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Single-player Lovecraftian reality-bending horror games must be en vogue, as we’ve had another cross our desk. ‘The Crawling Chaos’ by Planet Smasher Games is giving its starter a good kicking in February. You might want to stifle that yawn, as this game has mechanics that send traditional roleplaying, er, roles, base over apex.
A zero-prep game in which a lone narrator faces increasingly disturbing events orchestrated by other players, known as Architects. HP Lovecraft's style was first-person narrative, which I always found a jarring read, but lends itself so well to this style of interactive fiction - a really great choice in the game design.
Atmosphere, not action, is the great necessity of weird fiction.
As an Architect, you introduce threats and characters, objects, and weather (and tentacles!), propelling the narrator to almost certain doom. The Architects pivotal role is structuring the story and dictating the climax, which might include tentacles (fingers crossed), orifices, bits of old badger, etc. Or if the Architects do a poor job, we imagine it’s going to be more like Knightmare but with a satisfying crunch-suck sound as your pal walks off the ledge into the gaping maw of a Great Old One / industrial meat recovery unit.
Spell Casting! T. E. N. T. A. C. L. E. S!
You can already get a PDF version on itch.io, and the Kickstarter is financing the printed version.
I was looking forward to playing it, but life is already like ‘Tales Of The Unexpected’ around here; I'm not sure I need any more excitement. A game about sitting down and having a nice cup of tea and maybe a sandwich might suit me better.
Checkout Planet Smasher Games here
STOP PRESS: There’s also a video! Mike Hutchinson (Game Designer) has offered us a sneaky look at the new promo video that goes live this weekend. Make sure you back the kickstarter! - Thanks Mike!
