Stygian: Outer Gods Preview

Stygian: Outer Gods is the sequel to Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones, developed by Misterial Games and published by Fulqrum Publishing. The game is inspired by the Cthulhu mythos and is steeped in mysticism and black magic, all centred around sea gods and other entities. If you’re unaware of H. P. Lovecraft or his books, the general plot can be summed up as “civilised” people coming across or getting involved in a mystery, which turns into a cavalcade of madness and horror, told to the reader through first-hand experiences and discoveries. The game’s plot, however, doesn’t follow the aforementioned formula entirely.

The protagonist, whose name I swear is Arthur something, has been around the block, with mental scars to prove it. You come out of hallucinating to pick your starting perks when your friend, Victoria, arrives to whisk you away to some seaside village. Most of the men have disappeared or died, and the women are enthralled by something that has turned their eyes red, their bodies emaciated, and their clothes tattered to the point of showing their bare chests. The village, Kingsport, fares no better: most of the port is submerged as you arrive, and what buildings aren't boarded up are left abandoned and rotting.

Stygian: Outer Gods has a strong opening, bouncing from flashbacks to hallucinations of fleshy growths to being left alone to sort the mess out. Of course, you’re the person chosen to do all the heavy lifting around the village to gain access to the mansion by finding three teardrop-shaped plates. It is not a chore, as the map’s layout allows the player to open locked entrances to explored areas. Useful resources and slightly informative notes litter the rich environmental storytelling. Outside, the enthralled roam the streets and pray to effigies, while inside, you sneak through the remains of the villagers’ homes — sometimes ransacked — where the silence can be broken by the hissing of an enemy aware of your presence.

The sound of the enemies screaming and raving can be quite unnerving, hearing it above the score and sound effects, which complement the visual design of the damp and cold village scene, mixed with the gory and vicious aspects of the Stygian: Outer Gods. What the game lacks in the sound department, though, is voice actors. Most of the recorded lines are done by the main characters, but minor parts, like the dead you speak to, are only text. A ghostly hollow voice or some effects over a few recordings done by the development team would have brought them to life… again.

If you’re a macabre type of player, you may pick the “talking with the dead” perk, which lets you, shocker, talk with the deceased residents of the (evil) village. Although, you only get exposition of their final moments alive, as the place went to hell rather than anything useful. Boo-hoo, you went mad and ate a guy. I just fought off two rabid dogs the size of panthers, wrapped up bites and slashes with dirty rags, and polished off a bottle of sedatives to cure my sanity. Now, tell me if your snack pack had a firearm or not.

Though the game encourages you to be stealthy (using bottles to distract foes), combat is usually the better choice. The dinky cutting knife you get at the start can just about fend off attackers if you’re one-on-one, but you’re still outmatched with any weapon, despite the better damage with the later tools. Compensating for the combat, the ability to stun opponents by hurling furniture at them is both essential and comical, as it only lasts a few seconds, which helps when needing to reload. But in melee, it is the equivalent of fighting dirty.

The only shop in the village in the beginning is run by a well-dressed guy in a mask who sells helpful items in exchange for gold teeth. Gold Teeth is a currency Kingsport has an abundance of, as you find them in piles on countertops and jewellery boxes… I won’t ask where they came from if you don’t. 

The game is worth investing some time into if you have the chance. Though at the time of writing, it is still in Early Access, and I’m still not all the way through it yet, after two months of playing. Just take my word for what it’s worth: don’t wait for it to be fully released. If you’re intrigued by what I’ve said, go to Kingsport and see what else the village has in store.