H.P Lovecraft's unique brand of horror has seen a resurgence in popularity through video games, which present a unique way to explore the themes of cosmic horror, as players can directly experience unreliable narrators or sanity effects through playable characters. This is a connection HBO's Lovecraft Country explored through its VR game, Sanctum.
However, there are tons of video games that utilize the themes found in Lovecraft's work. The following five titles capture cosmic horror and invite players to be genuinely terrified as they go.
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth
Dark Corners of the Earth is a 2005 game published by Bethesda that tells the story of H.P Lovecraft's Shadow over Innsmouth novella. The game saw mixed reviews on release but has since garnered a pretty solid cult following.
Today, Dark Corners of the Earth is hailed as one of the best survival horror games of all time, due to how it mixes elements of stealth and FPS games to create a tense experience. The 2018 Call of Cthulhu is somewhat of a spiritual successor, though the Bethesda published title is considered to be superior.
Eternal Darkness
Eternal Darkness was the first M-rated game to ever be published by Nintendo, which may be in part due to the success of the Resident Evil series. Eternal Darkness doesn't draw from a specific Lovecraft tale, but instead goes for many similar themes. The story is also told in a non-chronological format, with the player jumping between different characters at different points in time.
The plot of Eternal Darkness has players enter the Forbidden City in search of numerous artifacts that correspond to old gods. The game tackles the themes of mankind versus gods and the insignificance of humanity on a grander scale. Eternal Darkness is remembered for its unique changes to the survival horror genre and for its incredibly complex story.
Eldritch
For those fans looking for a game that's more accurate to the Lovecraft world rather than the themes, they should look no further than the rogue-like Eldritch. Players take on the role of a private investigator digging deep into the cosmic horror mythos.
The game's voxel graphics leave plenty of room for the player's imagination to wander on their perception of the monsters and do a lot for its status as a Lovecraft game. Often, the creatures and gods of Lovecraft's world are described in loose terms that don't give away their exact nature. This helps build the horror by using the fear of the unknown and paranoia. Beyond its graphics, Eldritch is a faithful translation of the Lovecraft mythos into an FPS rogue-like.
World of Horror
World of Horror mixes two horror legends -- Lovecraft and Junji Ito -- to create a wonderfully grotesque RPG experience. Players explore mysteries plaguing a small seaside town, all whilst the otherworldly threat of an elder god bringing the apocalypse looms overhead. The game is currently in early access, featuring five unique characters and 10 different mysteries to solve, alongside plenty of random events.
Players have to manage their character's sense of doom, as well as deal with ailments and injuries that the character may fall victim to. These often enter the Junji Ito realm of body horror. The combination of two genres actually benefits both, as dealing with otherworldly injuries and artifacts helps to make the player really feel like they're going up against something bigger than humanity itself.
Alone in the Dark
Survival horror lends itself fairly well to cosmic horror, as survival is often the only thing the player can do in the face of an elder god. 1992's Alone in the Dark is inspired by Lovecraft and was the first 3D survival horror game, directly inspiring Resident Evil. Alone in the Dark's legacy in the survival horror genre is immense. The game would also bring several aspects of cosmic horror to the medium of video games.
For one, combat is often discouraged and even impossible with certain enemies. There's often little to no warning of incoming threats, like a beast that leaps through the window near the start of the game. As the player investigations a mansion to discover its dark secrets, they'll face of paranoia and investigation that are at the deep heart of Lovecraft's beloved works.