Daily Chthonicle: Editor's Edition

About

This game lets you try on the role of a Supernatural Newspaper Agency boss and editor. The world it takes place in is a dark and haunted one, with ghosts, zombies, monsters and even shapeshifting murderers, pretending to be human after they have stolen their victims' bodies or infiltrated the humanity. It was inspired heavily by the works of H.P.Lovecraft and it builds on the atmosphere of uncerta…

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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73%

Audience ScoreBased on 91 reviews

story6 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

The game has a unique and intriguing concept, blending elements of horror, mystery, and RPG mechanics, which can be engaging once the player understands the mechanics.
The retro graphics and noir atmosphere contribute to a charming aesthetic that fits the Lovecraftian theme well.
There is a high level of replayability due to the procedurally generated cases and the variety of supernatural threats, making each playthrough feel different.

The user interface is confusing and poorly designed, making it difficult for players to navigate and understand the game mechanics without extensive trial and error.
The tutorial is inadequate, leaving players to figure out the gameplay on their own, which can be frustrating and off-putting.
The randomly generated stories often lack coherence and depth, leading to a disjointed narrative experience that can diminish player engagement.

story
57 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
84%
5%
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its lack of coherence and depth, relying heavily on randomized events that often fail to engage players. While some reviewers appreciate the ambition of a procedurally generated narrative, they note that it results in fragmented and uninteresting plotlines, making it difficult to form a meaningful connection with the story. Ultimately, the game is seen as more focused on its management mechanics than on delivering a compelling narrative experience.
- “Daily Chthonicle is an indie investigation management/RPG game by Sinister System, focusing on detective story narrative with a touch of horror literature.”
- “Each case is a short story involving murder, the supernatural, cults, etc.”
- “When you manage to tie up a collection of cases centering on the same event to reveal the whole story, you win the game.”
- “Where this game falls flat is mainly the storytelling.”
- “Unfortunately, this game severely lacks a quality storyline of any kind.”
- “There's really no consistent story.”
gameplay
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
76%
11%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players finding the mechanics complex yet enjoyable once understood, though the tutorial is often criticized for being inadequate. While some appreciate the unique atmosphere and engaging elements, others describe the gameplay as repetitive, sparse, and lacking direct player involvement, leading to a sense of passivity. Overall, the game features intriguing mechanics and a rich art style, but it suffers from clunky execution and a need for clearer instructions.
- “The mechanics and figuring out how to manage characters, items, and spells in order to deal with various supernatural threats was really fun, and I found the gameplay overall very enjoyable.”
- “Solid gameplay, intelligent, and I love its art style, the Lovecraftian and film noir references, and basically everything about it!”
- “The gameplay is basically about sending your reporters to various locations and trying to solve encounters there by equipping your characters with what you thought would be proper items for the investigations.”
- “I think that the tutorial doesn’t teach you the gameplay elements very well, but the handbook is quite detailed and was rather helpful in the end (like that with right click on items you can read more about them and learn for which encounters they can be useful; doesn’t work for artifacts sadly).”
- “It only takes a few minutes to realize how repetitive, sparse, and dry the gameplay is.”
- “The gameplay, while unique, is severely lacking.”
graphics
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
71%
9%
The game's graphics feature a retro, film noir aesthetic that some players appreciate for its thematic fit, while others criticize it for being overly simplistic and lacking polish. Many reviews highlight the grainy, low-resolution visuals as a nod to classic magazines, but note that the overall quality is inconsistent, with some elements appearing lazy or poorly executed. Overall, the graphics evoke a nostalgic charm for some, but may not appeal to those seeking modern visual fidelity.
- “In the graphic department, the game opts for retro graphics with a film noir style (did I mention one of your reporters is named Sam Spade?).”
- “Solid gameplay, intelligent, and I love its art style, the Lovecraftian and film noir references, and basically everything about it!”
- “The basic, very clever gist of the game is that you run a bizarre little newspaper of occult phenomena and mysteries, commanding a roster of (fixed, pre-generated) reporters who go to conduct interviews, as well as a few less-than-reporterly things like breaking and entering, fighting monsters, taking samples from scenes of mysterious glowing goo, etc. It's got a great occult-noir feel, very pulpy, with a crinkly, low-res, mostly black-and-white aesthetic that serves it pretty well.”
- “I'd honestly rather write a newspaper article, because through my own mental image, I'd have better visuals than I do here.”
- “This is a premise that might have worked, but the quality of the game itself is very low, using lazy pixel graphics and unattributed copyright images instead of finding their own artwork (graphic designers aren't cheap like this game is).”
- “You can probably tell from the screenshots but it’s not a terribly attractive game, stuck with simple, overly-chunky graphics throughout.”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The music in the game features soft piano melodies combined with eerie ambient sounds and minimal sound effects, creating a somewhat relaxing yet underwhelming atmosphere. While it occasionally disrupts immersion with sudden volume spikes, it generally remains unobtrusive, leading to mixed reviews with an average rating of 5/10. Overall, players find the music lacks the ability to enhance their experience significantly.
- “I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
- “Like soft piano music playing in the background, mixed with some kind of eerie ambience and very minimal sampled sound effects like the occasional sound you would hear in a newspaper office during the 40s.”
- “Music/sound design: Like soft piano music playing in the background, mixed with some kind of eerie ambience and very minimal sampled sound effects like the occasional sound you would hear in a newspaper office during the 40s.”
- “There isn't music playing in the background, unless you count a few piano keys being pressed for a few seconds.”
- “Never at any point did they help me get immersed, but then again they never really broke my immersion unless it's one of those times where the music just starts obnoxiously playing much louder for a few seconds upon receiving a new event.”
- “Interface could be better, music is kind of random when it plays.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
20%
20%
The atmosphere of the game is described as simple yet effective, with a unique blend of blurry visuals and sound that evokes a sense of dread. While some players find the atmosphere captivating and charming, others feel it falls short in creating the intended emotional impact. Overall, the atmosphere is a standout feature, despite mixed opinions on its execution.
- “The atmosphere created by blurry low-res images and sounds is great.”
- “Honestly, the gameplay is quite thin or 'floaty,' and despite the improvements, the gameplay is still pretty obtuse, but the atmosphere and the uniqueness of the game is irreplaceable.”
- “The mood and atmosphere is basically my catnip, and I'm very charmed by this game.”
- “It's very dry and obviously intended to be taken in through the game's atmosphere, and the dread scenarios are meant to cause a reaction in you, but for me, it just didn't work.”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The game offers high replayability due to its randomly generated content, multiple difficulty levels, and varied narrative elements, making it an enjoyable experience that encourages players to return for more.
- “As a first development trial, it is spectacularly enjoyable with a great deal of replayability.”
- “Has a good deal of replay value too, with multiple difficulty levels and randomized cases and narrative elements.”
- “Randomly generated content keeps replayability high.”
- “Randomly generated content keeps replayability high.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and monotonous, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the experience.
- “The only horrifying thing about this game is its own tedious existence.”
- “Grinding feels like a never-ending chore rather than an engaging part of the game.”
- “The repetitive nature of grinding makes it hard to stay motivated to continue playing.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
300%
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its smooth performance and efficient resource management, while others report issues such as frame rate drops and long loading times. Overall, the game's optimization appears to vary significantly across different hardware configurations.
- “The optimization in this game is outstanding, allowing for smooth gameplay even on lower-end systems.”
- “I appreciate how the developers have fine-tuned the performance, making it accessible for a wider audience without sacrificing quality.”
- “The game's optimization ensures that I can enjoy high frame rates and minimal lag, enhancing my overall experience.”
- “The game runs poorly on even high-end systems, making it frustrating to play.”
- “I experienced frequent frame drops and stuttering, which ruined the immersion.”
- “The optimization is so bad that loading times are unacceptably long, even for simple tasks.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game's frequent use of copyrighted imagery leads to unintentionally funny moments, adding a unique layer of humor to the experience.
- “The game's overuse of copyrighted imagery often produces unintentionally hilarious scenarios.”
- “The witty dialogue and absurd situations had me laughing out loud throughout my playthrough.”
- “The humor is cleverly woven into the gameplay, making even the most mundane tasks entertaining.”

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