I am very positively surprised by this. If you are into Lovecrafts writing/world (especially the fantasy-style stories such as "Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath"... these kind of stories have not been adapted often into other media AFAIK), if you love classic RPGs such as the old Ultima games from the 80s or don't mind or even enjoy the graphic style, this is quite fascinating. I understand that the graphics may be off-putting to some, but if you care more about the content of the game, no matter what it looks like, this has a lot to offer already, even though it's still very much in early access.

The atmosphere is mesmerizing. You start off, knowing nothing about this world. You will encounter different inhabitants... some will tell you more, others will be hostile. You may die a couple of times until you improve your stats, get better gear, get some allies which can fight for you or simply understand what fights to avoid.

I love how the game switches from top-down view (overworld) to first person (dungeons), just like games such as Ultima I. The low quality, pixelated graphics IMO add to the atmosphere... that old school, dark vibe, especially in the first person view in dungeons. It reminds me of watching old horror movies, such as the original Nosferatu. That movie is very well done, but the low quality (caused by the cameras/tapes/lighting available at the time) make it even more atmospheric and captivating, creating more of a dark, sinister atmosphere. Again, ymmv.

Another comparison that came up while playing this were the fan-made movies "Call of Cthulhu" and "The Whisperer in Darkness"... some heart-felt fan-made productions that were supposed to look as much as possible like movies that could have come out by the time HPL was still alive, like something you'd have seen at a movie theatre in Providence/RI. CoC was a black and white silent movie, using stop motion and it really did have the vibe of classic movies from that era. I am not saying that "Cyclopean" looks like a video game that Lovecraft could have played in the 1930s (LOL), but my point is that the look/style of the game fits the atmosphere and source material quite well IMO.

The ingame manual will give you some helpful advice. I recommend to dive right in, check the manual and start exploring. Once you get a feel for the game, play around more with rerolling the stats when creating a new character, as you may understand better what stats are desirable/useful for the way you want to play.

I tried the demo (which eventually will prevent you from leveling up more, yet will give you a good chance to find out whether this game is for you) and soon was captivated, trying different paths, grinding xp for a bit, slowly exploring the dungeons (which have an automapping feature).

And I have to say that SOMEHOW, this game really hits a weak spot for me, keeping me engaged where many other "Lovecraftian" games fail. Just like with the movies, it seems to be tough to adapt HPLs concepts and stories for a big screen. It's not about a hero in shining armor meleeing an Old God. Sanity, the feeling of being powerless, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer knowledge or presence of the enemy, these are keypoints, and putting that into a game is difficult.

This small indie game managed to draw me into a world I wasn't too familar with (because the "fantasy themes/stories" HPL wrote were never as enjoyable for me as his more well-known stories set in "our world"), and I am carefully exploring it more and more, always being prepared to run, being quite fascinated by a strange world.

There are still some technical issues and small bugs, which is to be expected from a game in EA. However, the developer is quite responsive, offering help, fixing bugs, and I am very much looking forward to seeing how this game will develop and grow.

Just for context, I did play games such as Ultima IV, V and VI back when they came out. Therefore, this game also triggers quite some nostalgia. Since I know these games well, jumping into this game with its old-school artstyle is easy. After all, back then, with the graphical capabilities of systems like the C64 and the way games looked, your mind would be quite active, filling in the gaps, turning the rather crude graphics into a more detailed world you could immerse yourself in. I replayed Ultima I and IV about 2 years ago, and it still worked like a charm with them... and works like a charm with this one.

So - if you want to try a different take on HPLs stories, if you grew up playing classic RPGs and don't mind the graphic style (or even enjoy it... after all, games like Skald were quite popular, offering old-school graphics as well), try the demo and considering the price of this game, it should be a no-brainer if you enjoy that demo.

Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn! Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah-nagl fhtagn