With the recent boom in Soulslike games following the celebrated release of Elden Ring comes the latest indie addition to the well-known subgenre, Dolmen. An action RPG set in a futuristic sci-fi world with Lovecraftian-inspired elements, this latest Soulslike is exactly what cosmic horror fans have been craving.
The cosmic horror genre has seen rises and falls over the past few years with fans constantly on the fence about whether each game truly captures the spirit of Lovecraftian storytelling. Cosmic horror is a tricky genre to get right, and the balance between stunning visuals, engaging narrative and convincing gameplay can make or break a game. With such a popular concept to horror fans and gamers alike, Dolmen takes everything players could want from a cosmic horror game and revives the genre, bringing it to all new heights.
Dolmen takes place on a futuristic alien planet where players are tasked to search and collect special crystals in order to safeguard their timeline, which is at risk of being erased. The game features a variety of challenging Lovecraftian bosses and boasts a beautiful design that displays the gruesome terror of multiple worlds fusing together. However, instead of solely relying on aesthetics to create the atmosphere that horror fans crave, Dolmen introduces a unique twist to the gameplay of cosmic horror in a unique Soulslike fashion.
Other games such as Call of Cthulhu fall short with tedious or absurd combat that feels out of place when the player is supposed to be fighting an all-powerful cosmic being. If players constantly have to focus on fighting mechanics, then the game immediately loses the sense of horror that is essential to keeping the game eerie and engaging. Gameplay should be part of the horror, and Dolmen's style of combat achieves this by utilizing the challenging Soulslike style of fighting which maintains all the dread a player should be feeling when encountering terrifying space monsters.
With such a rich world at the player's disposal, there is plenty of material to create an engaging story for the player, but that isn't an easy feat to accomplish. Games like The Sinking City and Eldritch rely heavily on their stunning visuals and narrative to instill that sense of fear in players, but still ultimately come up short, feeling more like visual novels. This is where Dolmen really gets things right. With its combined use of macabre other-worldly aesthetics and gameplay that fits with the monsters, the cosmic horror title stays true to the Lovecraftian mythos and nails the experience players have always wanted from this genre of games.
It should be said that Dolmen doesn't perfectly implement the mechanics of most Soulslike titles. The combat remains rather basic and consists of endless onslaughts of challenging enemies and repetitive boss fights. This may put off Soulslike fans that are looking for more from such a promising concept. Having been released only a few months after smash-hit Elden Ring, some fans may feel that Dolmen isn't worth the time when better Soulslike options are available, but the charm of Dolmen doesn't completely lean on the genre's qualities.
Even with its shortcomings, Dolmen still stands as an ambitious game with new cosmic horror elements that haven't been seen in other Soulslike titles before. While it may not perfectly fill the shoes of the Soulsborne games, Dolmen has elevated the cosmic horror genre with an enjoyable balance of aesthetic horror and gameplay that makes it one of the better Lovecraft-inspired games to have been released and sets an impressive bar for all future cosmic horror games.