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| Game Details | Released
21 October 2005 | | Format
PS2, XBox, PC | | Developer
Headfirst |
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Call Of Cthulhu: Dark Corners Of The Earth
 Review
A hitherto untapped resource in the world of video games, H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos is the perfect backdrop for a twisted tale of Gothic horror. But in attempting to hook fans of the author’s shadowy works and a gaming audience weaned on the visceral thrills of Resident Evil, the developers have fallen short of creating the perfect Lovecraft experience.
For mood and atmosphere Dark Corners is spectacular, shunning the gratuitous gore of The Suffering and Silent Hill’s supernatural menace in favour of more traditional, psychological chills, where a pervading sense of dread comes from stumbling around dark corridors as unseen horrors shift in the shadows, and exploring a remote fishing village where the cold eyes of suspicious locals watch your every move.
Dark Corner’s scares are also enhanced by an ingenious rumble effect that makes your controller pulse and rattle in your hands as the hero’s heartbeat races, and unsettling visual devices that convey the protagonist’s slow descent into madness, making the game feel unique beside this season’s more established fright fests.
But with clichéd puzzles, bog-standard gunplay and shockingly poor voice acting that shatters the gloomy mood established by the visuals, Dark Corners will disappoint all but the hardiest Lovecraft devotee.
Reviewer: David McComb
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