Shadow of the Comet
Shadow of the Comet is a very weird game. Going off topic for a bit, I always found that old MS DOS music scary. I don’t know why, but it’s just always haunted me. Maybe it’s the tone it gives off. Anyway, Shadow of the Comet. Weird game. It takes heavy inspiration from Lovecraftian games, as it is heavily inspired by the story, The Dunwich Horror. The game follows a photographer by the name of John Parker, who travels to the town of Illsmouth (Aww, really?) to photograph the passing Halley’s Comet. However, there’s more to it than that. As it turns out, a man went to the same town over eighty years ago to study the comet’s passing in the town, which causes something to happen that makes him insane, and Parker wishes to succeed in finding out what happened. Sure, the game is dated and pretty corny, but I still enjoy it…. Most of the time. While the gameplay may be… A mess, but it at least the story feels very Lovecraftian. Cults, insanity, and the comet being more involved than you’d think… Actually, that’s pretty obvious. Seeing how insane the town becomes over just three days really reminds me of the Shadow Over Innsmouth, another classic story. The comet is actually a major part in the story, as well as being involved with the cult that surrounds the town of Illsmouth. It’s a very fascinating game that, if you are a fan of Lovecraftian horror, would suit you… Even if it is far from being the best… Or decent… It’s kinda silly in a way… Especially the old man in the labyrinths.
Alone in the Dark
Alright, now this is something more my speed. Slow and feeling like going nowhere. Yep, that’s the way I play Alone in the Dark since you move slow as hell. But regardless, the game is fun. A little dated, but good fun. You play as one of two characters, investigator Edward Carnby or the niece of the deceased mansion owner niece, Emily Hartwood… But face it, you’ll most likely play as Carnby. How could you say no to that moustache. Carnby (Or Hartwood, but not really) goes to investigate the mansion owned by Jeremy Hartwood, who was found dead by hanging himself, but their is believed to be more involved in this mansion… And there, in fact, is. The mansion is haunted and filled with monsters such as zombies, demons, weird purple things, worms… Pirates? As it turns out, the house was once owned by an occultist named Ezechiel Pregtz who, after being killed, was buried in a tree underneath the mansion and had been resurrected in hopes of finding a new host body, which is why Jeremy hung himself, to avoid this. Now, Pregtz is after the player character to use their body. And this is prevalent in the game’s game over screen shows the character being dragged to a ritualistic altar in front of the tree Pregtz is buried in. This is honestly the most haunting this about this game. The many monsters and story telling really does feel like a Lovecraftian horror story, and it is honestly one of the things I love most about this game. The story is just very good… Hell, it’s a million times better than the pisspoor story telling in today’s Alone in the Dark. Also, side note, the house was based on the Fall of the House of Usher… So you get a bonus of Poe in this too.
Fallout 3
Fallout 3 on it’s own is a terrifying game. A land torn apart by nuclear war, filled with bandits that leave their victims hung by hooks, mutants that will kill whoever they come across, animals mutated by extreme radiation to become monsters and larger than their original size, vaults meant to be a chance for survival now made into containers for death and decay, and a book made by eldritch monsters…. I’m serious about that last part. Near the south west side of the Wasteland is a place called the Dunwich building, containing many different Ghouls and audio logs of a man named Jamie Palabras who is looking for his father that went into the Dunwich Building. The inside of the place is filled with Ghouls, and flashbacks that haunt you, and each audio log you get shows Jamie’s decreasing sanity before you end up finding him as a ghoul, in a strange location with a strange plaque in the center, but nothing much after that… Unless you have the Point Lookout DLC, which comes with the side quest, The Dark Heart of Blackhall, which allows the player to find a book and either give it to the creator to use it for dark rituals or destroy it in the basement of the Dunwich Building. I swear, this just gives off so much Lovecraft vibes. The insanity, the rituals, the goddamn swamp people, and a mythical entity that the game calls Ug-Qualtoth. God, look at how Cthulhu-like that damn name is. It’s beautiful in a screwed up kind of way.
Dead Space
Alright, now this is where things start to really get unsettling. Dead Space is already a freaking-enough game with zombie aliens called Necromorphs made of the body of dead space miners and now are trying to kill anyone alive (Specifically, you). And it is all caused by a giant piece of space rocks. These rocks, more commonly known as The Marker, are strange artifacts that have two different kinds, Black Markers (Racist) and Red Markers. Not a big difference other than how they are made, but they both have the same terrifying outcome. They make their way to other planets and release electro-whatevers that cause the people to be affected and under the influence of the Markers, which soon leads to the creation of the Necromorphs, yes, those disgusting twisted horrid things. However, humans are able to avoid this (For a time) due to their low intelligence. So, that just means that there are aliens out there with a much higher intelligence than humans. And when the entire planet’s life has been turned into Necromorphs, the planet turns into a massive Brethren Moon, yes, those gigantic abominations in the sky. This thing, right there. That just screams a massive Cthulhu monster. Sure, one is killed. This, along with the insanity Isaac goes through and the hallucinations of his dead wife he tries to push out of his mind, it really shows the Lovecraftian put into a game set in the future. Hell, even Ridley Scott’s Alien series can be considered Lovecraftian because of the beings out of our human understanding. And that is the best way to describe a game like Dead Space.
Half-Life
There’s only one character in all of the Half-Life universe that can be considered a Lovecraftian entity. Only one character, and he isn’t any of the bizarre aliens, and it’s not Nihilanth… Nihilanth sucks. No, instead, it’s the wonderfully creepy G-Man. I know, he doesn’t look like a Lovecraftian abomination. If anything, he looks just about the same as any other man. But it’s what the G-Man does that makes him so… disturbing. He takes the role of the sort of Nyarlathotep, a deity that has control over the universe, and from what I’ve seen, G-Man definitely has total control over the world, despite him just looking like a simple business man. After defeating the final boss (Yeah, that stupid thing), G-Man appears and brings Gordon Freeman with him and talks about his… Employers, whoever they are. After this, G-Man offers Gordon a job, and from then on, Gordon is tasked to take whatever task the G-Man gives him, regardless of what happens. In all games, you can see the G-Man following you around, never truly being in the center of the game, but always being hidden away, like in a far off building, a bridge, or on a TV in an abandoned building. He is able to manipulate time and space, and always manages to do so in order to save Freeman at the last second, though obviously only keeping him around for personal gain rather than the good of his heart. The way Lovecraft would want it
Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem
Probably one of the more obscure games on this list, but it’s nice to know that a game like Eternal Darkness. The game follows a woman named Alexandra Roivas, who is investigating the bizarre murder of her grandfather by looking in his estate. After finding a book made of skin and bones, titled the Tome of Eternal Darkness, it reveals the life of an ancient Roman soldier named Pious Augustus who was lead into an ancient tomb and was turned into an undead Liche to serve the Ancients, three immortal beings who have the power to bring forth Eternal Darkness, which they will use to feast on the bodies and shadows of humanity… According to the plot summary. These Ancients consist of Ulyaoth, the being that controls magic and dimensions, Xel’lotath, the being that controls insanity, and finally, Chattur’gha, the being that is probably the most disturbing looking, and controls strength and matter. There is a fourth one, Mantorok, the Corpse God, who tries to keep control of the other beings, but loses said control (Obviously), and uses Alexandra to help put them back. Okay, just tell me where you can find out the Lovecraftian elements in this. These beings here, these Ancients, just scream it. Ancient creatures that have been around for centuries that manipulate the thoughts and feelings of humans, making them their slaves and have them do their bidding. Not to mention, the appearance of these things just screams eldritch abomination.
Bloodborne
Oh god, yes. Yes, yes, yes. This is the very game that just loves everything horror, despite not being a “horror” game, but man if it’s good. Bloodborne takes place in the fictional land of Yharnam on the night of the hunt, and it also seems to be the night where many eldritch horrors are walking around to meet and greet humans in friendly chit-chat… No, they’re here to be terrifying and utterly destroy you. And there isn’t just three, or some. No, this game has plenty of them to spare, and you get to meet every one of them. Oh, lucky you. But the one’s that just scream Lovecraftian horror are the Great Ones, beings that have incredible strength that are seen as gods by all of Yharnam and are believed to be immortal, and are worshipped as such, and rest assured, you have to kill all of them. There’s Amygdala, a being that is heavily worshipped around Yharnam with its brain exposed to you. Brain of Mensis is a brain made of many eyes that was left as a relic of the Great Ones. The Celestial Emissary is a being that grow in size along with other blue creatures that are similar to it. Ebrietas is a slug-like creature who wishes to coexist with humans (Which just won’t happen). Kos, a being that is already dead, yet births the near impossible Orphan of Kos for you to fight. Mergo’s Wet Nurse is a creature with six arms and wings that watches over the child of Yharnam, Mergo. Moon Presence, the final boss of the game and having created a very important piece of Bloodborne. Rom is just the world’s ugliest spider and keeps those in Yharnam from seeing the world around them. Finally, there’s Oedon, the only Great One without a physical appearance. These Great Ones are some of the most terrifying and hard to look at creations in video games, but how they are respected as gods in the world of Bloodborne just shows how Lovecraftian they are.
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Dragonborn DLC
If you were to ask me, out of all the Daedric Princes there are in the world of Skyrim, who would my favorite be? Well, the answer is simple…. Sheogorath. I love that man. He makes me laugh. But, other than Sheogorath, I would say my favorite is Hermaeus Mora, the Daedric Prince of knowledge. The world of Elder Scrolls contains many Daedric Princes that rule over their own chaotic elements, such as Clavicus Vile, the Prince with the talking dog, who is the prince of wishes, Mehrunes Dagon, who was the antagonist of Oblivion, being the Prince of destruction, Sanguine, the Prince of debauchery who gets you drunk (Because of course), and Sheogorath, the prince of madness (Of course, what else). But, regardless, they all manage to have some sort of physical appearance that isn’t too bad. Sure, Dagon’s is… Terrifying, but after Oblivion, I’m sure you can handle it. But, we never did get to see the appearance of the Prince of knowledge, Hermaeus Mora. Just hearing his voice as he influences a man into near insanity to find out knowledge that ends up leading to his death. As it turns out, Hermaeus Mora had seen the mage who had gone mad with knowledge as useless now and killed him, allowing the Dragonborn to be his new servant of finding knowledge. As I said, you don’t get to see what he looks like… However, if you have the Dragonborn DLC, you will get to see him, in all his Lovecraftian glory. Here, you only see what looks like a void made of eyeballs and tentacles, in true eldritch fashion. But that’s not all, oh no. In the Dragonborn DLC, you will have to defeat Hermaeus Mora’s original champion, Miraak, who swore loyalty for absolute power, though Hermaeus Mora soon found him useless and promised the Dragonborn the powers he gave Miraak once he was killed, and to do so, Dragonborn must enter the world created by Hermaeus Mora, the Apocrypha, and this world is just so… Lovecraftian (Yeah, I’ve been saying that a lot now). Books are stacked everywhere, pages float above ground, the sky is green, there is a black sea that is filled with tentacles, and many Cthulhu looking monsters roam around the area. This is just one of the most Lovecraftian places I’ve ever seen in a game, and I love it so much. And the best part (Or worst, depending on your outlook), is that Hermaeus Mora cannot be killed by the player, and there will come a point in time where Hermaeus Mora will no longer need the Dragonborn any longer, as he did with the other followers… Let that just sink in. Take care.
