'The Shore': The Lovecraftian Game No One Is Talking About
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” H.P. Lovecraft.
There has been a long line of horror games throughout the years ranging from the in your face zombie apocalypse games such as Resident Evil, to the more psychological horrors of Amnesia The Dark Descent. Most horror games take inspiration from one source, and that is the work of H.P. Lovecraft.
Some games are more on the nose with their inspiration with games like 2018’s “Call of Cthulhu” and 2019’s “The Sinking City.” As of 2021, a new game has surfaced known only as “The Shore” developed by Ares Dragonis. This game is a psychological, story-driven game centered around a man named Andrew on a mysterious island in the middle of nowhere. Through a series of exploration and puzzle-solving, the true, sinister nature of the island begins to unfold.
While some of the mechanics seem funky and the animations sometimes seem off, it does not take away from the fact that this is the first game set within the Cthulhu Mythos that I have played that really dives deep into the lore of these “elder gods” and how they operate in the grand scheme of things.
The story is told through notes left behind by previous visitors of the island and the thoughts that are going through the main character’s head. Most of the plot takes place on the island as more parts of the island open up for you to explore. The game does a very good job at setting the tone right out the gate with the color palette of cool tones and grey and a very good sound design. You immediately feel a sense of “I shouldn’t be here.”
On my first play-through, I found that some of the puzzles were pretty straightforward, but there were some that gave you no real sense of direction so I found myself wandering around hoping to stumble upon something that seemed important or something that I had missed. I will say though when I would stumble upon something I hadn’t seen before, it did a very good job of furthering the story and really building the world around you.
I want to try to explain this story with as few spoilers as possible, but the first half of the story takes place in what we assume is the real world of the island, even though the island is covered in otherworldly things such as monoliths and orbs of metallic substance that talk to you. The latter half of the story teleports you to an ethereal plane of existence deep within the cosmos. Am I losing you? I too was lost at first. The transition was rather jarring which I don’t know if that was intentional or they just needed to get to a new location now. Once the new location is established though, the tone of that world is completely different, and it is easy to get lost, but this is intentional. You are in their domain now.
I think that this game overall is a fun five-six-hour narrative. While some of the mechanics seem funky and the animations sometimes seem off, it does not take away from the fact that this is the first game set within the Cthulhu Mythos that I have played that really dives deep into the lore of these “elder gods” and how they operate in the grand scheme of things. It has a twist ending that I most definitely will not spoil here. I would say that it is definitely worth a play if you have a PC. As always, stay safe and keep gaming.
