Chronicle of Innsmouth

74%
Game Brain Score Based on 107 reviews
  • story
  • humor
  • gameplay
Chronicle of Innsmouth Game Cover
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"Chronicle of Innsmouth" is a survival horror point-and-click game set in the Lovecraftian universe. You play as a detective investigating the cursed town of Innsmouth, facing supernatural creatures and solving puzzles to uncover the town's dark secrets. The game features a rich atmosphere, inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, and challenging gameplay that will test your problem-solving skills.

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

74%
Audience ScoreBased on 107 reviews
story16 positive mentions
grinding5 negative mentions
  • The game accurately depicts the story of Lovecraft's 'Shadow over Innsmouth' with a good balance of humor and atmosphere, reminiscent of classic point-and-click adventures.
  • The voice acting and sound design are well-executed, enhancing the overall experience and immersion in the Lovecraftian setting.
  • The pixel art style and nostalgic gameplay evoke a strong sense of nostalgia for fans of 90s adventure games, making it a fun experience despite some rough edges.
  • The game suffers from frustrating quick-time events and pixel-hunting mechanics, particularly in the latter half, which can detract from the enjoyment and flow of gameplay.
  • Some puzzles are overly obtuse or illogical, leading to confusion and reliance on walkthroughs, which can break immersion.
  • The tonal shifts between humor and horror feel jarring, making it difficult to fully engage with the Lovecraftian atmosphere the game aims to create.
  • story76 mentions

    The game's story is a retelling of H.P. Lovecraft's "The Shadow Over Innsmouth," capturing its essence while incorporating some humor and adventure elements. While it remains faithful to the original plot, many players found the narrative predictable and criticized the execution, particularly the reliance on tedious gameplay mechanics and abrupt shifts in tone. Overall, the atmosphere and voice acting received praise, but the storytelling was seen as lacking depth and coherence, with some players suggesting that the game fails to fully realize the potential of Lovecraft's themes.

    • “The story is well written, engaging, and suspenseful.”
    • “The plot is intriguing and faithful to Lovecraft's original works: the story starts somewhat light-hearted and gets progressively darker and edgier once you get to Innsmouth.”
    • “The game generally sticks faithfully to Lovecraft's story with some interesting throwbacks to other works.”
    • “The story borrows a lot from actual Lovecraft stories, badly, and namedrops stuff like crazy without any actual relevance, like, hmm, Arkham, Miskatonic University, hmm, Dr. Armitage, eh, I've read the books too!”
    • “From a story perspective, the biggest problem is that the character has no reason for continuing the investigation.”
    • “What begins as a strong homage to 90s adventure games ends with boring plot dumps and an irritating and clunky quick-time event extravaganza.”
  • humor28 mentions

    The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating its quirky characters and funny lines reminiscent of classic point-and-click adventures, while others feel it struggles to balance its comedic elements with the intended Lovecraftian horror. Many reviews suggest that the game would benefit from a clearer tonal direction, either embracing a fully humorous approach or committing to a more serious, eerie atmosphere. Overall, while the humor is enjoyable for some, it may not reach the heights of classic titles in the genre, leaving players with a sense of ambivalence.

    • “Psychodev captures the Lovecraft narrative in the form of old school LucasArts adventure games and delivers -- sense of humor included.”
    • “A cool AGS point-and-click adventure that manages to evoke a Lovecraftian atmosphere while retaining a sense of humor and visual aesthetic borrowed from Monkey Island.”
    • “Well done on the atmosphere and humor... it struck a good balance between apprehension and comedic relief.”
    • “Not clever enough, not funny enough, not playtested enough.”
  • gameplay26 mentions

    The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players finding the puzzle design lacking, particularly in the second half of the game, where it shifts from a classic point-and-click adventure to a more action-oriented style that feels clunky and frustrating. While the initial gameplay is praised for its engaging mechanics and humor, the later sections introduce poorly executed mini-games and tedious tasks that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game offers an interesting narrative but suffers from inconsistent gameplay quality and frustrating mechanics.

    • “While the first part of the game focuses really heavily on the classic point & click adventure style of gameplay (which it does really well, by the way, mixing it up with a few puzzles with different mechanics), it all of a sudden turns into more of an action-adventure game once you get past a certain point in Innsmouth.”
    • “The gameplay is logical, interesting, and I didn't come across any bugs.”
    • “Great atmosphere and great gameplay, reminiscent of the gameplay from that Lucasfilm game.”
    • “The puzzle and gameplay design leave a lot to be desired, especially in the second half of the game.”
    • “The point and click mechanics are to the detriment of this game as it tries to implement a few mini-games, which sabotage the world and immersion with frustration.”
    • “The narrative isn't captivating and the game mechanics are, for the most part, tedious chores to go through in order to advance the story.”
  • atmosphere25 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its effective blend of Lovecraftian horror and humor, creating a unique experience that resonates with fans of the genre. While some players appreciate the old-school aesthetic and the eerie settings, others note inconsistencies, such as overly comedic elements that detract from the intended suspense. Overall, the game successfully evokes a sense of dread and intrigue, particularly in its depiction of locations like Innsmouth, though opinions vary on the execution of its visual and narrative elements.

    • “I fully expected an atmospheric horror story, the way the description and the original work it's based on suggests.”
    • “Great atmosphere, nicely implemented story and well-balanced difficulty of the puzzles (a few frustrating moments due to pixel-hunting are simply part of the deal).”
    • “The atmosphere of dread and creepiness is pretty well done, especially in the streets of Innsmouth, which is quite impressive given the limitations of the graphics.”
    • “Then why is there so much tongue-in-cheek jokes, destroying any attempt at creating a true atmosphere.”
    • “- the game failed to deliver the right atmosphere, there was neither enough suspense nor mystery.”
    • “However, while this is a passable point-and-click on its own, there is no Lovecraftian atmosphere to be found.”
  • graphics25 mentions

    The graphics of the game evoke a nostalgic, old-school pixel art style reminiscent of 90s adventure games, drawing comparisons to classic LucasArts titles. While some players appreciate the atmospheric and charming visuals that contribute to the Lovecraftian theme, others criticize the graphics for being overly simplistic, dark, or lacking polish. Overall, the graphics receive mixed reviews, with a general consensus that they successfully create a fitting ambiance despite some flaws.

    • “The graphics are impressively just like the LucasArts adventures, and the voice acting I found surprisingly very well performed.”
    • “Visually, one cannot help but think that this could actually be an original LucasArts game, featuring the exact same pixelated art style like many of the classics and a UI that most closely resembles that of Monkey Island 1 & 2 and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis.”
    • “Great graphics, really invokes the old LucasArts games of yore.”
    • “The graphics are bad, like very bad.”
    • “The graphic element is very reminiscent of the 90s adventures – a slightly blurry, simplistic pixelated picture with white subtitles overlay and inventory in retro style.”
    • “While it does a good job at providing the game with the right atmosphere, some might find the graphics a bit too dark, or a bit too bland and (for lack of a better term) 'muddy'.”
  • music21 mentions

    The game's music receives mixed reviews, with some praising the jazzy tracks and atmospheric compositions that enhance the experience, particularly during tense moments. However, there are criticisms regarding the soundtrack's occasional mismatch with the scene's tone and a notably jarring choice for the ending credits song. Overall, while the music is generally considered good and well-integrated, it lacks consistency and some standout moments.

    • “Extra credits for the kick-ass outro song they recorded for the game.”
    • “The soundtrack is very interesting, and also the main theme (mysterious with a metal taste) is great.”
    • “The music, backgrounds, animation, sound effects, voice acting, and user interface all come together to provide an excellent experience for the genre.”
    • “The soundtrack occasionally clashes with the tone of the scene, but for the most part, jazzy tracks offset the mood when the hero isn’t making his way along dank alleys and rainy swamps.”
    • “Music and graphics are all done in the same fashion: serviceable, but frankly not worth writing home about.”
    • “I had nothing to say about the game's music until the ending... the song the devs chose to play with the ending credits makes absolutely no sense and I fail to comprehend how they thought it was a good idea to use it.”
  • grinding5 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and unenjoyable, often feeling like a chore that detracts from the otherwise cool story. The gameplay is criticized for being repetitive and designed to extend playtime unnecessarily, with elements like non-skippable cinematics and pixel hunting contributing to a frustrating experience. Overall, the mechanics are seen as a hindrance to fully engaging with the narrative.

    • “The story is so cool that I just wish the gameplay and puzzles weren't so tedious.”
    • “Not enjoyable, very tedious and designed to pad out the play time, I assume.”
    • “It was a tedious chore of pixel hunting and mindlessly wandering around looking for the next trigger.”
  • stability4 mentions

    The game suffers from significant stability issues, with frequent bugs and glitches that disrupt gameplay, such as repeated voice lines and unresponsive interactions. Players find the old-school action buttons exacerbate these problems, leading to frustration, particularly with poorly designed puzzles and an abrupt shift in gameplay style towards the end. Overall, the experience is marred by a lack of polish and reliability.

    • “Small bugs and glitches occur throughout the game, like item descriptions or voice lines being played twice after clicking only once.”
    • “Things are so locked in that it’s honestly pretty frustrating, especially because there are a lot of glitches where you can click on something and nothing happens, but then if you click on a different part of the same labeled object, suddenly the story moves forward.”
    • “It’s a buggy mess and the old-school specific action buttons make it even worse.”
  • emotional1 mentions

    The emotional impact of the game is diminished by a rushed and overly compacted ending, which fails to engage players and concludes abruptly, leaving little room for emotional involvement.

  • replayability1 mentions

    Most users agree that the game lacks significant replayability, typical of point-and-click adventure titles, as there are limited incentives to replay once the story has been completed.

    • “As with most point-and-click adventures, the game offers no real replayability.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

4hMedian play time
5hAverage play time
4-6hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs

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