Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones is all about combat, characters and Cthulhu

I don’t know why I do this but every time a new Lovecraft-inspired game is announced I get my hopes up. There have been a handful of recent attempts to bring the cosmic horror subgenre into the video game spotlight, and while many have their own merits, they mostly all seem to largely miss the mark. Not since Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (a criminally underrated survival horror game that came out on the original Xbox in 2005 and PC in 2006) has there really been a successful adaption of HP Lovecraft’s work with the recent Call of Cthulhu game in 2018 falling flat and The Sinking City getting some things right but ultimately dropping the ball. That’s why I’m a little bit excited about Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones, because not only does it seem like a different mechanical take on the subject matter, it looks really good too.

The recently released trailer shows off an expansive character creation system, with different classes, archetypes and world beliefs as well as an abundance of cosmetic options, an in-depth combat system that seems to place an emphasis on strategy and consequences and branching dialogue trees indicate to me that this game is looking to give the player as much they put in. It seems like a robust game that wants to offer players an experience that’s tailored to their decisions and preferences, all wrapped up in the mystery of Old Gods and sacrificial cults. The game also has a really unique art style that seems to shift and warp to communicate the weird and twisted events going on as well as conveying the mental state of the characters.

The trailer does a really good job of showing off all the relevant parts of the game and based on what I’ve seen I’m really excited to give it a go later this year when it launches on September 26 for $24.99 (approximately R360.00).

Last Updated: August 1, 2019