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.
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.