Something Horrible This Way Comes: Eldritch Review

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It'd be easy to dismiss Eldritch as "Spelunky in first-person." I've done it myself when explaining the game to a friend.

Indeed, the two games initially appear to have a lot in common: a vertical level structure, in which you're continually working your way from the top down to the bottom; no persistent progression beyond unlocking shortcuts to later levels; a limited set of items which it's up to you to determine the optimum use of; the ability to throw rocks at enemies when nothing else is to hand; and, of course, jittery shopkeepers who will immediately try to kill you if you so much as breathe on the merchandise when you don't have the means to pay for it.

But it takes just a short while of playing Eldritch to discover that it's a very distinct affair from Mossmouth's classic; while Spelunky demands keen observation and some old-school platforming skills, Eldritch combines elements of first-person stealth games such as the old Thief games -- you can even lean in either direction to peek around corners -- and the simple but challenging combat of other procedurally-generated action games.

Eldritch is ostensibly a Lovecraftian game, but no knowledge of Lovecraft's work is really required to appreciate it. In fact, the developers specifically chose to adopt the Lovecraftian theme more for its atmosphere than the specifics of the Cthulhu mythos -- in our preview from a while back, designer David Pittman noted that he was keen to distance the game from Lovecraft's own outdated racist and misogynist views -- not to mention some of his creations' twisted reflections of those views -- instead choosing to "embrace the charmingly bizarre worlds of Lovecraft in a literal way."

It works, too; Eldritch doesn't try to be clever by tricking the player with sanity mechanics or other systems that we typically see in Lovecraft-inspired games -- instead, it settles for a simple yet almost tangible air of menace, ably supported by some good sound design and minimal but effective use of music.

The chunky, primitive aesthetic works in its favor, too; while some players and Internet commenters have been quick to dismiss the game for its superficial resemblance to Minecraft, the simple look allows you to "fill in the blanks" yourself with your imagination. Looking more closely at the blocks that make up the levels reveals a surprising amount of easy-to-miss detail, too; for example, rather than being simple cubes, rocky walls are bumpy, uneven surfaces that have a much more "natural" appearance than the environments of many other low-poly or voxel-based games. The block-based structure also allows for some entertaining flexibility in level design along with the pleasing ability to destroy the scenery -- and thus cut your own path to the lower floors -- with either dynamite or a magically-infused revolver.

Eldritch doesn't try to be clever by tricking the player with sanity mechanics... instead it settles for a simple yet almost tangible air of menace.

Monster design is more varied than Mojang's sandbox, too; while Minecraft's beasties were all made of cube or cuboid blocks and mostly chased after you in a rather straightforward fashion, Eldritch's otherworldly horrors exhibit a much wider range of behaviors. Some chase you; others dart around and dodge your attacks; others still can't be permanently killed and will instead get up after a few moments, meaning you'll need to be constantly on the move. The game also makes use of an interesting mechanic whereby looting a fallen foe causes them to respawn elsewhere in the level after a moment, meaning you'll need to carefully weigh up whether getting a few extra bullets is worth potentially running into a dangerous foe again at an unexpected moment. Alongside that, the second of Eldritch's worlds plays host to one of the most genuinely unnerving enemies from any game I've played in recent memory, too -- but I'll spare you the details if you don't know them already; it's more fun to find out for yourself.

As solid as the core game is, though, my main concern with Eldritch is its potential longevity. The game only features four "worlds," the first of which is very easy -- deceptively so, in fact. The difficulty ramps up considerably in the second world and in order to beat the game you'll need to complete all four dungeons in a single run without dying -- no mean feat, but it's plausible that a skilled player could romp their way through the complete game in the space of an hour or so. Of course, the very nature of roguelike-like games is that they're inherently replayable, but Eldritch's relatively slim lineup of antagonists and collectible items means that it's not long before you've seen everything it has to offer. There's a distinct lack of online functionality, too; a big part of Spelunky's addictive nature can be directly attributed to the inherent competitiveness encouraged by its leaderboards, but all Eldritch offers is a rather clunky Web-based "post to Twitter" option when you die. Something like a time attack leaderboard for each world wouldn't go amiss in a future update; hell, just some interesting achievements would probably help, since the game is currently bereft of any kind of in-game awards or long-term goals to acknowledge the player's accomplishments over time.

Eldritch's relatively slim lineup of antagonists and collectible items means that it's not long before you've seen everything it has to offer.

All this doesn't stop Eldritch being a fun game to play, of course, but for those more used to games such as The Binding of Isaac (which features hundreds of different collectible items), Delver (which randomizes elements such as what different potions do on each playthrough) or the lengthier quests of more substantial, traditional roguelikes such as Dungeons of Dredmor and Sword of the Stars: The Pit, Eldritch might feel disappointingly lightweight. There's scope for additions and improvements in future updates, of course, but right now Eldritch feels more like a game with a lot of potential than the next big thing in roguelike-inspired games -- a game worth playing, for sure, but one which could perhaps use a bit more time in the otherworldly oven.

The Nitty Gritty

• Visuals: Superficially similar to Minecraft, yes, but the uneven bumpiness of the walls and the creative monster designs make Eldritch recognizably distinct from Mojang's sandbox.
• Music and Sound: The use of music is minimal but effective, and some creepy monster noises serve the dual purpose of letting you know where enemies are and freaking you out.
• Interface: Straightforward controls -- including excellent controller support -- get you into the action quickly.
• Lasting Appeal: Eldritch is a short but challenging game, and how long you'll spend with it in the long term will be determined by a combination of how skilled you are and how much patience you have for repeating the same (or at least very similar) game content over and over again.