- Call Of Cthulhu Video Game Xbox One
- Call Of Cthulhu Xbox One Review
- Call Of Cthulhu Game Xbox One Release Date
It doesn’t take long for Call of Cthulhu’s
dark and intriguing detective story to rapidly spiral down the well of occult madness. Inspired by the legendary Chaosium RPG of the same name, it tells its Lovecraftian tale with writing so strong that I couldn’t help but get sucked into the immersive atmosphere it created. The story itself can be confusing in spots, and some rougher mechanics and levels do rear up occasionally, but Call of Cthulhu still delivers what is perhaps one of the finest cosmic horror experiences in modern gaming.Oct 31, 2018 Call of Cthulhu’s one attempt at a boss encounter, a claustrophobic cat and mouse game with a true Lovecraftian horror, is wonderfully atmospheric and very tense, but.
The hero of this story is Edward Pierce, a grizzled veteran and alcoholic PI who acts mostly as a blank slate for you to experience the story through. There really isn’t much to the character beyond the many choices you make for him, shaped by which skills you choose to upgrade. In the beginning, I found Pierce’s somewhat wooden portrayal a little jarring, but as I made him my own by focusing heavily in the stats that intrigued me most – like Investigation and Eloquence – and then leaned on those skills in my conversations and investigations, I rapidly became invested in his tortured tale.
A Pierce skilled at Eloquence and knowledgeable about medicine will be able to notice certain things and coax out certain clues that a more Strength-focused Pierce with a penchant for the occult might not, and vice versa. The finest writing in a very well-written game often comes as a reward for investing deeply into a skill and clearly defining what your particular Pierce is good at. Near the tail end of things, my mastery of the Occult skill provided me with my favorite exchange of dialogue in the entire adventure.
Hunting for clues in Call of Cthulhu’s detective sections is a true highlight.
The story begins in almost rote pulp fashion – Pierce, the PI with a history, gets a weird case in a weird place and immediately sets to work. Very, very little is revealed at first glance, and it is only over its 15-hour campaign that clues are dug up and the bigger picture starts to piece together. Finding those clues in Call of Cthulhu’s detective sections is a true highlight – I enjoyed investigating the well animated and atmospheric environments, reading notes and books, and taking in environmental hints. In certain key areas, Pierce can “reconstruct” events that occurred, and when the information hard-won by thorough detective work meshes with the information these fun “CSI Cthulhu” segments reveal, magic can happen. Several times I found myself leaning forward in my chair, my brain fully engaged on piecing together what I’d seen, only to lean back with a breath and a “wow” when the answer clicked in my head, not simply because I was told it.
All too often, dialogue options feel stunted and unimaginative in games of this nature, but Pierce always seemed to have the same questions that I had. In many cases, you are only allowed to ask one question of the many available to you, but this never felt restrictive, and indeed made me consider what I wanted to learn most in any given conversation. It’s a nuanced, engaging take on a detective game, and the chapters that highlight these mechanics are the best in Call of Cthulhu.
Unfortunately, a small handful of chapters introduce stealth mechanics, and, extremely briefly, even a couple of combat scenarios and chases. The stealth is the definition of bland, not particularly difficult but rendered agonizingly slow by labyrinthine environments that look so similar room to room and hallway to hallway that it’s easy to get turned around. The combat is shoehorned, as basic as point and click, and completely jarring and unnecessary given the tone of the rest of the experience.
I can understand the desire to inject some variety into the occult investigation, but the combat and chase asides just don’t really work.
Call of Cthulhu’s one attempt at a boss encounter, a claustrophobic cat and mouse game with a true Lovecraftian horror, is wonderfully atmospheric and very tense, but so obtusely designed that it was difficult to ascertain what I had to do to progress. That made a scary moment quickly evolve into a frustrating one. I can understand the desire to inject some variety into a dark occult investigation, but these asides just don’t really work.
Thankfully, as Call of Cthulhu goes on, those segments become fewer and farther between (or at least feel like they do), and it eventually begins leaning into its source material in earnest. Call of Cthulhu puts its own spin on the lore from the original H.P. Lovecraft short story, wraps it in a detective tale, and sends Pierce tumbling down the rabbit hole to Insanity Town. The deeper you dig, and the more you learn, the more Pierce’s sanity comes under attack, and the more the truth lurking behind the facade that is reality comes poking out. Knowledge is not strictly a good thing in Lovecraftian cosmic horror, and while elusive answers might be satisfying to the player, they do a number on Pierce as he shambles inexorably down a road that ends in brain rending revelation. To share much more would risk spoiling an extremely authentic and well-written story, but rest assured, it’s trippy, frightening, and asks as many questions as it answers.
Part of that impact comes from the sheer sense of weight and atmosphere Call of Cthulhu provides. The environment animations are fantastic – from a musty old bookstore to a decrepit portside tavern to dark and claustrophobic caves, the sense of place I got from each new area was immediate and impactful. The sounds populating these spaces are just as good. Even after stepping away, the baritone chanting of cults or the shrieking wails of an asylum’s mistreated patients stuck with me for a good while. Turn off the lights and put on good headphones for this one.
Call of Cthulhu is a tight, brisk journey, and while the ending was incredible, the immediate lead-up to it felt a bit rushed, with revelations and twists hitting fast and furious. I suppose the result was that I felt just like Pierce did – exhausted, overwhelmed, and dizzy with the sheer toxic heft of what I had learned. Different choices and different uncovered clues can shape these final moments, and it doesn’t seem possible to see and experience everything in one playthrough. The lingering sense of mystery and the brief length make Call of Cthulhu unimposing to replay, and I plan on diving back in with a completely opposite Pierce to see what madness I might have missed.
Call of Cthulhu | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Cyanide |
Publisher(s) | Focus Home Interactive |
Director(s) | Jérémie Monedero |
Designer(s) | |
Programmer(s) | Jonathan Leemans |
Artist(s) |
|
Writer(s) | |
Composer(s) | Markus Schmidt |
Engine | Unreal Engine 4 |
Platform(s) | |
Release | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox OneNintendo Switch
|
Genre(s) | Role-playing, survival horror |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Call of Cthulhu is a role-playingsurvival horror video game developed by Cyanide and published by Focus Home Interactive for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. The game features a semi-open world environment and incorporates themes of Lovecraftian and psychological horror into a story which includes elements of investigation and stealth. It is inspired by H. P. Lovecraft's short story 'The Call of Cthulhu', while also being an adaptation of the 1981 role-playing game of the same title.
The Official Card Game), we have gathered experience that will be useful for this project as well.Fulfillment:We had the experience with our previous game (Monsters' Party; Voodoo Madess), and the result was really good, a very high percentage of the games were delivered early. We learned a lot of things from that project, and we'll apply the same method (with some improvements) to assure a high quality/warranty shipping process (Shipping directly from China to fulfillment centers around the world)Our method is not new and has been used successfully by other developers and ourselves. Animator vs animation game special edition. Our fulfillment company has the experience to deliver your games.Game design & Art:Design and art are complete for the basic game.We will start working with the templates from the manufacturing company soon, so we'll be ready to print as soon as we get the funds! Risks and challengesWith 2 games on our belt (Monsters' Party: Voodoo Madness and There She Is!!
Plot[edit]
In 1924 Boston, Private investigator and war veteran Edward Pierce suffers from increasingly bizarre nightmares, and self-medicates with sleeping pills and alcohol. He is soon contacted to look into the case of the Hawkins family, who mysteriously died in a fire. As the only clue is a strange picture painted by the supposedly crazy mother shortly before her death, Edward has to set out to Darkwater Island off the coast to find out more about the matter.
Upon arriving in Darkwater, Pierce is steeped in the strange local culture. Darkwater was home to a booming whaling industry until a sudden scarcity in 1847. That year, the island's last ship, the Scylla, returned with a legendary 'Miraculous Catch,' that saved the island. The islanders are superstitious and suspicious of outsiders like Pierce. The detective meets Captain Fitzroy, who provides him with a few details of the Hawkins family; Officer Bradley, who handled the case; and Cat Baker, a successful bootlegger and feared gang leader. He also sees a beached killer whale, killed by ghastly wounds, being dragged back into the sea by the police, much to the locals' chagrin.
While exploring the Hawkins' mansion with Bradley, Pierce learns more about the Hawkins family. The wife, Sarah, was a famous painter known for her macabre style, but also rumoured to have been mentally unstable. Pierce determines that the fire may not have been an accident, and furthermore, someone may have survived. Shortly after, he is accosted by a robed man who is stealing something from the attic. Pierce and Bradley give chase and soon discover a hidden door that leads to secret caves and tunnels beneath the island. There, they discover the thief and other cultists performing a ritual. Bradley recognizes the leader as Charles Hawkins, thought dead in the fire. Hawkins is horrifically mutated now, and kills Bradley with a tentacled arm. Pierce barely escapes, but passes out when he is trapped in the collapsing cave.
He awakes in a mental institution in the basement of the Riverside Institute, under the care of Dr. Fuller. He is drugged and suffers more nightmares and hallucinations, including visits from an otherworldly voice that seems to be directing certain events. Eventually, he escapes with the help of Dr. Marie Colden. Along the way he discovers evidence of strange experiments by Fuller. He also encounters Francis Sanders, who had been given a painting by Sarah. Francis is another patient/prisoner of Fuller, and after speaking to Pierce about 'The Shambler,' he is brutally killed by an unseen force. Once back at the Hawkins mansion, Pierce, Colden, and a suddenly alive Bradley (who has a broken recollection of his supposed death), decide to visit the widowed Mrs. Sanders, and learn more about Francis and The Shambler. At the Sanders house, he also finds Cat once more, there to help the widow sell her late husband's art collection.
The Shambler was a painting by Sarah that she gave to Francis after much resistance. Pierce examines the painting, which comes to life and pits him against the physical manifestation of the creature. He manages to banish it by slashing the painting with a ritualistic dagger from the Sanders art gallery.
His investigation then leads him to a bookstore owned by Algernon Drake, a friend of Sarah Hawkins, where he discovers the Necronomicon in a safe. Upon reading the book, he has an out of body experience that places him into the mind of Marie Colden, seeing events at the Institute through her eyes. After discovering numerous patients exhibiting signs of mutation, Colden confronts Fuller about his experiments and is knocked out. Upon returning to his body, Pierce is confronted by Drake, and the two form a shaky alliance.
Pierce rushes to the Institute to save Colden, but after suffering more hallucinations and taunting by the voice in his head, finds her dead at Fuller's hands. Exploring further, he discovers Sarah Hawkins, imprisoned but alive. The two run, but are stopped by the monstrous Charles Hawkins, who claims he was trying to protect Sarah from the cult due to her gifts as an 'Oracle.' Pierce and Sarah defeat and kill Charles, before escaping back to the mansion.
There, Pierce finds an amulet Charles had hidden, which Drake says can protect Sarah from the cult's influence. Exiting the house, Pierce is arrested by Darkwater police after being identified as the perpetrator of the Hawkins fire. While at the jail, he is visited by a gostly figure, who identified itself as 'Leviathan.' It speaks to Pierce about destiny, and offers him a gift in the form of knowledge. Pierce once again leaves his body and experiences events through Sarah's eyes as she and Drake perform a ritual to banish the Shambler for good (Drake can die here, depending on the player's actions). Pierce, once again in his cell, is visited by the Leviathan again, and shown visions of his companions. Bradley doubts himself and their fight against the cult. Cat is shown shooting and killing Pierce, and Sarah is shown painting a portrait of him. He then leaves his body again, and sees Cat at her gang's warehouse examining a dead policeman left there. The gang is then attacked by the local fisherman, seemingly bewitched by the Leviathan's influence.
Pierce is released from his cell by Bradley, who is also succumbing to the madness. Pierce takes his gun and fights his way to the whaling station, where Sarah was seen heading. There, he discovers the secret of the island's dark history. The 'Miraculous Catch' of 1847 was the Leviathan. The crew of the Scylla captured the enormous creature, and were driven mad by its influence, with some of them, namely Fitzroy, Fuller, and Charles Hawkins; eating its flesh and gaining immortality. The Leviathan it seems wanted to be caught, to direct the events that followed through its mental influence, including Pierce's arrival to the island, and his actions here in the whaling station. While trapped in a hallucination, Pierce causes an explosion that destroys the whaling station, freeing the Leviathan. The cult, led by Fitzroy, try to apprehend Pierce, but he falls into the water, encountering the Leviathan one last time before it swims away back to the depths of the sea.
Pierce washes up near a coastal cave and makes his way through the tunnels toward Alabaster Point. Along the way he encounters visions of Marie Colden, Dr. Fuller, and Charles Hawkins. He finally arrives at the cult's meeting place, where a strange storm is brewing over the ocean. Sarah, a fully willing cultist now, explains his destiny to Pierce, and he is given the choice to give in to the madness and help perform the cult's ritual or not. Depending on choices made throughout the game: dialogue, exploration, and events that affect Pierce's sanity, there are four possible endings:
If Pierce's sanity is intact, he can refuse to take part in the ritual. Sarah Hawkins, not able to fight Pierce's free will, kills herself. Later, Pierce is seen back at his office in Boston, drunk and depressed, traumatized by the events.
If Pierce's sanity is broken, he can choose to shoot himself, ruining the cult's chances of performing their ritual. Later, his office in Boston is seen being cleared out, but a painting of his suicide is seen in the room.
If Drake survived his battle with the Shambler, Pierce can have him perform a counter-ritual. The storm and the cult disappear. Later, Pierce is seen in a mental institution, insane and being treated with sleeping pills.
Lastly, you always have the option of having Pierce give in and perform the ritual. His blood is spilled by the ritualistic dagger, and the storm grows, summoning the Great Old OneCthulhu.[1] The arrival of the entity causes those present to go mad, fighting and killing each other. Pierce surveys the violence before joining in, killing Fitzroy in a mad frenzy.
Development[edit]
On 16 January 2014, publisher Focus Home Interactive announced via Twitter that video game developer Frogwares was working on developing the game.[2][3][4] They also announced that the game would be released on Microsoft Windows and 'next-gen consoles'.[2] Later that month, a Frogwares spokesperson said that the game was still in 'early development'. They noted that the game would have a focus on investigations in a horror setting and that they would be using the experience from developing their Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series. They also revealed that they were working with multiple writers who had written scenarios for the 1981 role-playing gameCall of Cthulhu.[5][6]
Call Of Cthulhu Video Game Xbox One
After two years of inactivity on the title, prompting concerns that the game might have been canceled, Focus Home announced the game again in February 2016, in development for release in 2017 by studio Cyanide.[7][8][9] They revealed that the game would be a semi-open world investigative role-playing game with elements of stealth and psychological horror. The game will be built on the Unreal Engine 4game engine.[8] It will be more closely based on the Call of Cthulhu 'pen and paper' role-playing video game than on H. P. Lovecraft's original short story of the same name.[10]
Focus Home Interactive released the first trailer for the game just before E3 2016, on 10 June 2016.[11][12] A 'Depths of Madness' trailer was released on 19 January 2017.[13][14][15] The game was at first scheduled for release on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in the fourth quarter of 2017.[16] In September 2017, however, the game was delayed to 2018. The game was released worldwide on 30 October 2018.
Reception[edit]
Reception | ||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Call of Cthulhu received 'mixed or average' reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[17][18][19]
Call Of Cthulhu Xbox One Review
References[edit]
Call Of Cthulhu Game Xbox One Release Date
- ^'Call of Cthulhu: A mind that can't be trusted'. GameGator. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
- ^ abMatulef, Jeffrey (January 17, 2014). 'Call of Cthulhu game announced by Sherlock developer Frogwares'. Eurogamer. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- ^Hillier, Brenna (January 17, 2014). 'Call of Cthulhu inbound from Sherlock Holmes developer Frogwares'. VG247. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- ^Scammel, David (January 17, 2014). 'Sherlock Holmes dev working on PS4 & Xbox One Call of Cthulhu game'. VideoGamer.com. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- ^Lee, Ben (January 24, 2014). 'Call of Cthulhu will be 'dark and creepy', says Sherlock Holmes studio'. Digital Spy. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- ^Robertson, John (February 9, 2017). 'Survive Call of Cthulhu by Slowing Down and Understanding Your World'. IGN. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
- ^Gelmini, David (March 4, 2016). 'Call of Cthulhu Game Switches Developers'. Dread Central. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- ^ abYin-Poole, Wesley (February 26, 2016). 'Call of Cthulhu back from the dead'. Eurogamer. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- ^Jarvis, Matthew (February 26, 2016). 'Cyanide takes over Call of Cthulhu development from Frogwares'. Develop. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
- ^Koch, Cameron (February 26, 2016). 'Upcoming 'Call Of Cthulhu' Video Game Takes Inspiration From RPG Of The Same Name'. Tech Times. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- ^Pereira, Chris (June 10, 2016). 'Creepy New Call of Cthulhu Trailer Shows Off the Xbox One/PS4/PC Horror RPG'. GameSpot. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- ^Calpito, Dave (June 12, 2016). 'Call Of Cthulhu Reveal Trailer Out Ahead Of E3 [Video]'. Tech Times. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- ^Gelmini, David (January 23, 2017). 'Call of Cthulhu: The Official Video Game Trailer Submerges into the Depths of Madness'. Dread Central. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- ^Romano, Sal (January 19, 2017). 'Call of Cthulhu 'Depths of Madness' trailer'. Gematsu. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- ^Narcisse, Evan (January 19, 2017). 'This Might Be the Cthulhu Video Game of Our Nightmares, Er, Dreams'. Gizmodo. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- ^Miller, Daniel R. (February 4, 2017). 'Call of Cthulhu is now scheduled to release in Q4 2017'. GameZone. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
- ^ ab'Call of Cthulhu for PC Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
- ^ ab'Call of Cthulhu for PlayStation 4 Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
- ^ ab'Call of Cthulhu for Xbox One Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
- ^Lynn, Kevin (October 30, 2018). 'Call of Cthulhu Review'. Adventure Gamers. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
- ^Reiner, Andrew (November 2, 2018). 'Call Of Cthulhu Review - A True Test Of Sanity'. Game Informer. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
- ^Wildgoose, David (October 30, 2018). 'Call Of Cthulhu Review - Squid Logic'. GameSpot. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
- ^Schmeyer, DM (October 30, 2018). 'Call of Cthulhu Review'. IGN. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
- ^Horti, Samuel (November 6, 2018). 'Call of Cthulhu review'. PC Gamer. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^Wise, Josh (October 30, 2018). 'Call of Cthulhu review'. VideoGamer.com. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
External links[edit]
- Call of Cthulhu at Cyanide Studio
- Call of Cthulhu at Focus Home Interactive
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Call_of_Cthulhu:_The_Official_Video_Game&oldid=917556984'