CALL OF CTHULHU Review for PlayStation 4

Deliciously creepy, CALL OF CTHULHU, will keep you up at night, but the horrific excitement isn’t without its inconsistencies. Cyanide and Focus Home Interactive team up once again for this survival-horror RPG, loosely related to H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu.” 

Welcome to the gloomy and foreboding Darkwater Island, where unsavory dealings are a mainstay of existence. Take on the role of self-medicating private investigator, Edward Pierce, as he attempts to uncover the mystery of the Hawkins family’s unsettling demise. The unsolved deaths of this family of three comes only with one clue—a seemingly cursed painting. 

Graphically, CALL OF CTHULHU is nearly identical to every other Cyanide/Focus Home Interactive collaboration. While this pair possesses a mastery of twisted tales, they continue to fall short visually. The clunky and rushed character design cheapens the experience of this title. I am still divided on whether or not the NPC’s melting into your face when they get too close is cleverly disturbing or just a lackluster game engine. All characters, particularly the males, look excruciatingly similar to our hero investigator. This won’t necessarily irk everyone, but the plot is confusing enough on its own and seems like a design error rather than a deliberate deception. 

I would be remiss not to mention how terrible the lip sync animation is. For a game this dialogue heavy, the characters really need to look like they’re speaking, not just robotically moving the area around their mouths while a voiceover plays off in the distance.  

Fairly instant gratification is afforded in the form of a customizable skills web. This is a huge plus for me in a game that is limited in personalization of gameplay. Building up the ability to find hidden objects is a skill I always favor, but personal preference aside, making the ‘Spot Hidden’ skill a priority is highly recommended if you truly want a wild ride. 

As the game progresses, this decision-based narrative raises the stakes with destiny- altering choices. Hint: a destiny-altering prompt will usually only have two options; take a drink or don’t, read the book or don’t…etc. 

For a survival-horror game, CALL OF CTHULHU takes way, way, WAY too long to get the ‘ol heartbeat racing. For the majority of gamers who are looking for a keep-the-lights-on fright, this is a huge deterrent. For those cautiously dipping a toe into the horror genre—the slow genericness of the first several chapters gives a false sense of docility—not necessarily the worst thing to happen, but it may be an unpleasant shock when scary finally rears its ugly head. 

Though an entertaining descent into madness, the high expectations that buzzed around this title were not met. Enduring multiple hours of uninteresting dialogue and incoherent objectives make it impossible to deem CALL OF CTHULHU the success we hoped it would be. Although the intensity eventually ramps up to pretty terrifying heights, there simply is not enough ‘thrill’ in this psychological thriller. 

Rating: 5.5/10

Take a Look at the Call of Cthulhu Launch Trailer:

Call of Cthulhu is available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam.