Arkham Horror: Mother's Embrace
- March 23, 2021
- Twin Sails Interactive
- 9h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on Xbox Games Store"Arkham Horror: Mother's Embrace" is a detective horror adventure game set in the Lovecraftian universe. As detective Thomas Murton, you must investigate a series of strange occurrences at the Arkham Sanitarium, uncovering a dark conspiracy. Featuring turn-based combat and puzzles, players must balance investigative work with survival against supernatural forces. Based on the tabletop game from Fantasy Flight Games.
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
Xbox
Reviews
- The game captures the Lovecraftian atmosphere well, with an engaging story and interesting characters.
- The turn-based combat system is enjoyable and adds a strategic element to the gameplay.
- Fans of the Arkham Horror board games will appreciate the references and familiar characters.
- The controls are clunky and unintuitive, making navigation and interactions frustrating.
- The game suffers from numerous bugs, including freezing during combat and issues with saving progress.
- The graphics and animations feel outdated, resembling a game from a decade ago rather than a modern title.
- story218 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally described as engaging and well-crafted, particularly for fans of the Lovecraftian universe, though it suffers from predictability and linearity, limiting replayability. While some players appreciate the atmosphere and character development, others criticize the lack of meaningful choices and the presence of bugs that detract from the experience. Overall, the narrative is seen as a solid foundation that could benefit from improved gameplay mechanics and more diverse storytelling elements.
“The story is interesting and upon finishing a level I was compelled to start the next one.”
“The story is well plotted and tight.”
“The mood and setting is fantastic, the story intriguing, and the difficulty has a nice upward progression.”
“The thematic is superficially respected but no significant mechanic of the board game can be found here and the story is the most generic, boring Lovecraftian tale I’ve ever seen.”
“The story is completely linear and 'discovering' clues is equal to pressing next.”
“The story is nothing new from the series and has no replay value.”
- gameplay120 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Arkham Horror: Mother's Embrace" has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its clunky mechanics and lack of depth compared to its board game origins. While some appreciate the turn-based combat and sanity mechanics, others criticize the repetitive and simplistic gameplay, as well as numerous bugs and interface issues that hinder the overall experience. Despite its engaging story and thematic elements, the game struggles to translate the complexity and excitement of the original board game into a satisfying digital format.
“The gameplay has enough action and is still enjoyable even while laying down on the couch.”
“Challenging gameplay that takes a combination of strategy and good inventory management.”
“The gameplay switches between walking your team through adventure/investigation elements and turn-based battles with 5 action points.”
“The gameplay is clunky, that's the best way to describe it.”
“The thematic is superficially respected but no significant mechanic of the board game can be found here and the story is the most generic, boring Lovecraftian tale I’ve ever seen.”
“Arkham Horror: Mother's Embrace is a sub-standard point and click adventure with boring and dated turn-based combat and game mechanics.”
- graphics82 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many users noting that they appear dated and reminiscent of late 1990s or mobile game visuals. While some appreciate the art style and atmosphere, others criticize the low quality, lack of detail, and technical issues such as graphics settings not saving. Overall, the graphics are considered functional but far from impressive, with many reviewers suggesting that they detract from the overall experience.
“Some of the scene photos/artwork were just really pretty.”
“I absolutely love the art style!”
“Nevertheless, I find them quite pleasant with a good art style.”
“Graphics appear circa late 1990s and the controls are a bit clunky but overall a decent mythos (H.P. Lovecraft) game.”
“The graphics don't have the level of detail we're used to nowadays.”
“The graphics are dated but that was to be expected, just look at the screenshots.”
- atmosphere40 mentions
- 48 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is generally well-received, capturing the essence of Lovecraftian themes and the feel of the associated board games, with many players appreciating its immersive qualities and aesthetic presentation. However, some critiques highlight inconsistencies in voice acting and narrative elements that can detract from the overall experience, leading to moments where immersion is broken. Overall, while the atmosphere is praised for its alignment with the source material, it is noted that the execution may not fully meet expectations for all players.
“I think the game really succeeds in creating a very similar atmosphere to the board games which I always enjoyed.”
“The tone, atmosphere, and lore are all very true to the source material.”
“Atmosphere: it’s a quirky fun gritty that’s Arkham Horror's signature, fun interactions sometimes silly but they managed to suck you in. You never feel at ease in a Lovecraftian atmosphere, but there is enough sense of urgency to keep on going, defy the odds, and try to save the world without going mad.”
“The narrator serves more to distract and take away from the atmosphere than to help build it.”
“The comic nature of her remarks breaks the immersion and strongly contrasts with the overall atmosphere of gloom and mystery.”
“They didn't make me feel immersed in the atmosphere of the narrative.”
- music33 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its thematic fit and quality, particularly in enhancing the Lovecraftian atmosphere. However, some players noted issues with the background music being deactivated by default and criticized certain tracks for being mismatched or overly loud during gameplay. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the experience, it is not without its flaws, including some recycled tracks and occasional glitches.
“Great music and voiceover to match.”
“The music was really good in my opinion, suited the game really well.”
“Great atmosphere and music that captures the Lovecraftian mythos.”
“The background music is deactivated by default, which makes the game quite silent.”
“Once I figured that out and activated the background music, it was completely ruining the game, by amongst other things not even remotely fitting the game scenes, e.g. extremely loud battle music and screams, when investigating a desk drawer (I could not even understand the characters' dialogues).”
“A few minor issues with bugged enemies and glitched looping music, some frustrations with the sanity checks not feeling uniform.”
- replayability24 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
Overall, the game exhibits very limited replayability, with many players noting that once the story is completed, there is little incentive to play again. While some elements, like character choices and random map tiles, offer slight variations, the core narrative remains unchanged, leading to a consensus that the game lacks substantial replay value. Future updates or additional scenarios could potentially enhance this aspect, but as it stands, replayability is a significant drawback.
“Some sanity loss is unavoidable since you wouldn't know which interaction causes sanity checks, so it does give some replay value in the game to see how trauma level affects the investigator's decision throughout the game.”
“On the whole, it's a nice start but hopefully there will be further episodes with better features for greater challenge and replayability.”
“Alternatively, if they really wanted to open things up, they could look at ways to make the game more replayable.”
“After playing it through, I can safely say that, except for achievements if you are into that, there is pretty much no replay value.”
“The replayability of this game is limited - at least if they don't add more scenarios to the game in the future, which I kind of hope they will.”
“Game's done in 6-7 hours and has no replayability, that's a real shame.”
- stability22 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is widely criticized for its instability, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and softlocks that significantly hinder gameplay. While some players find enjoyment in the story and characters, the overall experience is marred by clunky controls and frequent technical issues, leading to a consensus that the game feels unfinished and frustratingly buggy. Many hope future patches will address these problems, but as it stands, stability remains a major concern.
“It's buggy - I encountered a major softlock in the herd mansion that required me to completely restart the mission, and multiple times I encountered dialogue subtitles that were completely wrong, or interactable descriptions that were outright broken.”
“For now this is a buggy mess and not very smooth as a whole.”
“Combat is so buggy, it's practically unplayable.”
- humor11 mentions
- 91 % positive mentions
- -18 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, featuring both intentional and unintentional comedic moments, such as quirky dialogue and absurd gameplay mechanics that can lead to hilarious situations. While some players appreciate the humor reminiscent of classic RPGs, others find it falls flat or feels out of place, with certain lines eliciting laughter for their seriousness rather than wit. Overall, the humor adds a layer of charm, albeit inconsistently, to the gameplay experience.
“The psychologist says things like 'we should really work this out in therapy,' which made me laugh.”
“It is by no means going to revolutionize anything, and I did run into a couple of bugs during my playthrough, but these were fairly minor (one bug forcing me to go back to the last save point, and investigators hilariously swinging firearms around like they are melee weapons).”
“For one... I'm pretty sure Norman only has one door and one bookshelf... not two doors where one looks like it contains books (made me laugh... nearly wet myself xd).”
“And please, professor, shut up. I don't need your comments; they are not funny.”
“The jokes fell flat and felt forced, making the humor cringe-worthy.”
“I expected clever wit, but instead, I was met with tired clichés that missed the mark.”
- optimization5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, including frame drops and poor performance on lower-end hardware like the GTX 1070, leading to a subpar visual experience. While some users appreciate the boardgame feel, many recommend waiting for updates to address these performance problems before purchasing.
“That is what makes it feel more like a board game, but if you are into that, grab it (best on the next sale if you are looking for a good price-performance ratio)!”
“The game has some performance issues such as frame drops that I hope get fixed soon by updates (thank old ones this is LH and Asmodee and not CDPR).”
“The game has some performance issues, such as frame drops, that I hope get fixed soon by updates. Thank goodness this is handled by Asmodee and not CDPR.”
“Pretty terrible performance using a GTX 1070.”
“Really terrible frame rates and visuals; this was not optimized at all.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be frustrating, citing tedious combat mechanics and awkward movement controls that detract from the overall experience. Despite an interesting story, the repetitive nature of the gameplay makes it feel laborious and unenjoyable.
“Combat is incredibly tedious for the chapters I played - generally characters get one attack action and a bit of movement, and the movement is awkward.”
“Tedious movement mechanics and an ineffectual run button.”
“I went in willing to overlook a lot of glitches to have a fun adventure and story... but this game is just tedious to play.”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express a deep emotional connection to the game, highlighting moments of joy and nostalgia tied to beloved characters, such as Jenny and Roland. The gameplay evokes intense feelings, prompting physical reactions and a sense of urgency, which enhances the overall emotional experience. The game's design effectively immerses players, making them feel invested in the narrative and their characters' journeys.
“As a fanatic player of the living card game, I happened to play The Dunwich Legacy. Jenny was my best friend's character, and Zoey was mine; you have no idea how much my heart raced upon hearing one of my favorite characters (along with Caroline). I cried happily when Roland showed himself. I love this game, and I wish we had Sister Mary...”
“It made me feel forced to do something even if there was nothing; I had to put my cup down or switch hands instead of sticking to the mouse.”
“Or how to make a compelling game that requires you to make a sanity check whenever touching the game's GUI.”
- monetization3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization of the game has been widely criticized, with users labeling it as a "cash grab" that fails to justify its price, suggesting that the gameplay mechanics do not warrant the cost. Many feel that the game offers little value for money, with some even stating it isn't worth the minimal price of $5.
“Cash grab that isn't worth 5 dollars.”
“This is an obnoxious cash grab!”
