Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones

Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones is a horror role-playing game, which sets in the strange worlds of H. P. Lovecraft. You can download Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones for Microsoft Windows, macOS and Linux.

Graphics 5/5

Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones has a stylized modern graphics which look very nice. The style of the graphics is a 2D Hand-drawn art style that perfectly fits the Lovecraftian world. The environments, characters and monsters are well-drawn and give the players a great experience. The atmosphere is very good, and it gets you fully immersed in the strange town of Arkham.

Gameplay 5/5

At the beginning of Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones you can pick from eight pre-made characters with different Archetypes and starter skills. Or you can create your own character completely from scratch by choosing the age, background and different other customizations. All of it will affect your character’s skills. Then you can wander around the city and explore it at your own pace. All the enemies, environments and storylines inspired by Lovecraft’s iconic original works. During your journey you can recruit different weird companions that will accompany you. Throughout the game, your character’s mental health and sanity will change and influence dialogue options. Mental illness has its advantages and drawbacks, but it certainly makes things more interesting. The game also features strategic, turn-based combat, similar to the classic HoMM games. On the other side, it would be good to have a speed up combat option as sometimes it feels slower than it should.

Controls 4/5

Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones is the game with the average level of complexity. You can press F1 to see the most basic controls and explanations for exploring and combat. At the same time, some things can still be a bit confusing. But of course, once you learn the mechanics, the combat becomes more exciting. All in all, the game still has some bugs, and the saving system needs improvement.

Replay Value 5/5

Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones has a great level of replayability. It is amazing how different each character and skill makes your playthrough. For example, a science/medicine based doctor type gets a lot of very different dialog options than an occult/stealth cultist type character. Every time your gaming experience is completely different and new.

The Bottom Line

Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones is a great choice for the fans of Lovecraftian stories. This horror RPG offers a mix of deep role-playing and turn-based fights, represented in a hand-drawn visual style. It offers you the ability to fully customize how you play.

• Graphics 5
• Gameplay 5
• Controls 4
• Replay Value 5

Pros

Lovecraftian story with a great atmosphere;
Different characters and skills available.

Cons

Occasional minor bugs and glitches.