Call of Cthulhu

Why Games Do Cthulhu Wrong - The Problem with Horror Games - Extra Credits

The core conflict in adapting H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos to video games lies in the fundamental incompatibility between the medium’s traditional empowerment fantasy and the existential horror of the source material.

• The fundamental conflict in Lovecraftian game design is the clash between the medium’s traditional empowerment fantasy and the source material's core theme of human insignificance.
• Treating cosmic entities like Cthulhu as defeatable bosses with health bars destroys the existential horror by making the threat mundane and manageable.
• Effective horror in this genre requires subverting player agency by ensuring that actions are ultimately inconsequential and survival is never guaranteed.