Still Wakes the Deep review

    STILL WAKES THE DEEP is a cosmic horror "walking simulator" that is produced by The Chinese Room (Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2). It takes place on a Scottish oil rig during the 1970s with issues like labor politics, xenophobia, and poor safety standards being background before things utterly go to hell when they do as the dwarves of Moria did and dig too deep. I am an easy sell for almost anything H.P. Lovecraft inspired and was already sold on the premise.  In 2005, I watched The Rig and also played The Iron Rig DLC for the similarly Cthulhu Mythos-esque Dredge.

    The protagonist, Caz, is an electrician who is presently on the run from the police. Having gotten into a bar fight that went too far, Chaz isn't wanted for murder but did put a guy in the hospital. Getting a job on the oil rig thanks to a friend, he is almost immediately sussed out and fired on the spot. It turns out that a shoddily maintained oil rig isn't the best place you want to bring police attention.

    This early part of the game introduces us to many of the working class stiffs on the oil rig that range from their union representative (nicknamed "Trots" because he's a little too enthusiastic about collective bargaining) and the sole woman onboard, Finley, who is as nontraditional as women in video games come being a stoic middle aged working mother.

    Despite describing this as a walking simulator, I'd argue that this is actually a full fledged video game even if the controls are somewhat simple. You do a lot of puzzle solving, platforming, and stealth throughout the game. The monsters are invincible and will instantly kill you if they lay their hands on you but the stealth is pretty forgiving. Their designs seem inspired by The Thing and are very effective but for one that looks absolutely silly. The story seems to draw a lot from The Colour out of Space as the Entity warps both the sanity as well as bodies of those involved.

    The atmosphere throughout the game is thick with tension and while significantly easier than, say, Alien: Isolation, I felt that it worked wonders. The old creaking and damaged oil rig is a place that Chaz must race around trying to keep operational long enough to evacuate. While I would have appreciated more time with the survivors, I also felt like Chaz genuinely knew all of the people that we find dead around him.

    The game is on the short side with four to five hours if you don't get stuck. There's no collectibles or sidequests but only a linear progression from area to area. I think this is a good thing rather than a bad thing because horror games benefit from shortened length so they don't wear out their welcome. Sadly, they don't learn this lesson in the DLC expansion Siren's Rest, as there's just not enough scares to justify the purchase price.

    In conclusion, Still Wakes the Deep is a great video game and one that I had a huge amount of fun playing. Chaz is an excellent protagonist and the setting is extremely creepy even before the Entity starts making it more Dead Space than Scotland. The attention to detail is so good that they actually included an option for the subtitles to translate all of the Scottish slang used by the workers. 

Available here

Dredge review

    DREDGE is a fascinating game concept and one that I deeply enjoyed but also sounds insane if you want to explain it to someone who hasn't played it. Specifically, it is an H.P. Lovecraft inspired fishing game. It is a "cozy" horror game where the picturesque cartoonish world is frequently interrupted by horrifying monsters as well as the danger of insanity. 

    Dredge's premise is pretty simple, even going beyond the description above. You are a fisherman who ends up washed up on the shores of a quaint New England fishing village on an isolated island. Your boat needs repair and the mayor offers to cover it if you go into debt by fishing for them. Eventually, you set out from the island to discover a much vaster collection of islands that have a variety of climates as well as unique threats. The history of the Fisherman and his link to the mysterious curse on the island are also revealed if you pay attention.

    The game is extremely fun and doesn't wear out its welcome. You must keep your boat in good repair, upgrade your rods, and upgrade your hull in order to continue catching frequently deformed seafood that keeps you in the black. There is also the mysterious Collector who wants you to retrieve strange relics from the bottom of the ocean. The minigame for fishing is very simple and you'll be doing it a lot. The insanity system is probably the most tension inducing as you swiftly discover that traveling at night and looking at the monsters attracts horrific abominations.

    Exploring the map is incredibly fun, even if the early game slowness of your fishing boat is incredibly frustrating. Each of the island zones have their own unique threats and the cuteness of the art makes the revelation of the truly terrifying all the more effective. One of the scariest moments of the game was when I was exploring an island atoll and discovered it was actually over the mouth of a gigantic monster.

    The game really does its atmosphere well and everything from the soundtrack to the characters builds a tension that never fully disipates. As a fisherman, you don't really have any ways to defend yourself against the monsters outside and going insane is an ever present threat. The only way to keep your panic down is to take regular rests and that's impossible on the open waves. There's sidequests throughout the story and two DLC campaigns but I admit I liked the main game most.

    In conclusion, Dredge is a fun and entertaining game that surprisingly manages to maintain the HP Lovecraft feel despite being about, well, fishing. There's themes of madness, cursed ancestry, degenerative inhumanity, and ancient horrors beyond the scope of man. I also feel like the God of the Deep in the "bad" ending is probably the best portrayal of Cthulhu we've seen since it fully encapsulates just how huge the mountain that walks is. Definitely recommended.

Available here

Eldritch Prisoners edited by David Hambling review

    ELDRITCH PRISONERS is a cosmic horror anthology edited by David Hambling and containing a variety of other Neo-Mythos authors. It is the sixth installment of the Books of Cthulhu series, which started with the Tales of the Al-Azif novel, continued with Tales of Yog-Sothoth, and is still ongoing as of the writing of this review.

    The Books of Cthulhu series are a pulpier more adventure-coded version of the Cthulhu Mythos with the horror element still present but usually downgraded to something that the protagonists can deal with (even at considerable cost). They also tend to tie into other series like Cthulhu Reloaded, Harry Stubbs, and the Andrew Doran novels.

    The premise for Eldritch Prisoners is that it is a collection of novellas dealing with being held prisoner by eldritch forces. Not all of these stories do a great job of tying with this theme but I enjoyed all of them nevertheless. While technically a horror anthology, they’re much like Lovecraft’s work itself in that it also nicely fits into fantasy and science fiction categories. You don’t have to read any of the main series or the tie-in series to enjoy the book either.

    The first story is “Broken Singularity” by David Conyers, which stars his Australian Special Forces protagonist, Harrison Peel (or does it?). Harrison has found himself kidnapped from the Earth and transported through space/time to a space station overlooking a black hole. All of the other prisoners are from later points in time where humanity has merged with machines until they’re unrecognizable. This story is spread throughout the anthology and provides a bittersweet ending that ties it altogether.

    “The Prisoner from Beyond” by Matthew Davenport is probably my favorite of the stories and the closest to the pulpy occult adventures of the other Books of Cthulhu. Basically, a pair of “Esoteric Cavalrymen” working for Coolidge are sent to investigate a town that is being held prisoner by a supernatural force. The protagonists are pretty relatable as they find themselves way in over their heads facing things beyond mortal comprehension.

    “Body Snatchers” by David Hambling is a tie-in to the Harry Stubbs series. Harry Stubbs is a 1920s boxer turned detective with a past as a WW1 veteran. As the title of the story proclaims, Harry has to deal with someone stealing the bodies of other individuals before leaving them imprisoned as madmen in asylums. A straight-up occult adventure and one that I really enjoyed as the Stubbs series is fantastic for incorporating RL history and occult facts.

    “Leng’s Labyrinth” by John A. DeLaughter is the most complicated of the stories and a crisscross quilt pattern of Cthulhu Mythos references ranging from “Rats in the Walls” to “Into the Mountains of Madness.” There’s the military industrial complex, French catacombs, VR, cults, and so more that turns this into a kind of Lovecraftian Dan Brown novel. I didn’t always follow it but I enjoyed the ambition of the project.

    In conclusion, Eldritch Prisoners is a solid and entertaining anthology with some great work by people working into the century-old mythology of Howard Phillips Lovecraft. I think this is a good introduction for some of these authors as well. They’re not always well tied to the theme of imprisonment and I wouldn’t have minded some more shorter stories but it’s still a pretty good accomplishment.

Available here

The Ravening Deep (Arkham Horror) by Tim Pratt

    THE RAVENING DEEP is the first volume of the Sanford Files that develops the character of archvillain Carl Sanford from the Arkham Horror (and Call of Cthulhu before it) games. Despite this being named after him, Carl plays a relatively small role in the book. Instead, the stars are Ruby Standish, Diana Travelers, and Abel Davenport. Two out of three being pre-established Investigators from the Arkham Horror card game.

    The premise is Abel Davenport (who I suspect is named after Cthulhu Mythos fiction author Matthew Davenport) finds a magical amulet that briefly makes him the prophet of a new Great Old One named Asterias (“Starfish”). Abel swiftly finds himself overthrown because he’s not evil enough to run a proper cult and is replaced by his inhuman clone, Cain. Wandering into the best place possible, Abel finds an unlikely ally in Diane Travelers who is not only an occult expert but also determined to stop the forces of darkness herself.

    Meanwhile, Ruby Standish is a cat burglar similar to Countess Zorzi and even predates her in the card game. However, Ruby doesn’t quite have the same level of charm as the Countess, though. Working for the starfish clones, called comets in-universe, she swiftly realizes that they are not people to trusted. This results in another coincidence where she ends up rescued by Diana and setting herself up against Asterias.

    Carl Sanford plays a relatively minor role as the heroes’ unlikely ally. Unlike the original Shadows of Yog-Sothoth, where Carl is someone who wants to awaken Cthulhu to destroy the world, this one is quite devoted to preventing that. He even quotes The Tick that the Earth is where he keeps his stuff (and props to Tim Pratt for that reference). Having an evil teammate is something more Call of Cthulhu/Arkham Horror games should have so I approve but his portrayal doesn’t give us much insight into the character.

    For the most part, it is a fairly self-contained plot as Asterias’ plan to take over the world is still in its early stages. He’s more interested in doing all of his criminal activities within Arkham, Massachusetts versus a globe trotting adventure. We also get to see the Silver Twilight Lodge from the inside a great deal, which I found to be amusing. Basically, we have to hope the guys defenses hold up for once because they’re being invaded by someone even worse.

    I appreciate the creation of a new Great Old One and his cult of monsters rather than just using preexisting ones but I can’t say that I like Asterias that much. He’s a little too much Starro and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Still, I’m not going to begrudge the author because it was an, overall, entertaining book from beginning to end. Do I recommend it? Yes, I do.

Available here 

Art from upcoming The Rules of Supervillainy comic

We're working on a graphic novel for THE RULES OF SUPERVILLAINY with expectations for a Kickstarter around early 2026. We've already got some art coming up for Gary's adventures.

Alone in the Dark (2024) review

    ALONE IN THE DARK (2024) is a survival horror video game that reboots the seminal horror franchise. The original Alone in the Dark predated even the original Resident Evil and established the exploration of a haunted house with private detective Edward Carnby along with socialite Emily Hartwood. It also incorporated elements from H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos before they were as common as black clothing on Goths.

    As a huge fan of survival horror games and the Cthulhu Mythos, I was very excited about this game but am only now getting to review the work. I was also excited by the fact the reboot would star David Harbour as Edward and Jodie Corner as Emily. Really, I think both of them would have been good in a movie version. Certainly, it would have been better than the Uwe Boll version.

    The premise is that Emily has recruited Edward to help bring her uncle Jeremy back from the asylum that he is committed to. She has received a mysterious letter that indicates something sinister is afoot there. Upon arrival, they are surprised to find that the asylum seems to be a warm well-lit location full of lovable eccentrics than some sort of hellhouse. This sense of comfort swiftly dissapates, though, and the pair soon find themselves wandering between pocket dimensions full of monsters as Jeremy attempts to warn them away from whatever dark secret is affecting Decerto manor.

    Essentially, the game functions a great deal like Resident Evil 2. You wander around the mansion picking up ammunition, healing items, and keys inbetween solving simple puzzles. Sometimes you have to deal with the strange monsters that are half-plant, half-zombie. Combat is extremely simple with a pistol, shotgun, Tommy Gun, and melee weapon as your options during it. The melee weapons are breakable and you have a simple dodge button. Honestly, it's all very basic and not terribly difficult to master. The trick is not to run out of ammunition and being able to reload fast enough to take down enemies.

    The real heart of the game is the exploration as you follow the various clues scattered around the mansion before moving to your next room. The puzzles are a bit on the simple side but a few of them jump in difficulty and rely on things like astrology that I have almost no experience with. There's also the quest for forbidden knowledge items that can't be completed on a single run with the total of them requiring you to play the second game as the other player character. There's only two bosses in the entire game and I managed to beat them within a couple of tries.

    If it seems like I'm running the game down, I'm not. I like a light easy experience but it does play into the game's biggest flaw: it's not scary. It's far closer to PG-13 than R and while it does get more menacing in the latter quarter of the game, I feel like it should have probably started there. Too many of the characters are on the cutesy side and the art style doesn't help, being somewhat cartoonish contrasting against the protagonist's scanned faces. It creates an unintentional uncanny valley, though.

    The use of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos and the 1920s Louisiana setting, though, really elevates this game, though. It's not just some scattered references to HPL's work here and there but a broad collection of them that tickled me every time I found one. The accents aren't always perfect but the developers made an effort to incorporate history from the Depression, Civil War, Prohibition, and Jazz eras. The characters may be a bit too goofy for a horror movie experience but all of them are memorable and enjoyable to deal with, which is a rare thing in video games. I actually wish the 7-8 hour game was longer so I could interact with them more.

    In conclusion, I really enjoyed Alone in the Dark (2024). It's not a spectacular experience like Resident Evil 2 or Silent Hill 2's remake but it is a fun and immersive video game that I enjoyed. Its biggest flaws are they could have gone harder on the horror and it's a little too easy (amping up the difficulty won't fix the puzzles ease). If you're a fan of 1920s Cthulhu Mythos fiction like the classic Call of Cthulhu, this will be absolutely up your alley.

Available here 

Space Academy Dropouts is free from December 3rd to 8th

SPACE ACADEMY DROPOUTS is available for free from December 3rd to December 8th. Enjoy the adventures of the galaxy's worst crew that are, sadly, are only hope. 

https://www.amazon.com/Space-Academy-Dropouts-C-Phipps-ebook/dp/B09Q1MS51G/

FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE SUPERVILLAINY SAGA:

"Boldly going because they're completely lost."

The newly renamed Vance Turbo has sabotaged his own career at Space Fleet Academy due to a desire to atone for a training accident. Unfortunately, his actions result in him getting press-ganged into an expendable crew of misfits recruited by a legendary starship captain. Their mission? To recover a collection of lost sun-destroying missiles that could restart a galactic war. Unfortunately, Vance is smart enough to know something is wrong with this picture. After all, no sane person would recruit this crew to save the universe.

SPACE ACADEMY DROPOUTS is an all-new series from the hilarious duo of C.T. Phipps (Supervillainy Saga, Agent G) and Michael Suttkus (I Was a Teenage Weredeer, Lucifer's Star) that lampoons the space opera as well as military science fiction genres.