation of that particular kind of cataclysmic story.

There’s no way of knowing if these Lovecraftian elements were intentional, but there’s no doubt in my mind that Shin Godzilla remains an excellent example of cinematic Cosmic Horror done right. If you need further proof, I’d suggest taking another look at that hauntingly beautiful final shot of the creature’s mutated tail. It works as a horrific visual in and of itself, but the existential implications of that image are what make the ending truly horrifying, and that specific kind of apocalyptic dread is why Shin Godzilla remains my absolute favorite Kaiju flick.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on October 24, 2022.

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The new map offers up a “fresh yet horrifyingly familiar” environment that’s designed to challenge both new and veteran players.  At the end of it all, you’ll face off against the Abyssal One, a relentless new antagonist that evolves in real-time, based on player choices and actions.

Further enhancing the gameplay, the Abyssal Temple update introduces several new exciting features for Eresys. A new NPC guide in the Council Temple will help you kickstart your Abyssal mission, while a revamped UI objective tracker offers better in-game guidance. Players can also look forward to new collectibles, achievements, and a quality-of-life addition in the form of a chest filled with resources, available in both the Sentinel Island and Abyssal Temple maps.

Dragonis also state that they remain “fully committed” to enriching the Eresys universe. In the coming weeks, the devs will release a series of patches that will further address any bugs and balancing issues. They also dropped a hint about the next major update in a new map called Inssmouth. “Our aim is to continually evolve the game by adding even more enthralling content and features to deepen the overall gaming experience.”

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