Cosmic horror. The unimaginable, unspeakable terrors beyond our realm of imagination. Somehow, they are still imagined and spoken about in video games, though. Maybe that’s the problem with the world, too many cosmic horror games willing eldritch terrors into existence and generally making everything more awful.
Anyway, it’s a roundabout way of saying I’m a little burned out on cosmic horror games, especially the ones that riff on Lovecraft without much thought about what they’re trying to achieve. When I first looked at Misterial Games’ Stygian: Outer Gods, I felt an overly familiar dullness envelope me. The usual Lovecraft-infused cosmic horror cliff notes. You know the ones. Madness, undead, the threat of unseen godlike creatures, a foggy, depressing coastal location.
But as I always have to remind myself, overused templates can still be used to create exciting new designs, and Stygian: Outer Gods, in Early Access, is already showing that it has some ideas to make it stand out in the writhing mass of tentacles that is cosmic horror media.
Stygian: Outer Gods is a 3D spin-off of sorts from the 2019 turn-based RPG Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones. It sees us playing the part of someone looking for their missing father. This takes them to the settlement of Kingsport, which houses an eclectic mixture of explorable environments that are mostly a varying combination of cold, dark, dreary, and wet. Kingsport holds plenty of secrets and mysteries beyond the ones that could lead you to your father, and wouldn’t you know it? They primarily involve terrible cosmic horrors. It’s never as simple as someone stealing haddock from the local fishmonger is it?
Stygian: Outer Gods Trailer
Kingsport, especially at first, brings to mind the dilapidated village from Resident Evil Village. Given its interconnected, secrets-filled nature alongside its survival horror stylings, there’s more than a passing resemblance to Capcom’s blockbuster. Thankfully, it’s just part of a more interesting whole.
Even in its burgeoning form, Stygian Outer Gods is already focused on two things; variety and relentless danger. From a gameplay perspective, it’s about survival. The game doesn’t let up, and so you’re almost always on the edge of doom, whatever you’re doing. There’s puzzles to solve, secrets to uncover, and choices to be made, but the terrors of Kingsport don’t give two hoots about that. You’re lunch meat, whether that’s physically or psychologically-speaking.
A choice-based system is at play, which promises dire consequences for making the wrong decisions. It’s still hard to say how impressive this could be, as it’s still being cooked, but it’s interesting to see a focus on minor things that lead you down different paths. Choice-based systems have generally improved in games, eschewing the blunt, black-and-white morality systems of 15 years ago for more nuanced ones. Stygian: Outer Gods looks to be adhering to that latter format.
One of the game’s rawest ingredients is its combat, but also the part that feels like it has the most massive potential for the future. A weighted, slightly clunky handling brings classic survival horror to mind, especially when you end up crowded, wounded, and psychologically scarred. The feeling of panic and bewilderment is heightened by just how deadly enemies can be. It truly makes you think twice before taking them head on. Some fine-tuning is needed, for sure, but as it stands, every missed shot or swing builds anguish and panic.
Being Early Access, there’s naturally some undercooked aspects to the game. The combat has its minor issues, but the game currently suffers most in the technical areas. There are times Stygian: Outer Gods struggles under the weight of its scope. I encountered several performance hiccups and some frustrating crashes as well. The game held together well enough to appreciate what it’s doing.
I think I’ll wait a while until returning to Stygian: Outer Gods. The ambition and quality are there, but it feels a few refinements short of being a longer-term investment at present. At the very least it has caught my attention in a way so many other cosmic horror games have failed to do.
Stygian: Outer Gods is in Early Access on PC via Steam now. The full launch will add PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions.
