Codex Review RPG Codex Review: Stygian Reign of the Old Ones

[Comte]

Thanks for doing this Roguey. I hope you didn't lose SAN points. Has there ever been a good CRPG that used the Cthulhu mythos? I played Cthulhu saves the world, but that doesn't really count and was only enjoyable for the tongue-and-cheek novelty.

Darkest Dungeon?

Thats one shit game. UBER GRIND

I totally agree man its a grindfest but I believe its the most successful cthulu like game

 

[Iluvcheezcake]

Thanks for doing this Roguey. I hope you didn't lose SAN points. Has there ever been a good CRPG that used the Cthulhu mythos? I played Cthulhu saves the world, but that doesn't really count and was only enjoyable for the tongue-and-cheek novelty.

Darkest Dungeon?

Thats one shit game. UBER GRIND

I totally agree man its a grindfest but I believe its the most successful cthulu like game

That it is. Shame tho

 

[V_K]

We'll see how Skald turns out - it's technically dark fantasy but with thick mythos vibe.
(That said, I don't consider Stygian a bad game, they can still turn it into a great one with a few patches and dlcs)

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

I just read "The Thing on the Doorstep" cause of this post, and holy shit was it good. I see now why people always hyped up H.P Lovecraft. Any other short story suggestions?

Best stories of H.P. Lovecraft, in more-or-less chronological order, with the very best stories in bold:
The White Ship
The Doom That Came to Sarnath
The Cats of Ulthar
The Music of Erich Zann
The Lurking Fear
The Rats in the Walls
Under the Pyramids
The Temple
The Outsider
The Colour out of Space
The Call of Cthulhu
Cool Air
The Silver Key
The Whisperer in the Darkness
At the Mountains of Madness
The Shadow over Innsmouth
The Shadow out of Time
The Haunter of the Dark
The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath

 

[Grauken]

Good review Roguey

 

[Tyranicon]

Good review, convinced me to not get this game. Is it that hard to ask that someone get a lovecraftian rpg right?

Hell I know some code and have clipart laying around. Ill be back in a few years with my own heap of fail.

 

[MurkyShadow]

Spoiler

I reread all my Lovecraft collections in anticipation of this so I can state with certainty that in addition to The Thing on the Doorstep these are my favorite Lovecraft stories:

The Statement of Randolph Carter
The Picture in the House
Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family
The Outsider
The Rats in the Walls (based cat)
The Festival
Cool Air
The Call of Cthulhu
Pickman's Model
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
The Colour Out of Space
The Dunwich Horror
The Whisperer in Darkness
The Shadow over Innsmouth
The Dreams in the Witch House

And my favorite stories that he ghostwrote for other people (resulting in edgier tales and stories where women actually play a prominent role (!)):

The Curse of Yig
The Last Test
The Man of Stone
Medusa's Coil (based Marceline)
The Mound
Winged Death

Hmm . The complete works of Lovecraft ( released in here as a 3 books series ) are sitting on my bookshelf . Maybe i should start reading them .

Alternatively i recommend the audio books narrated by Wayne June.

I got em all on audible. Some of them sometimes surface on YT.

The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society has some stuff that sounds interesting.
It can be found under [http://www.hplhs.org/dart.ph ]

I know them from their music stuff, like A very scary solstice.
Play it on Christmas, and see if your family recognizes the
differing lyrics under the familiar theme. ;-)

Has anyone tried one of their dark adventure radio plays?

Anyways, what I take away from the thread:
Stygian Reign of the Old Ones - Rather pull out your Lovecraft books and reread them ...at least for now

 

[Grunker]

I just read "The Thing on the Doorstep" cause of this post, and holy shit was it good. I see now why people always hyped up H.P Lovecraft. Any other short story suggestions?

I reread all my Lovecraft collections in anticipation of this so I can state with certainty that in addition to The Thing on the Doorstep these are my favorite Lovecraft stories:

The Statement of Randolph Carter
The Picture in the House
Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family
The Outsider
The Rats in the Walls (based cat)
The Festival
Cool Air
The Call of Cthulhu
Pickman's Model
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
The Colour Out of Space
The Dunwich Horror
The Whisperer in Darkness
The Shadow over Innsmouth
The Dreams in the Witch House

And my favorite stories that he ghostwrote for other people (resulting in edgier tales and stories where women actually play a prominent role (!)):

The Curse of Yig
The Last Test
The Man of Stone
Medusa's Coil (based Marceline)
The Mound
Winged Death

rats in the walls is my fave. totes amaze

 

[MRY]

Looks like the Steam reviews are finally turning a corner. It was pushed to the very brink of 60% but is rallying back. Metacritic reviews are very high (slightly higher than AOD, which itself did quite well). Seems like with a solid patch or two they could have a winner on their hands.

 

[Dickie]

Looks like the Steam reviews are finally turning a corner. It was pushed to the very brink of 60% but is rallying back. Metacritic reviews are very high (slightly higher than AOD, which itself did quite well). Seems like with a solid patch or two they could have a winner on their hands.

Where do they gotta get to get out of the "Mixed" descriptor? I read somewhere it's 70%, if I recall. Seems like a long way to go.

 

[MRY]

70. If they go below 60 it’s negative.

 

[Fenix]

70. If they go below 60 it’s negative.

Are you, noble developer going to play Disco Elysium? If it isn't a secret.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

Looks like the Steam reviews are finally turning a corner. It was pushed to the very brink of 60% but is rallying back. Metacritic reviews are very high (slightly higher than AOD, which itself did quite well). Seems like with a solid patch or two they could have a winner on their hands.

They should release the game on early access and use the funds to finish the game. Buggy incomplete games on the release deserve negative reviews.

 

[MRY]

70. If they go below 60 it’s negative.

Are you, noble developer going to play Disco Elysium? If it isn't a secret.

The question that is troubling me is whether to wait a couple of years until it is polished, or play it now.

Looks like the Steam reviews are finally turning a corner. It was pushed to the very brink of 60% but is rallying back. Metacritic reviews are very high (slightly higher than AOD, which itself did quite well). Seems like with a solid patch or two they could have a winner on their hands.

They should release the game on early access and use the funds to finish the game. Buggy incomplete games on the release deserve negative reviews.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I haven't played it, and I can't judge it. But I know that many RPGs that I really love were made much, much better by post-release patches (AOD, V:TM:B, Arcanum, Dark Sun: Shattered Lands all come immediately to mind, but I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting).

 

[Fenix]

The question that is troubling me is whether to wait a couple of years until it is polished, or play it now.

Play in now! At worst - start TOMORROW! Cheers!

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

I haven't played it, and I can't judge it. But I know that many RPGs that I really love were made much, much better by post-release patches (AOD, V:TM:B, Arcanum, Dark Sun: Shattered Lands all come immediately to mind, but I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting).

But there is a difference between improvement and completion. Take AoD, for example. The game was already pretty polished on early access. I know because I played extensively before release and didn’t face a single bug. Now imagine if AoD was release missing half the game, with game-breaking bugs, etc., under the false pretense of being a complete game. I’m positive that you would never release your own game that way.

 

[MRY]

I haven't played it, and I can't judge it. But I know that many RPGs that I really love were made much, much better by post-release patches (AOD, V:TM:B, Arcanum, Dark Sun: Shattered Lands all come immediately to mind, but I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting).

But there is a difference between improvement and completion. Take AoD, for example. The game was already pretty polished on early access. I know because I played extensively before release and didn’t face a single bug. Now imagine if AoD was release missing half the game, with game-breaking bugs, etc., under the false pretense of being a complete game. I’m positive that you would never release your own game that way.

Well, it's just a hobby for me, and because both my burn rate and expected sales are pretty trivial, I can keep this circus going until my heart gives out.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

Well, it's just a hobby for me, and because both my burn rate and expected sales are pretty trivial, I can keep this circus going until my heart gives out.

But that's the thing. You say it is just a hobby for you, but everything you post and release about your game is top quality. You come across, perhaps unintentionally, as an old school pro with a clear vision and high standards. I'm not sucking up to you. That's a fact. There is a difference in quality and it is palpable. Quality should be the main imperative and everything else, including other problems and lack of funding, should be planned around it. Besides, you also mentioned Arcanum and VtM:B, but they were released at different times, under strenuous circumstances. I believe that nowadays, Troika would make a much better game, with publishers or not.

 

[VioletShadow]

Good job Roguey! I got to the bank and dropped it. Meh, what a disappointment...

 

[Fenix]

Agree, I saw comments that Numazuma sucks but those meres (or what was it's their name) was/were FUN.

 

[MRY]

That's all very kind. I don't think I'm an old school developer. To me, they were both polymaths and visionaries in a way that I am not. I'm no good coder, and hardly have their knack for design, but more importantly, the extent of what I dream of creating is an incremental outgrowth of old ideas. It's kind of crazy to think that back in the day, there were actually dudes not just making X-Com, Starflight, Ultima, King's Quest, what have you, but inventing those games. They were prophets and evangelists; I aspire at best to be a diligent monk transcribing their words and adding some marginalia, miniatures, and initials.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

That's all very kind. I don't think I'm an old school developer. To me, they were both polymaths and visionaries in a way that I am not. I'm no good coder, and hardly have their knack for design, but more importantly, the extent of what I dream of creating is an incremental outgrowth of old ideas. It's kind of crazy to think that back in the day, there were actually dudes not just making X-Com, Starflight, Ultima, King's Quest, what have you, but inventing those games. They were prophets and evangelists; I aspire at best to be a diligent monk transcribing their words and adding some marginalia, miniatures, and initials.

I know that I can’t prove that, but I have the suspicion that older developers have superior formative experiences. The difference in quality in their references compared to the recent crop is like night and day. I don’t even think that most of them even played as much as the older guys. There is also a lack of personality and artistic vision that is becoming the norm. The recent cRPGs have been mostly pretty bad not only due to a failed execution but mainly due to a lack of clarity in what they are trying to do. I think they have a vague conceptual premise that seems pretty cool for 10 minutes, but when they try to detail them in mechanical terms and put things in motion, it all falls apart.

 

[buffalo bill]

Thanks for doing this Roguey. I hope you didn't lose SAN points. Has there ever been a good CRPG that used the Cthulhu mythos? I played Cthulhu saves the world, but that doesn't really count and was only enjoyable for the tongue-and-cheek novelty.

Infra Arcana. One of the best games of the 21st century by a long shot.

 

[Fenix]

I have the suspicion that older developers have superior formative experiences.

Exactly.
Different generation that cooked in different culture - much more rich then todays, formatted almost to null.

 

[Roguey]

Looks like the Steam reviews are finally turning a corner. It was pushed to the very brink of 60% but is rallying back. Metacritic reviews are very high (slightly higher than AOD, which itself did quite well). Seems like with a solid patch or two they could have a winner on their hands.

Those pro reviews seem much too lenient, it's weird. I guess you show some pretty art and some decent writing to a game journalist and they'll be pleased even in spite of nuisance mechanics and bad combat (which I have seen acknowledged).

Another thing I find concerning is how it seems as though half the players are reacting to this the same way VioletShadow did https://steamspy.com/app/779290

Playtime total: 00:15 (average) 00:15 (median)

When half your players can't even be bothered to play more than 15 minutes, that's a huge problem. Is it the save and ration systems? The "gather a lantern and walk slowly" beginning? The terrible combat system? All of the above?