CTHON

About

CTHON is a single player shooter game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Gravity Games and was released on March 17, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"Cthon" is a single-player Science Fiction Shooter game set in the 24th century, where you combat evil forces on a moon in the Epsilon Eridani system. With exceptional graphics and stellar music, the game creates a great atmosphere as you utilize advanced alien technology to transform into a cybernetic weapon and defeat the dark entity known as Cthon. Inspired by classic space horror games, "Cthon" offers an immersive and challenging experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

72%

Audience ScoreBased on 65 reviews

graphics9 positive mentions

gameplay4 negative mentions

The game features strong visuals and a creepy atmosphere, reminiscent of classic FPS titles, which enhances the overall experience.
Procedurally generated levels provide high replayability, ensuring that each playthrough feels unique and engaging.
The upgrade system allows for customization of weapons and character abilities, adding depth to the gameplay.

The controls are clunky and unintuitive, making the gameplay experience frustrating, especially with the lack of customizable key bindings.
The game suffers from a lack of content and variety, with only three weapons available and limited enemy types, leading to repetitive gameplay.
Permadeath and the absence of quicksaves can make the game feel punishing, especially when combined with the slow pacing and RNG-heavy mechanics.

gameplay
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
70%
17%
The gameplay is a blend of old-school FPS mechanics reminiscent of titles like Wolfenstein and Doom, combined with rogue-like elements that emphasize procedural generation and permadeath, creating a tense and atmospheric experience. While some players find the mechanics unbalanced and the movement slow, others appreciate the strategic depth of upgrading weapons and adapting builds to enhance survival chances. Overall, the game successfully merges classic FPS gameplay with RPG and rogue-like features, though it may not appeal to everyone due to its simplicity and lack of saving options.
- “This is a pretty fun and atmospheric mix of Wolfenstein 3D and Blake Stone-style old-school FPS gameplay with the randomly generated roguelike formula, in a dark sci-fi/Lovecraftian setting.”
- “Overall, this game succeeds at fusing Wolfenstein/Doom's FPS gameplay with RPG and roguelike mechanics, elements of Metroid's aesthetic, and the narrative bent of Lovecraft's cosmological outlook.”
- “Awesome game brings back the classic simple gunplay of Doom and combines it with roguelike gameplay.”
- “The movement is slow, gameplay is boring and if you die, you must begin from the start.”
- “What I got was a mix-match of all the worst mechanics from each, rolled into one game.”
- “Original review: game crashed when I was fighting the final boss, permadeath mechanic and lack of saving caused me to lose all my progress and start from the beginning.”
graphics
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
45%
14%
The graphics of C'thon are widely praised for their strong visuals, effectively blending retro pixel art with a modern aesthetic that enhances the game's cosmic horror atmosphere. Players appreciate the detailed enemy designs and the way weapon upgrades visually transform the player's gear, contributing to an immersive experience reminiscent of classic first-person shooters. While some may find the graphics off-putting due to their low-res style, many agree that they successfully evoke a nostalgic yet fresh feel, making the game visually compelling.
- “The atmosphere is on point: graphics and audio are perfect for the space-lovecraftian setting.”
- “C'thon's main strength is its strong visuals.”
- “The graphics are pixel-perfect and gritty.”
- “If it wasn't for the soundtrack, this would be a sub-par roguelike, but mixed with the aesthetic of the game, it really drives home a cosmic horror feel as you slowly progress through the labyrinthine levels of a dead research station on top of some forgotten alien civilization.”
- “Crunchy 16-bit graphics, subtle enemy design, progressional challenge, upgrades, and if you're not paying attention, a wicked soundtrack.”
- “Don't let the simplistic graphics fool you; this game delivers solid immersion and with it plunges you headfirst into a setting that's somewhere between Lovecraft and Geiger with a smattering echo of certain aspects of System Shock.”
music
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
50%
19%
The music in the game is widely praised for its haunting and atmospheric qualities, effectively enhancing the dark and foreboding ambiance of the game world. Reviewers highlight the eerie soundtrack's ability to create a sense of tension and uncertainty, with influences ranging from cosmic horror to post-rock doom. While some note that the music can be short and looped, its overall impact is deemed essential to the game's immersive experience.
- “The accompanying, highly eerie soundtrack is fantastic, by the way.”
- “The real impressiveness comes from the soundtrack, which drifts in and out of cosmic horror ambiance to a slow-paced post-rock doom that immediately gives off a 'bell witch' vibe.”
- “The game world is dark and unsettling; the simplistic ambient soundtrack creates the vibe of danger and uncertainty while permadeath keeps each playthrough tense.”
- “If it wasn't for the soundtrack, this would be a sub-par roguelike, but mixed with the aesthetic of the game, it really drives home a cosmic horror feel as you slowly progress through the labyrinthine levels of a dead research station on top of some forgotten alien civilization.”
- “Its slow pace, ominous music, dark and desolate sci-fi setting, and considerable difficulty build up surprisingly good immersion and a fair amount of tension.”
atmosphere
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
20%
20%
The atmosphere of Cthon is consistently praised for its dark, foreboding tone, enhanced by excellent sound design and retro graphics that evoke a Lovecraftian sci-fi setting. Reviewers note that the game's oppressive ambiance and well-crafted level design create a compelling experience, despite some criticisms regarding gameplay balance and challenge. Overall, the atmosphere stands out as the game's strongest feature, effectively immersing players in its eerie world.
- “This is a pretty fun and atmospheric mix of Wolfenstein 3D / Blake Stone-style old-school FPS gameplay with the randomly generated roguelike formula, in a dark sci-fi / Lovecraftian setting.”
- “The best thing about Cthon is its atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere is dark and foreboding; the OST complements it well too.”
- “It's a relatively simple classic/retro FPS gameplay with a horror-like atmosphere, kind of like if you cross-breed Space Gun (Sega Master System) with a dash of Dead Space.”
- “The sprite work is interesting, with decrepit, sickly looking creatures inhabiting the claustrophobic halls, and their deaths being equally as grim as the atmosphere the game gives off.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
Cthon boasts high replayability thanks to its procedurally generated maps and an upgrade system that allows for customizable builds. The permadeath feature, combined with random level and item generation, enhances the game's replay value by ensuring varied experiences with each playthrough, despite the short overall playtime.
- “Especially the aspect of procedurally generated maps makes Cthon a gem of high replayability and compensates for the short playtime of one to two hours.”
- “It's short, yes, but replayability is guaranteed with procedurally generated levels and an upgrade system that lets you customize your build.”
- “Further, due to the permadeath aspect of this game, having procedural generation really helps with the replayability.”
- “There's permadeath, levels and items are randomly generated, which adds some replayability, but also throws difficulty all over the place, as your survival is very dependent on found upgrades and resource management.”
- “The procedural generation consistently creates levels with different layouts each time you load them, so there is a high amount of replayability.”
story
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's retro story, conveyed through scrolling text between sections, is effective and well-written, though some players feel it lacks depth and would benefit from additional narrative elements, such as logs or more detailed content.
- “The story was solid, though I wish there was more depth to it with logs or something like that rather than just the segment-end texts it provides you.”
- “The simplistic retro story, told in screens of scrolling text in between the three sections of the game, is effective and evocative.”
- “Story elements are minimal but well written.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users note that every mod enhances both the performance and visual aesthetics of the gun, indicating a strong focus on optimization in gameplay.
- “Every mod not only upgrades the performance but also changes the appearance of the gun.”
- “The optimization options allow for a highly personalized gameplay experience, making each player's setup unique.”
- “I love how the game encourages experimentation with different builds, leading to optimal performance tailored to my playstyle.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game somewhat tedious, though the sound effects, reminiscent of classic Doom games, add an engaging layer to the experience with their creepy and immersive qualities.
- “It gets a bit tedious.”