There aren’t enough games that feature Cthulhu or the other works of H.P. Lovecraft, the spindly, racist nerd that introduced the world to cosmic horror.
There also aren’t enough games that feature Cthulhu reluctantly stepping up to save the world as opposed to destroying it, like a tentacled John McClane facing down a German Alan Rickman. This is so he can then destroy said world, because fuck German Alan Rickman. That bastard killed Dumbledore.
Thankfully, the world now has Cthulhu Saves the World.
If it’s not obvious by now, I’m writing this while consuming just enough Jack Daniels to be Charming. This is also how I played the game Cthulhu Saves the World for my new column Adventures in Drunk Gaming that I will probably never revisit because while writing this sentence I leveled up to Angry Drunk and FUCK THE NEW TEEN WOLF, FUCK IT RIGHT IN IT’S FAT NECK!!!!
But I digress. Cthulhu Saves the World was developed for the Xbox Live Indie Marketplace by Zeboyd games, a small developer that has so far specialized in old school RPGs that fill nerds with nostalgic juices. These juices are potent and if harvested correctly, can be used to make Marmite.
The game sells for less than $5 when you convert it from Xbox Live Fun Money, which isn’t too bad for a game that actually feels more polished than something like Final Fantasy XIII.
The game opens up with Cthulhu doing stuff. Then he for some reason decides to become a hero so he can get back his powers and destroy the world. A girl also becomes his groupie along the way. He might have tricked the bad guy by taping a gun to his back at one point, but I think that’s Die Hard again.
Anyway, the game plays like absolutely any old school RPG ever made. What sets it apart is that you can actually drive enemies insane for different strategic effects. This can also backfire as some enemies become stupidly more powerful while insane.
The dialogue is also legitimately funny, not just drunk “laugh at everything” funny. Cthulhu is a fish out of water that desperately wants to eviscerate everyone around him, but he can’t because of a curse that is never explained. Comedy!
Cthulhu Saves the World is pretty great considering the price and that three people made it. As a drunk man that’s currently regretting a lot of life decisions, I give it a B out of 10.
