

Chaos and anarchy now control the streets: the mob is the new law, madness and violence run rampant, and a cult worshipping entities known as the Great Old Ones has taken up residence just across the Miskatonic River, making excursions into Arkham proper periodically to “recruit” new members. A mysterious supernatural event known as the Black Day has caused Arkham to become cut off from the rest of the world, seemingly enshrouded by an endless void.

True to form, the game takes place in the 1920s city of Arkham, Massachusetts. While it isn’t a flawless experience and absolutely refuses to hold the player’s hand, it does manage to set itself apart by virtue of its unrelenting difficulty, all while telling a story that comes closer to Lovecraftian fiction than many of its contemporaries. This is where Cultic Games’ Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones comes in. One area we haven’t seen represented as much as expected is the traditional, hardcore RPG that emulates a tabletop session rich with narrative, interlocking gameplay systems, and tons of player choice dependent on random number generation. An Abyss of Madness and Old-School DifficultyĬthulhu has covered a lot of digital ground in recent memory, from tactical games to first-person mystery thrillers, and everything in-between.
