Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones

[Adeptus]

It is a 2019 cRPG firmly rooted in the works of Lovecraft. The starting point is as follows - one day a certain Dismal Man arrives in Arkham (not the madhouse from Batman, but an important town in Cthulhu mythology, home to a famous university with an extensive library of secret knowledge). His actions lead to the so-called "Black Day", when the local elite perish, while the city and its surroundings are torn from our reality and transferred to another, warped dimension. Two factions take power - gangsters led by the enigmatic "Wax Face" called the "Invisible Emperor" and the cultists of the Great Eternals, who come out of hiding and become the dominant religion. Our character at one time met Dismal Man and now intends to talk to him again. At the beginning of the game we have a dream in which this gentleman urges us to visit the (stone-collapsed) gates of Arkham University.

When it comes to character creation, we have quite a lot of options. We choose an Archetype - that is, a de facto profession (e.g. soldier, aristocrat, artist or criminal) and the belief system our hero follows (e.g. divine - that is, Christian - esoteric, materialistic or nihilistic). We separate Attributes (physical and mental qualities, such as dexterity, senses, or will) and Skills (such as hand-to-hand combat, firearms, occultism, science, or speech) and begin.

As befits a Lovecraft game, our character is characterized by mental health in addition to the usual life points, which we lose by communing with uncanny creatures and objects, or simply by staying in the dark without a source of light. We regain it by taking actions in accordance with our belief system, by taking various substances and during rest. Rest is of great importance here - not only that it regenerates our strength, but we have to take it from time to time otherwise our character will be tired, which will affect its efficiency, and moreover, during it we can perform various interesting activities depending on our skills, belief system and possessed items, such as. additionally heal the wounds of companions, pray, learn spells from found scrolls (mental health acts as mana), build inventions based on schemes (eh, my dear Arcanum comes to mind), identify artifacts, and sometimes even visit the World of Dreams. If we let our mental health drop too low, we may acquire some unpleasant traits, causing, for example, the replacement of some dialogue issues with crazy gibberish (I don't know if it's possible to die from dropping to zero, I've never let it happen). In addition to resting, we also need to eat every so often, with which canned food comes to our aid.

Combat is turn-based, we have action points that can be used for movement, attacks, or taking a defensive stance, and spells. As befits a world straight from the mythology of Cthulhu, magic is dangerous - each spell (there are about 10 of them) can cause some negative effects, such as cursing the companion instead of the enemy or blinding the casting player for a while. Also, artifacts have both positive and negative effects (to discover both, you have to identify them twice). Importantly, there is often an opportunity for a "special" escape during battles - if you use it and stand on a special field, you advance the quest and gain exp as if you had won (although, as far as I recall, you don't gain loot).

Various kinds of substances play an important role - no, not magic potions, but mundane alcohol and drugs. Various types of liquor and psychoactive drugs allow you to regain your health and sanity or give you temporary bonuses to your stats - but beware, you can become addicted to them, which forces you to take them systematically.

Our stats and character background affect the available dialogue options and ways of solving tasks, and in many cases we have the option to choose different paths.

During the game, our team, in addition to the main character, can consist of two "permanent" companions and one temporary one (E.g. a mercenary who takes a certain portion of the local currency - cigarettes - every day, or a character who helps us with a specific task). Of the permanent companions, we can recruit the Outsider - a mysterious bandage-wrapped humanoid (the only mage among the companions), Sonia Carter (the non-canonical wife of Randolph Carter, searching for her husband lost in dreamlands - an allusion to her namesake, Lovecraft's wife), an undead soldier resurrected by the Re-animator. In addition, the Aristocrat starts with a faithful butler, and the Explorer starts with a dog (presumably equally faithful). With the team members we can dialogue and discover their past, although this is not a biowarfare level of relationship expansion.

Of course, during the course of the game we will encounter various allusions to the works of the Lonesome of Providence - sometimes all too explicit (one of the tasks is actually an adaptation of the short story "Whispering in the Dark". - that's what it's called, by the way). There are characters, monsters, various references. Although also without exaggeration - the creators do not limit themselves to slavish copying of motifs, but add a lot of their own elements, which fit into the reality of Arkham after the Black Day. It seems to me that the atmosphere is quite well preserved, despite the fact that the "secret world" is a bit less mysterious in this game than generally in works referring to the mythology of Cthulhu (as I mentioned - the cultists act openly, moreover, e.g.. the existence of ghouls is no secret at all, as they have seized part of the city - however, still most of the inhabitants of Arkham, including our protagonist, are unaware of the nature of the world they have come to live in and most of its elements, so it's not like we get a complete descripyion of everything, killing Lovecraftian understatement).

Graphics - it looks hand-drawn, both in terms of the game area and the character portraits (I think each caller or monster has one). It didn't impress me, but it's OK and again - I think it fits the atmosphere.

Unfortunately, the game is far too short. The world is small, and the main storyline cuts off in the middle - literally, the moment we complete about half of the instructions given to us by Dismal Man, a final animation is attached informing us that "now the journey into the abyss of madness is about to begin!" or something like that - and we're done. Did they run out of...time? ideas? Kickstarter cash? I haven't heard that the creators are planning some kind of supplement to close the threads, which is a shame. Nevertheless, I encourage you to check out this game, especially Lovecraft fans.

[Acrux]

This one had a lot of potential, too bad it never got an ending.

[Oyster Sauce]

I can't read a review that doesn't have screenshots, sorry man.

[Vergil]

I like this one, could probably slim down some of his posts but I appreciate the attempts at high quality posting instead of insane rambling or asking how to click a file.

[wndrbr]

I didn't like how the game was basically "Lovecraft's Greatest Hits - The Game". Devs just copied every popular short story and inserted them as sidequests.

Member the Outsider? Member the whisperer in darkness?? Member Color out of space??? Member the dream-quest of unknown Kadath????? I member!

[Tweed]

It was a dark and stormy night...I sat there, huddled over my computer, sweat beading upon my tired brow as I gazed upon the horror that was Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones!

[1998]

Even in the context of unfinished Kickstart games, this one was a standout.

[maidenhaver]

This one had a lot of potential, too bad it never got an ending.

Maybe they started reading his letters for material.

[Adeptus]

I didn't like how the game was basically "Lovecraft's Greatest Hits - The Game". Devs just copied every popular short story and inserted them as sidequests.

Member the Outsider? Member the whisperer in darkness?? Member Color out of space??? Member the dream-quest of unknown Kadath????? I member!

Well, I must admit that it was weak when I was doing "The Whispeper in Darkness" inspired quest and I had to pretend I am not aware that my questgiver was replaced with Mi-Go.

[wndrbr]

the prequel game was just announced. Looks like it's just a first person horror game, not an RPG.

Set in the universe of Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones, the game lets players witness and influence the events preceding the Black Day. Immerse yourself in a unique world full of dangers, unexplored dark corners, and looming evil beyond mortal comprehension.

Assume the role of a mercenary accompanying the enigmatic girl to the foggy settlement of Kingsport to uncover her family’s dark secret. You are shipwrecked and soon encounter the nightmares that have haunted this place for centuries. Would you be able to find your way out, keep your sanity, and prevent the coming of the ancient Outer Gods, or maybe being insane is the key to salvation?

[asf]

game ends halfway through, all devs involved should be shot

[Element]

Didn't finish it, so was spared the disappointment of it's unfinished state