Sometimes the game veers into the bizarre, like when you encounter the crazy hunter from Jumanji, of all things. It even goes a bit further by featuring various aspects of horror and fantasy from contemporary pop culture, with references lifted from Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice, Dungeons & Dragons, and The 7th Guest, as well as a few cameos that should bring a smile to horror fans, such as The Tall Man from the Phantasm film series. Again this isn’t strictly a Lovecraft theme but a pulp fiction horror theme. As such, those wishing for a faithful Lovecraft experience may be disappointed to learn that the game isn’t set in the Mythos proper, although it does borrow many elements from it: Cthulhu does not appear, but there is a sinister cult worshiping the “Tentacled Ones” the teslarati are a race of terrifying aliens that borrow features from both the Elder Things and the Mi-go, including the infamous brain cylinders some names like Azathoth or the Plateau of Leng pop up here and there, etc. In fact, the general vibe is that of pulp fiction from the ’20s and ’30s as a whole, of which Lovecraft is the most famous representative, but which also includes other writers and Mythos contributors like Clark Ashton Smith and Robert E. The popular assumption on the Internet is that the main inspiration for this setting is Lovecraft’s famous Cthulhu Mythos, but this is not completely accurate. As an agent of the Occult Defense Directorate, your mission is to investigate reports of paranormal activities in an old isolated mansion in the countryside. The action is set sometime between the two World Wars. Davis later regretted calling the game a roguelike as it apparently gave players the wrong set of expectations, but despite his feelings on the matter, in my opinion The Occult Chronicles is much closer to a traditional roguelike than many of the games that have popped up in recent years and claimed the genre for themselves. While his previous games were straight strategy games, The Occult Chronicles deviates from his canon by being a mix of board game and roguelike with a focus on exploration. Coupled with Davis’ terrific sense of style, this has allowed him to craft some great and memorable games, and his latest work is no exception. ![]() ![]() By moving tedious elements like bookkeeping and frequent calculations to the computer, these games are able to feature much more complex systems than traditional board games, without alienating players. Davis is a one-man designer/programmer team and a visionary who specializes in developing games for the very small niche best described as “board games specifically made for computers”. As fans of his previous games Armageddon Empires and Solium Infernum already know, Cryptic Comet pretty much means Vic Davis. The first of the duo is The Occult Chronicles by Cryptic Comet, released in August 2013. ![]() Underrail: Heavy Duty DLC announced, releasing on November 1st.Ludus Mortis now available on Early Access.Moonring is a free retro RPG inspired by the classic Ultima games and early roguelikes.Mystic Land: Search For Maphaldo is an upcoming Wizardry VII-inspired blobber 30 years in the making.Quasimorph is a turn-based sci-fi extraction RPG with roguelike elements, now in Early Access.Bloodlines 2 Dev Diary #2: Narrative Atmosphere and Themes.Geneforge 2 - Infestation gets trailer and Steam page, coming Q1 2024.Cyber Knights: Flashpoint coming to Early Access on October 17th. ![]()
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