October is traditionally a month for scary, mystical and spooky stuff here in Legion. Recently, @DracoTarot and I were talking about Lovecraftian horror 🐙, and that made me think that it may be nice to collect good game examples of this genre in one place. Hence, this post.
Indeed, this setting is very versatile and can be used in story-based narrative, open world, turn-based or any other genre you may think of. As you may have guessed from my nickname, I enjoy this type of setting, so know a few games that try to use it. But to give everyone a chance to shine with their Eldritch knowledge, I thought to just mention the most notable examples.
Starting, as we must, with Call of Cthulhu:
Based on the famous tabletop (so famous, that it was the second most popular tabletop after D&D back in 2021), it is a story-based game with all that Cthulhu Mythos is famous for.
A small leap from that and we arrive at the Sinking City:
A bit more open and detective-based, the game suffered from technical limitations but made up for that with the eldritch atmosphere in a living city where you could freely explore and sometimes stumble into stories that were inspired by Howard.
Then there is an unusual fishing simulator Dredge:
The further you sail from the shore, the weirder the things get until Lovecraftian tension is seeping through every crack. A gem of the game when it came out, it recently got an Iron Rig update, too.
And finally, my personal favorite in the turn-based realm, the Darkest Dungeon:
I have not tried the second game yet, waiting for it to be fully completed, but the first one was a masterpiece with all manner of eldritch horrors and lore. Fun trivia: this is where my avatar is from 😉 And if the game got too repetitive for you (for all its good parts, it did have that issue), modders created a lot of extra content by now.
I will wrap it up here, but this is not the end of it and there are more Lovecraftian vibe games to share. Do you know any?
And @DracoTarot, maybe there are metal bands that used those mythos as an inspiration?
@DoctorEldritch I think it's time for a little Darkest Dungeon again. Haven't played it in a while and forgot I still have it with all my saves.
There are a few bands that use the mythos as an Inspiration. Most of them are Black and Death metal bands.
Bands like:
The Lurking Fear, Corpsesssed, Portal, Ultar, Dimmu Borgir, and Cradle of Filth are bands that are strongly associated with Lovecraftian metal.
Lovecraftian metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that draws inspiration from the works of horror author H.P. Lovecraft. The music often features dark and atmospheric soundscapes, with lyrics that explore themes of cosmic horror, ancient gods, and madness.
The genre is characterized by its use of complex instrumentation, including intricate guitar riffs, blast beats, and atmospheric keyboards.
The vocals are typically harsh and guttural, adding to the overall sense of dread and unease. Bands in this genre often incorporate elements of black metal, death metal, and progressive metal, creating a unique and unsettling sound.
There are eleven well-known songs by different bands who are inspired by H.P Lovecraft's work and they are:
Black Sabbath, "Behind the Wall of Sleep"
Metallica, "Dream No More"
Opeth, "Pyre"
GWAR, "Horror of Yig"
The Black Dahlia Murder, "Thy Horror Cosmic"
Nile, "Beneath Oceans of Eternal Sand"
Sleep, "Antarcticans Thawed"
Electric Wizard, "Dunwich"
Septicflesh, "Lovecraft's Death"
Mercyful Fate, "The Mad Arab"
Cradle of Filth, "Cthulhu Dawn"
I'm sure many other bands also find inspiration through his work.
@DracoTarot Darkest Dungeon is one of those games that you can come back to after a while for a few days and then move on to something else again. I remember reading somewhere that a surprisingly low percentage of people who have this game actually managed to finish it (properly, I mean). Myself included.
Oh my, this is a lot of bands. There may be more of them than there are Lovecraftian games 😅
I would need to look into now if any of those bands were featured in any of the Lovecraftian games. Just curious. I mean, Hellsinger got a lot of different kinds of metal, maybe some games did (or could do) the same with this kind of music...
@DoctorEldritch If I'm going to play Darkest Dungeon I know I'm going play it for months because it's such a good game and it keeps me entertained. I am one of those who haven't finished the game. I want to this time around. 😊
Most definitely. There are a lot of bands and I mean a lot. The few I have mentioned are bands who have the most influence in the metal community.
Not sure how many of the bands were featured in games but I do know Metallica and Cradle of Filth had some songs within the game soundtrack.
Cradle of Filth had a song featured in Prince of Persia.
@DracoTarot It is possible to play it for months, but for me, it could get a bit repetitive. I'd probably use a mod for more enemies and lore to see how well other people could weave their stories into that world, to keep things interesting.
Oh, really? Which Prince of Persia is it? The second one, Warrior Within? That is probably the most metal one of the 3D trilogy.
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DoctorEldritch
