Review / DESOLATIUM (PS4)

I’m a big fan of the Lovecraft mythos. For those of you who don’t know what this is, it’s an evolving and expanding library of works originally started by H.P. Lovecraft and his contemporaries that is still growing today. Many of you will have heard of the Call of Cthulhu but this is a very small part of a much bigger picture. The basic premise, (very basic, I don’t have time for a thesis,) is that powerful alien beings far too hideous and godlike for mortal minds to comprehend are pulling the strings, and reality as we know it is just a veneer. This is a world of cults, monsters, and cosmic horror. It’s also one that relies on subtlety and psychological trickery to really get the feeling of dread across. This isn’t about, gory, jump-scare-filled shock horror, and that’s something I really like. This being said, I’m always elated when something comes along that expands this mythos and when it’s a videogame I absolutely have to get involved. When I saw DESOLATIUM enter the office I had to give it a go and let you lovely lot know my findings. I’ve been playing the PS4 version of the game but if you’re interested you should be able to find it on your favourite console device.

Everything Lovecraftian relies on really carefully crafted storytelling. This is a genre that has mastered the sting in the tale and if the narrative isn’t up to scratch everything just falls a bit flat. This being said we also want a lot of rather nasty surprises revealed along the way and as such I’m not going to start telling you anything about the plot of this game. Spoilers are really going to affect your enjoyment, they won’t just be a little annoyance. What I will say is that some of the storytelling so far leaves a lot to be desired. The whole point for me of a well-written mythos tale is that it doesn’t tell you it’s a mythos tale. It’s more of a case of if you know, you know. This was my first bugbear with DESOLATIUM.

One of the very first conversations I had in this game was with a security guard who told me he was part of a cult. Unfortunately, this just came over as a bit of an eye-roll. The entire point of being in a secret society is that you don’t tell anyone you’re in one and most cult members wouldn’t even say they were in a cult because if they know they’re in one it’s not a cult it’s a secret society. If they’re in a secret society … you catch my drift. It was a bit like screaming I’m Lovecraftian without any of the subtly required. I found this to be the biggest downfall of this title. Everything was a bit too obvious. That doesn’t mean the story wasn’t good in its own way but this is a very specific style of writing and fans picking the game up will be looking for something quite stylized. If you’re new to the mythos you’ll have fewer gripes with this but for fans, it’s something that can’t be overlooked.

DESOLATIUM sees the player taking the roles of four characters each with their own interconnecting stories. You’ll play them separately but they’re all part of the same overarching narrative. The gameplay is point-and-click and will see you traveling from scene to scene looking for clues and using the items you find to solve puzzles. For this style of game, this is absolutely fine as the gameplay is more of a vehicle for the story. You’ll also have conversations with NPCs that will expand the plot and reveal clues as you go. The problem here isn’t the gameplay, it’s simplistic in nature to help the story shine through. The problem is that the story is lacking so this isn’t really having the desired effect.

In addition to what I’ve just mentioned they’re going heavy on the Lovecraftian lore and in and of itself, this isn’t a bad thing. It’s more down to how they’re doing it. We should be discovering the mythos as a slow drip feed. In literally two minutes of gameplay, I saw Dagon and Innsmouth mentioned alongside Cthulhu, Azathoth, and Carcossa. This felt like hitting the genre over the head with a sledgehammer. Dagon and Innsmouth are linked so that’s fine and would make a really good plot element on their own. Azathoth is an entity that wants to eat everything and is bloody scary but a bit unrelated, Cthulhu is fine as an either/or, and Carcossa is the setting of The King in Yellow, which is a play and although Lovecraftian didn’t need mentioning here. Any of these elements are the foundation for a great story and they all link to the mythos in their own ways but not really in the setting of this game and definitely not like this. For a fan, it’s a tad heavy-handed and for a newcomer, it’s just plain confusing.

Graphically DESOLATIUM is a bit of a mixed bag. I like some of the artistic choices in that certain elements of this game look like something straight out of a graphic novel. The levels themselves, however, are pretty bland. I understand that the devs have likely gone for a realistic approach but it often feels like you’re walking around a 3d  rendered photograph. This might help realism but it doesn’t do anything for the eerie, fantastical elements that make a Lovecraftian tale really stand out. I didn’t get the vibe I was hoping for and this is a shame. The music playing along in the background is eerie but a bit repetitive and started to grate on me after a while.

For a game that relies a lot on its dialogue, DESOLATIUM missed the mark on its voice acting. It’s not good when you’re playing through a visual novel and you’re skipping bits because you’ve switched off. It’s all just way too monotone for my liking. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not expecting the earth but the characters have to be likable for you to root for them. They aren’t and I really wasn’t.

I really wanted to love DESOLATIUM. It’s clearly been written by people who love the mythos too. The elements for a really good story are there but it feels like they’ve been handled rather roughly. What makes the genre really likable is the “show, don’t tell,” approach it takes to the narrative. It felt like all the imaginative work was being done for me and I stopped enjoying myself quite early on. With a game like this, you have to be drawn in and you have to stay hooked. I wasn’t interested enough to see where the story went to keep playing and this is sad because this could have been a really exciting new venture into a mythos that I really love.  If you’re willing to overlook a plot that in my opinion is a little bit shoddy and you’re just looking for a new story to get involved in I’d give DESOLATIUM a go. If you’re a fan of Lovecraft looking for a brand new tale to nerd out over I think there are other games out there doing it far better than this.