Lovecraft's Untold Stories
- June 3, 2019
- LLC Blini Games
- 11h median play time
Get on Steam"Lovecraft's Untold Stories" is a rogue-lite action game based on the horror stories of H.P. Lovecraft. Players explore randomly generated levels filled with cultists and monsters from the Mythos, improving weapons and gear, solving puzzles, and uncovering clues to defeat the Great Old Ones. The game features multiple characters, each with their own investigations and unique levels.
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Reviews
- The game features captivating pixel art and a well-crafted atmosphere that immerses players in the Lovecraftian theme.
- The gameplay offers a mix of challenging combat and exploration, with various characters that provide unique playstyles and abilities.
- The incorporation of Lovecraftian lore and references throughout the game enhances the experience for fans of the genre.
- The game can be excessively difficult, with some encounters feeling unfair due to overwhelming enemy numbers and status effects.
- The lack of a save feature and the need to restart levels upon death can lead to frustration, especially in longer levels.
- Some gameplay mechanics, such as hit detection and enemy AI, can feel clunky and unrefined, detracting from the overall experience.
- gameplay101 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising its fun and challenging mechanics, diverse character abilities, and engaging atmosphere, while others criticize it for being overly punishing, repetitive, and clunky. Players have noted issues with the sanity and bleed mechanics, which can detract from the experience, as well as a lack of balance and polish in combat and exploration. Overall, while the game offers intriguing ideas and a rich Lovecraftian setting, many feel that its execution falls short, leading to a frustrating gameplay experience.
“Top notch pixel art, fun and challenging gameplay, exquisite Lovecraftian lore, and tons of content!”
“The gameplay is great, as it provides several different characters with different traits and abilities, different weapons, and unique items to be used for different scenarios, ultimately creating a great, fun run-and-gun experience.”
“The core gameplay mechanics are solid, and the content is definitely not lacking.”
“Enemies get way too spongy (played on normal difficulty), some items are almost required, else you die way too quick. Levels are way too big and gameplay becomes really repetitive.”
“Very punishing gameplay where everything that can kill you will, and everything that can't will still find a way to.”
“The gameplay loop in every area felt tedious and this isn't even an action-roguelite.”
- story86 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 73 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story is a mixed bag, with many praising its Lovecraftian themes and atmosphere, while others criticize its convoluted narrative and frustrating gameplay mechanics that hinder exploration and lore engagement. Players appreciate the depth and variety offered by multiple character storylines, but find the overall plot hard to follow and lacking cohesion, often feeling overwhelmed by the game's mechanics and repetitive nature. Despite its intriguing premise, the execution leaves much to be desired, leading to a disjointed experience that may alienate those unfamiliar with Lovecraft's works.
“The game is really good, interesting Lovecraftian plot ideal for fans of the master of horror.”
“The story and atmosphere are excellent.”
“Amazing Lovecraftian story-rich game, it has a lot of lore and the pixel art is beautiful.”
“Play until you beat the detective's story, then uninstall and never play again; it saves you from experiencing more madness and insanity than Lovecraft could ever imagine.”
“Any time you try to learn what's going on or learn the story of the game, you take horror damage.”
“The plot also introduces choices in the game that essentially don't matter and really just confound what is going on within the storyline; there definitely was a better way to approach this side of things.”
- atmosphere52 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its captivating graphics, immersive sound design, and strong Lovecraftian themes, creating a sense of dread and tension throughout. Many players appreciate the combination of eerie visuals and haunting music, which effectively enhances the overall experience, despite some criticism regarding repetitive elements and clunky gameplay. Overall, the atmosphere is considered the game's standout feature, successfully evoking feelings of horror and mystery.
“But the music, atmosphere, writing, imagery, and the pending sense of certain doom approaching after playing for 2 hours knowing suddenly you could possibly and probably will at any moment be ripped to pieces by hordes of horrific monstrosities or be exposed to cosmic horrors beyond your comprehension causing you to lose your mind and go completely insane ending it all almost instantly with no warning or real understanding of why and losing everything is very Lovecraftian.”
“The pixel graphics somehow work just perfectly with the subject matter, and the music only immerses you even further into the atmosphere.”
“The combined music and sound effects really complement the foreboding atmospheric vibe of this game.”
“All story and atmosphere is tossed aside for a stupid button smash kill everything top down shooter.”
“This game is 100% art and atmosphere, and 0% content or gameplay.”
“There are a lot of chilling visuals in the game, not going deeper than the mansion, blood-filled rooms really set the atmosphere for the game, bone altars, dead bodies, statues, everything is made to give you some chills.”
- graphics43 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 51 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their captivating pixel art style, which effectively conveys a Lovecraftian atmosphere and enhances the overall experience. Many reviewers highlight the attention to detail in the visuals, with some noting that the aesthetic complements the dark themes and sound design beautifully. However, there are mixed opinions regarding visibility and clarity, as some players found elements too well-hidden within the pixelated environments.
“The graphics change, and the threat changes; it represents a lot of creativity.”
“Wonderfully graphically realized in glorious grotesque pixel art, captures the essence of Lovecraft fiction whilst being a challenging frantic arcade experience.”
“The amount of work and detail put into pixel artwork for every environment, character, item, and enemy is definitely praiseworthy.”
“Muddled graphics.”
“The graphics and controls combined to give me a headache in mere moments.”
“No graphical clues on multiple elements that would need them.”
- music28 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its atmospheric qualities, effectively enhancing the Lovecraftian themes and creating a sense of dread. However, many reviewers noted that the soundtrack can be repetitive and lacks variety, particularly during intense gameplay moments. Overall, while the music contributes significantly to the immersive experience, some players feel it could benefit from more depth and variation.
“But overall, its graphics are captivating and convey the atmosphere well, and the soundtrack complements it all perfectly.”
“The art and music are all evocative of the deep dread that should be present in any mythos-inspired game.”
“The combined music and sound effects really complement the foreboding atmospheric vibe of this game.”
“My only real complaint is the soundtrack isn't fleshed out.”
“The music is atmospheric yes but doesn't change at all during fights and can be pretty monotonous.”
“The bad: controls are janky even with mouse and keyboard, the hazards areas and enemies are difficult to read due to cluttered screens and fast pace, the music is forgettable, the map design nonsensical, the difficulty spikes quickly after the first chapter, and even on easy mode I only got to chapter 3.”
- grinding15 mentions
- 7 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 93 % negative mentions
Players consistently criticize the grinding aspect of the game, describing it as tedious and repetitive, particularly after the early levels. The reliance on RNG for rewards and the limited save points exacerbate the frustration, leading to a gameplay experience that feels more like a chore than an enjoyable challenge. Overall, the grinding mechanics detract significantly from the game's potential, overshadowing its otherwise appealing design.
“Also, I'm playing on easy and still can't get far without grinding my fingers into the keyboard because of the terrible RNG.”
“The game gets tedious after the second level, and the tedium only grows as you realize that this is just what the whole game is going to be, the developers stripping you of being allowed to enjoy their otherwise beautiful, carefully crafted, and lovingly made game, all for the sake of it being 'hard'.”
“Not having fast travel will mean you spend quite a bit of time tediously backtracking through rooms you've already visited.”
- replayability14 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability due to its procedurally generated environments, multiple playable characters, and various easter eggs. While some players find certain aspects artificially inflate replay value, many appreciate the unique experiences offered in each playthrough. The combination of a challenging start and a Lovecraftian atmosphere further enhances its lasting appeal.
“I'm having so much fun with this, great replayability, lots of cool easter eggs, all the things to love in a rogue-like with a well-crafted Lovecraftian world.”
“Each game instance seems to change randomly, which makes it very replayable.”
“Other people may be able to enjoy it, but I find that it is an artificial way to increase replayability.”
“It is important to note that the world is entirely randomly generated, which gives the game a high level of replay value.”
“If you can get past the initial challenge, the game is procedurally generated, which by itself adds a lot of replay value to the game.”
- stability5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including numerous glitches, buggy hitboxes, and problematic inventory management, which detract from the overall experience. Players have reported frustrating control changes and a lack of helpful information, indicating that the game requires substantial improvements before it can be considered polished.
“It is like a souls-like game in the aspect of difficulty, even if some of that is from your controls changing without you changing them yourself, buggy hitboxes/hurtboxes, incredibly high item use requirement for different status effects, and lack of available information on the game.”
“After just a few hours, I have encountered all kinds of glitches and issues; there is a lot of work to be done, even if the game is promising.”
“The UI needs work with inventory management being buggy right now (equipping items seems bugged); also, the controls are kind of annoying and the main reason I've died so far.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The optimization aspect of the game has received mixed feedback, with some players noting that certain encounters, particularly the shoggoth boss fight, require specific DPS optimizations to succeed, which can feel frustrating and arbitrary. This focus on optimization detracts from character development and narrative engagement, as players are forced to prioritize mechanical efficiency over exploring the game's story and character dynamics.
“In the shoggoth boss fight and some of the regular encounters, the shoggoths spawn at such a rate that their reproduction can outpace your DPS unless you specifically optimized for this exact situation.”
“Here, you're four hours deep and you get a pointless DPS optimization gate.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is well-received, with players finding it genuinely funny and comparable to the comedic elements found in Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu tabletop games. Overall, it adds an enjoyable layer to the gameplay experience.
“Funny game, I like it! ^^”
“Funny enough, the closest comparison I can think of is Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu tabletop games.”
- character development1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Many users feel that the game lacks sufficient character development, suggesting that deeper exploration of the characters could have enhanced the overall experience.
“However, I feel this game could have benefited from more character development.”
“The characters lack depth and their arcs feel rushed and unconvincing.”
“I was disappointed by the static nature of the characters; they didn't evolve throughout the story.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users find the emotional aspect of the game engaging, as it evokes a sense of nostalgia and connection to traditional pen-and-paper campaigns, enhancing the overall experience without revealing too much of the plot.
“Without spoiling too much, it is a telegram that made me feel like I was starting another campaign in the pen-and-paper version.”
“The emotional depth of the characters truly resonated with me, making every decision feel weighty and impactful.”
“I was genuinely moved by the storyline; it tugged at my heartstrings and left a lasting impression.”
