Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones is an old-school RPG set in Lovecraft's horrific realm

YouTube YouTube
Watch On

We talked earlier this month about how it would be nice if game makers would give Lovecraft a rest and explore some different horror settings instead. (In case I haven't mentioned it previously, I would pay real money for a good game based on Garth Marenghi's Darkplace.) Maybe it'll happen someday, but not today: Today we have word of a new game in development called Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones, "a role-playing game of horror, loss, and madness set in the strange worlds of HP Lovecraft." 

Stygian players will create characters based on one of eight archetypes (or choose one that's premade) and embark on a journey from the town of Arkham to the depths of the Abyss. Sanity will suffer under the strain, but can be maintained and restored through a "Belief System" mechanic that will also impact dialog options and outcomes. The action will unfold on a hand-drawn 2D map, with turn-based tactical combat featuring powerful black magic that comes at a very high price. 

The teaser sets the mood but it doesn't say anything about the game itself. Fortunately, a closer look at how it all works is available on Steam, where you can also lay your hands on a demo. Publisher 1C described it as "early," and it did seem pretty bare-bones in the little bit of time I spent with it. It's also very old-school—old-fashioned, even. But I think that suits the setting, and if developers aren't going to give us a horror-adventure in a new realm, then doing something genuinely interesting with the classic Cthulhu—and, hopefully, doing it well—is a solid choice. 

Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones is currently expected to be out next year. For now, there's a website you can burrow into at stygianthegame.com, and a few screens down below. 

Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

Latest in RPG
kingdom come deliverance 2 thunderstone quest
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's masterful quest design can be summed up by one wonderfully weird search for a magic stone
The heroes are attacked by monsters
Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat to mark its 10th anniversary, and that means PC Gamer editors will soon be arguing about combat mechanics again
Junah beginning a battle in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Today's RPG fans are 'very sensitive to feeling like they wasted time' when they die, says Metaphor: ReFantazio battle planner—but Atlus still made combat hard anyway
Image of Cersei Lanniser from Game of Thrones: Kingsroad Steam early access trailer
A new Game of Thrones RPG is coming to Steam today with a cast of 'familiar faces,' which is good because it's really the only way to tell it's a GoT game at all
A Viera looking confused in Final Fantasy 14.
Old armor continues to fall victim to Final Fantasy 14's bizarre two-channel dye system, unless you're super into changing the colour of teeny-tiny eyelets: 'Why even bother at this point?'
Starfield: Shattered Space
By the time Bethesda was on Starfield, you'd 'basically get in trouble' for breaking schedule, says former dev: 'A lot of the great stuff within Skyrim came from having the freedom to do what you want'
Latest in News
An Enshrouded player in a recreation of Erebor from The Lord of the Rings
Kings under the Mountain! 33 Enshrouded players spent 10,000 hours to recreate this iconic location from The Lord of the Rings
A mech awakens.
Mecha Break developer is considering unlocking all mechs following open beta feedback
Lara Croft Unified Art
Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics lays off 17 employees 'to better align our current business needs and the studio's future success'
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
The heroes are attacked by monsters
Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat to mark its 10th anniversary, and that means PC Gamer editors will soon be arguing about combat mechanics again
Image of Ronaldo from Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves trailer
It doesn't really make sense that soccer star Ronaldo is now a Fatal Fury character, but if you follow the money you can see how it happened