The Best Lovecraft Games: Hideous, Squamous, Gibbous
H.P. Lovecraft wasn't just a good cook, but a writer too. Here's a list of some of the best Lovecraft games on PC and consoles, inspired by his choice of words.
Lovecraft games are trending reasonably hard as there’s an abundance of material to work with. What better medium to explore H.P. Lovecraft’s stories than through gaming? Well, you could read his books and use your imagination.
Lovecraftian is as accurate as action when it comes to genres. They can’t all be from the Lovecraft universe, can they? Slipping in a Cthulu reference is like saying Red Dead Redemption 2 is about equestrian because it features the odd horse. I wouldn’t know; I haven’t seen a single horse in the game.
While I don’t claim to be an expert on Lovecraft (I thought H.P. stood for Hitman Peanuts), my interest is developing faster than a fat man who sat down too fast (Eminem). My current favourites are probably The Shadow Over Innsmouth, The Dunwich Horror, and George’s Marvellous Medicine. The Colour Of Space is an interesting one, too.
Perhaps what reignited this phase was the recent Chronicles of Innsmouth Mountains of Madness, but to tell the truth, The Innsmouth Case was the true catalyst and must for Lovecraft fans who own a Switch (or PC). You don’t need to own one, but it’d help when playing the game.
The following is a list of my favourite Lovecraft games, and honourable mentions. It’s not an exhaustive list by any means, as some will be missing. If you have any recommendations, do leave a comment, or if you’re shy like me, fill in a form on the contact page.
The Best Lovecraft Games
The Innsmouth Case
Based on the book Shadow Over Innsmouth, the sheer volume of choices in this game is superb. Occasionally you will head down a familiar path, but there are so many forks in the road, taking the narrative in so many obscure directions without straying too far from the source material.
Like a point and click/choose your own adventure, in-jokes and knowing glance at its audience, The Innsmouth Case gives subtle nods to Lovecraft’s fishy tale, even bringing up Dagon but with a Mormon-like twist.
I think it’s fair to say I was shocked, disgusted, fearful and also in awe at the very many arcs in this text-based adventure. Glancing over the screenshots, it looks a bit bland when you have such limited real estate, but honestly, it’s beautifully animated and a delight to play.
Check out The Innsmouth Case review.
Chronicle of Innsmouth Mountains of Madness
The catalyst for this feature, and evolving appreciation for H.P. Lovecraft, PsychoDev’s point and click adventure is reminiscent of all those Sierra games you played of old (or what your folks tell you around the campfire, retelling the days before GameFAQs and subsequent walkthroughs).
You play as Lone Carter, a classic dick, but in the detective sense. Lone has wrestled with the Shoggoth up close and lives to tell the tale, but there are side effects. A brilliant indie game that tells an epic adventure that somehow manages to cover more than just the two main titles the game borrows from. An essential for fans of Lovecraft games – especially for the point and click fan.
Read the Chronicle of Innsmouth Mountains of Madness review here, or if you’re stuck, the walkthrough.
Tesla vs Lovecraft
A bit of a break from the dominating point and clicks/first-person adventure/puzzle titles, Tesla Vs Lovecraft, from 10tons, was one of the first games I bought on the Nintendo eShop and still one of the most enjoyable when it comes to pick up and play arcade action.
Much like a Predator Vs Alien or Godzilla Vs Kong universe, we pit two beloved souls against one another in a fantasy environment. Tesla is the good guy; creating an armoured suit to thwart the evil Hitman Peanuts Lovecraft, who has summoned these eldritch forces to take over the world.
From a top-down perspective, Tesla Vs Lovecraft is a run and gun title where standing still is not encouraged as you’ll be tickled to death. Well, probably not tickled, but death isn’t the favourable outcome the great scientist would have wanted when there’s work to be done.
Lust From Beyond
Movie Games should pay me a commission, or at least text me Amanda’s number for all the kind words I’ve said about Lust From Beyond. If my mother knew that these are the types of games I’ve been playing, she might disown me.
A follow up to Lust For Darkness, there isn’t much else I can say other than all the other things said before on the site. Just do a search; it’s not hard. Unlike the perverts out there who get off on this debauchery!
Seriously though, it’s a great atmosphere, and that’s one of the biggest lures of the game – not the boobs, but the sheer unknown and darkness we don’t understand that quietly has me hoping that this is solely the creation of the developers and that these worlds don’t co-exist with ours. Eff that.
Sunless Sea Zubmariner
This game is an excellent example of comparing the premise with gameplay. For me, Sunless Sea Zubmariner was a bit of a chore. The gameplay didn’t add up.
Sunless Sea Zubmariner features walls of text and so many variants that it’s overwhelming, but that text-based element is a game in itself. When you control the vessel around the map as a sluggish top-down experience, it was pretty dull. However, invest your time, and you may overlook that as the rewards for the action elements reveals greater truths in the storytelling. Vague much?
Fast-forward a year or so and revisiting the game, my opinion has changed. The story is still wunderbar, one of those creepy Victorian tales with Eldritch themes and an enormous amount of depth – forgiving any nautical puns. The submarine – sorry, zubmarine elements grow on you. Perhaps a review will be forthcoming?
Alder’s Blood
Why doesn’t Shockwork Games’ title get more attention? Since compiling my review, I’ve read others opinions, and there’s a consensus that it’s quite slow and too difficult. In Lovecraft’s short stories, the protagonists are always up against it and almost always have a doomed fate. I feel Alder’s Blood replicates that too, and once you realise that you aren’t supposed to engage in combat (irrespective of the choice on offer), it a bit more manageable.
Still, Alder’s Blood is a challenging game. Perhaps too harsh when starting. Besides outsmarting the beasts in the actual skirmishes and trying to distinguish your scent by staying downwind, you have to contend with a bunch of loonies in your party. Your men frequently go insane, and if you don’t rest them, they’ll turn against you.
Alder’s Blood isn’t a carbon copy of Lovecraft either, but you can cross-reference the elements in the game. Instead of the more prominent sea themes, the game is more Western and creates such a brilliant atmosphere that a spin-off visual novel would do the title justice.
Here’s the review from many moons ago.
Gibbous A Cthulhu Adventure
With no messing around, Gibbous A Cthulhu Adventure is one of the best-looking adventures I’ve ever seen. Unlike some comparable point and clicks that feature some gorgeous cutscenes, then dropping down a gear to pixel art gameplay, Gibbous A Cthulhu Adventure is stunning throughout with hand-drawn characters, beautiful, albeit, sinister landmarks and decent voice acting too.
Playing as multiple characters, you’re on an adventure to reunite the Necronomicon with PI Don R Ketype and prevent the end of existence. Gibbous A Cthulhu Adventure has a The Secret of Monkey Island vibe (including a nod to the voodoo lady) without being overly tongue-in-cheek.
Lovecraft fans will get the various references to the fish-like townfolk and Easter Eggs. I mean, who else really uses the word gibbous anymore? There are a few point and click traits where you bash your head trying to work out what to do next, and the overwhelming text can ruin the artwork at times, but otherwise, this is a fantastic adventure – regardless of the Lovecraft themes.
Dread Nautical
Dread Nautical might be a game that you’ve missed as it wasn’t exactly shouted about at the time. This was one of those games where I asked for a code but wasn’t hip enough to get one, so I picked this up with my school dinner money.
You’re on a cruise of a lifetime when, as per the original Cypress Hill ballad stated: When the ship goes down, you better be ready. While Dread Nautical isn’t an Eldritch retelling of the Titanic, but you’d probably be asking the universe for an iceberg over the tentacles in this one.
Not remotely scary, it’s more an arcadey approach, and with the same difficulty too, as it’s a roguelike that will test your patience, and some of the characters will make you want to throw them overboard. Keep an eye out for it on sale, though, as it’s worth a play.
Bloodborne
Despite getting this back on the release date on the PS4, all of those references were wasted on me as I thought Lovecraft was some freebie piece of that you’d find on a teen magazine.
However, this past weekend while revisiting the game for the umpteenth time, I felt pretty foolish that this wasn’t one of the first on the list. Every other load screen or reference to the lore for Yharnam refers to something eldritch or another. Just playing through that area before Rom the Vacuous Spider was a bit of a revelation for finishing this piece.
Something I did note, though, having come back to Bloodborne again, is my inability to get past some bosses without assistance. That is unless maxing out stats that suit my play. Despite having a Ludwig blade(?) at +9 and hitting particularly hard, I’m still loitering around outside Amygdala’s arena, hoping someone will be online. I’ve done it before with bloodtinge builds and strength, but at the moment struggling with it.
Just putting that out there.
The Terrible Old Man
Kind of an honourable mention, The Terrible Old Man is almost like a demo as you’ll finish it within 5-10 minutes, but it’s free to play. Despite the short time, it’s a powerful piece and had the hairs on my back raise at its conclusion.
You play one of a crime trio visiting Kingsport from Boston. After finishing their last job, they overhear about a local eccentric sea captain that talks to bottles believing them to be his former crew. However, he pays for everything in gold, so the three decide to ‘pay him a visit’.
More of an experiment than a game, Cloak and Dagger Games are really great at revitalising the point and click genre with their excellent storytelling skills and ability to leave you on the edge of your seat (take, for example, the upcoming Incantamentum or Sumatra Fate Of Yandi).
The visuals are an acquired taste. They weren’t for me, but I got used to them. The way each character smiles is ridiculously sinister that I shuffled in my seat more than a few times. Just wait till you get to meet the David Lo-Pan old man.
One Shell Straight To Hell
I thought this review was a good representation of the gameplay, but it would appear that I was struck off the VIP list for future Feardemic games. Oh well.
Not holding a grudge, it was an alright title – it made this list. It’s a top-down shooter that mixes dungeon-crawling with a tower defence mechanic, including some RPG-like levelling to add a bit more depth.
The art style is pretty interesting, but I finished it quite quickly was a bit of a disappointment as I enjoyed the time spent with Padre Alexander. There’s a Layers of Fear DLC for it too.
The Shore
When jotting down the titles for my favourite Lovecraft games feature, The Shore was a late entry as I knew nothing about it. After looking at the trailers and reading about it, I added to my wishlist and subsequently bought it a couple of weeks ago.
Since then, I played and finished it. In short, The Shore is a showreel of a game, with breathtaking concepts and one of the best scores/sound production in a game of late – give or take some of the voice performances.
In literal terms, it’s a bit like Lovecraft’s tales of Ib, but if you’re a moviegoer, it’s closer to The Lighthouse, but less arthouse and more Hollywood. That’s in presentation terms, however, not substance, as the concept is terrific. After publishing the review, I looked at some of the feedback on Steam and noted quite a few were disappointed with the ending. From my perspective, it was a bit of a Lovecraft signature piece and satisfied with the outcome.
Read The Shore review.
Honourable Mentions
Forever on my wishlist, and ‘shall I get it or not?’, I finally snapped up Call of Cthulu on GOG a few weeks back and… still haven’t played it. Finishing up this Lovecraft games feature on a Sunday afternoon makes me feel I should give it a go shortly, but as there’s a couple of new reviews I’m working on, it’ll probably be some months until finally playing it. The reviews are good, and the consensus with fellow gamers is a positive one. Time will tell.
Arkham Horror Mother’s Embrace was a title I produced a news piece on, hoping to get a review copy. Alas, that fell on deaf ears once more and a bit of a popularity roulette. If you’re hip with a YouTube channel or yield to what everyone else is doing, then perhaps you’ll hear back. In my case, no.
It’s a game I’ll pick up in the bargain bin in due course, as the usual pattern is if you don’t hear back about a game, it’s because the top dogs have slated it, Johnny Public says it’s shite or because the person you’ve sent the email to is either dealing with 100s of emails from content creators or can’t be bothered to acknowledge you. Regardless, I’ll give it a fair review when I get to it, but I will only cover it for the site. Who knows, perhaps it’s an essential title?
Cthulhu Saves The World, plus a few other spin-offs make me think of the Ernest films – Ernest Saves Camp and what-not, despite never actually seeing one. Are these good games? No idea, but they’re on the wishlist too.
Have I missed anything? Undoubtedly. But as mentioned, give me some essential titles I need to look at by commenting or emailing me from the contact form. Note that I’ve already said I have Call of Cthulhu to play still, but if there’s a must-play game, I’m all ears and tentacles.