Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones

Over the past few years, it seems as though every game has had some tie to the works of famed author HP Lovecraft. We've seen countless horrifying worlds, each usually set in a twisted version of the roaring twenties, with most of these terrifying experiences making us question the limits of our horror spectrum, but have we seen all the Lovecraftian style has to offer? Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones is looking to change that perspective.

Developed by Cultic Games, Stygian is an RPG with elements of turn-based tactical combat, where the aim isn't to necessarily win, but to instead survive. Set in a 2D hand-drawn world based on 1920s archetypes, this story takes place in the doomed town of Arkham (no Batman in sight though), a city lost to the Abyss. Throughout the storyline, players will be tasked with placing their own selfish needs above all else, as they work tirelessly towards a life away from torment by solving the many mysteries the peculiar, tragic world presents, all while facing the many forms of anguish attempting to afflict them.

First of all, it's worth noting that Stygian is a narrative-based experience above all else. The title takes players on a journey around town, interacting with characters to uncover clues and solve mysteries. This means it has a profoundly slow pace, especially when your detective talents are about as sharp as a butter knife, much like ours. This style of gameplay, however, does mean the control scheme is incredibly simple to utilise.

You can get through the title by using only mouse controls, specifically pointing and clicking, even though there are options to use keyboard shortcuts here and there. Furthermore, there is no speaking, and instead each conversation is shown through the usage of subtitles, making Stygian accessible when thinking about control schemes and audio design. It's worth being aware of the themes throughout, however, as it does feature a hefty chunk of mature subjects, designed for older audiences.

Staying on the topic, perhaps the strongest part of Stygian is its branching narrative and quest design. Most conversations can be influenced by the player's decisions, meaning if you decide to insult someone or lie, the negative repercussions will likely follow, making your life exceedingly difficult, which can also work vice-versa. One example that stuck with us was when we were dealing with a particularly violent mobster. We initially attempted to sway him by suggesting we could out-drink him and therefore prey on his ego, however, somewhere along the line we misspoke, leading him to attack us, engaging the combat proceedings.

Throughout Stygian, you will have to participate in turn-based tactical combat, which we found to be quite monotonous. This system involves players managing different aspects such as character health, ability points, location, sanity, and ammunition among other things, meaning each decision is absolutely critical. When in combat, players can use a variety of attacks, from melee to ranged weaponry and even dark spells that can be used at the cost of your sanity. This does provide the opportunity to tackle each encounter in several ways, as long as you have a team that can utilise specialist skills such as magic.

The issue with this mechanic is that it's slow and requires a great deal of preparation, or else your character/allies may perish, causing you to either reload a save or restart the game from the beginning. We found a few of the combat scenarios so punishing that we just decided to leave them and come back later, which was frustrating since it meant we had to halt a questline for a considerable time.

Contrary to the feel of combat, the enemy variety is nothing to sneer at. Throughout Stygian, you will encounter mobsters, demonic creatures, powerful members of a perverse cult, and more, all of which are inspired by the works of Lovecraft. These individual enemies all have unique attacks, usually stemming from the weaponry they do or do not possess, on top of different health pools depending on their type or level. By having this variety, players have to be extra careful about the decisions they make, as you may just be playing into the strengths of an enemy type, a mistake we frequently made.

Aside from the skill set of managing and successfully engaging in combat, Stygian also requires players to maintain personal health through survival mechanics. This means that not only do you have to keep an eye on health before diving headfirst into conflict, but you have to be aware of other things such as hunger, fatigue and most importantly sanity. Unlike hunger, which can be automatically quenched by simply having rations in your inventory, sanity has to be delicately managed, else you will succumb to the Abyss and, well, die.

One of the ways to do this is to steer clear of horrific scenes such as mangled bodies, never presenting yourself with the opportunity to be affected, however, this will impede your progress. Losing sanity means you will be afflicted by some form of mental illness during a playthrough (schizophrenia was the most common for us), resulting in gameplay being altered, such as certain dialogue options being ruled out or the general perception of your character changing.

Stygian offers multiple different customisation options, some being simply cosmetic, some improving skills, and others being less desirable. At the beginning of a playthrough, you will be asked to create a character based on one of eight archetypes. These provide specific talents, and the criminal, for example, is particularly skilled in the arts of subterfuge and firearms and can level these abilities to a higher degree than the other archetypes.

Another important customisation avenue is the choice of age. You will be provided with three choices - young, middle-aged, and old - each bringing their own benefits and downfalls. Young characters have more ability points, excelling in combat, however, they lack wisdom and struggle with sanity, which is completely opposite to how elderly characters operate.

To develop characters, you can purchase new clothes in-game or loot them to tweak your appearance, and furthermore, you can improve the attributes of your character by spending skill points acquired through leveling up, therefore making you better equipped for the terrifying town of Arkham. The idea behind the character progression is a stronger capability to survive, but it's never an easy task keeping a character alive, especially when the game is designed to kill you at every turn.

Another strong part of Stygian lies in its illustrated art style. This design choice accurately reflects the madness and horrors of the title by never hesitating to conjure up some disgusting or creepy scene. Likewise, when playing, the art style and the 2D design make you feel as though you are actually playing a fairy tale, or rather a twisted and dismal version of one. The eerie soundtrack is less impressive in comparison, as it is relatively quiet, only perking up when something unnatural happens.

In conclusion, Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones is a Lovecraftian game that struggles to really set itself apart from others in the genre. Its strengths lie in the narrative and variety of customisations, which offer countless ways to approach the title, but it's let down by monotonous combat sequences that feel overtly punishing at times. With this being said, the illustrated 2D art style is well designed and the simple control scheme makes for an experience that is relatively simple to jump in and play, provided you have a knack for solving mysteries.