I'm not intimately familiar with Lovecraft's work as a writer but having played both Sinking City and CoC, . I'm starting to get the gist. It's very different from most of what we see in modern horror and while it's slower paced and more about the whole of humanity instead of our hero/heroes, I appreciate the unsettling vibe the story creates here. The slow burn is handled deftly and other than a couple of isolated incidents, the threat in Cthulu is more the deterministic conclusion that Pierce is fated to instead of the typical jump scare. But the game did have a twist or two that managed to evade me and I was impressed by that as well. The end for Pierce isn't surprising but it's more about the reveal and the sinister nature of what's really going on with the citizens of Darkwater/the Hawkins family. Call of Cthulu will be more familiar to readers of previous versions of the story but as someone who represents the uninitiated, I thought they did a good job. The only demerit I would mention is that the game features multiple endings. While I like the choose-your-own-adventure aspect, the choices you have to make to get whatever ending are so inconsequential and unimportant, you might feel cheated and it limits Cthulu's replay value. So overall the plot is suitable but the varied endings could have been constructed better.
The arc of the plot has a satisfying punch but how are the characters? Edward Pierce is your typical alcoholic and emotionally wounded private eye who just can't let go of the case when innocents could be harmed. It's a trope and while they do it well, I was disappointed that they couldn't do anything new or exciting with the characer. I know it's an established story but some added dimension for Pierce might have helped me be more interested in his survival. I was more intrigued by the Hawkins family and the local populace but once the twist is revealed, there's just not much else there. Characters like Cat Baker and Office Bradley seem like they're going to play a large part later but they just fade into the background. Why put all the work in when they're just going to be abandoned? The overall plot arc is the focus but the creative team could have done a little more to help keep the audience invested.
The last thing I want to touch upon is the gameplay and while CoC is a linear detective game, there's very little fresh or innovative. You get about what you expect for most of the game with Pierce roaming around the environment looking for evidence and you making connections between object A and object B. That side of the game functions properly but there are separate stealth sections that require Pierce to skulk around some monster or possessed person that feel so half-baked and uninteresting. The upgrade tree also has very little effect on the character and I wondered why they even bothered with it. If they wanted to make this a more expansive experience instead of just Pierce sleuthing from area to area, that could have been a solid choice. But to include those options and to only put so much effort into it feels like the worst of both worlds.
The biggest reason I picked up Call of Cthulu was to compare it to my experience playing the Sinking City. Having now played both, they grade out at about the same level but for completely different reasons. Call of Cthulu's strength is it's story and how it captures the feel of Lovecraft's work. But the characters and gameplay are a mixed bag at best and I didn't even really touch upon the graphics and atmosphere (the atmosphere is sufficiently foreboding but lacklustre graphics on the PS4, the background character designs are particularly bad). Even with the potential for different endings, I would never revisit this game. If you could transplant Call of Cthulu's story into the Sinking City's open world and give the developers a larger budget to fully flesh out their ideas, you'd be cooking with gas. But unless you're a die-hard fan of H. P.'s stories, you can let this game pass you by. I'd give it between a 6-7 and I'd round up to 7/10 overall.
