Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth. 13 great games that were financial flops

Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth is not the best game adaptation of Lovecraft's prose. It's actually are at least three sensational productions based on the output of Grandpa Theobald in one package. It's a suspenseful detective thriller, a psychological horror with gradual plunging into madness and a survival that doesn't let you catch a breath even for a moment. And all this is mixed so skillfully that it's impossible to get bored, even if not all the ingredients of this explosive mixture are equally amazing.

The creators also managed to keep the balance between the mystery, understatements, and meeting the unknown face to face. Fighting with Dagon emerging from the sea only from time to time, or with Mother Hydra, terrifying even despite a bit archaic graphic design, builds a mood of terror and helplessness that is difficult to describe. The hero, like the characters from the pages of Lovecraft's books, has no chance of a final victory. His actions can only postpone the inevitable. And you just feel it when you play.

If this production was released today, it would probably be a big success. This is exemplified by the subsequent, low-budget indie games inspired by the Cthulhu mythology, regularly breaking the Steam bank (Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones, Forgive Me, Father, Call of Cthulhu, Cthulhu Saves the World or the cult Darkest Dungeon). In 2005, however, works inspired by the oeuvre of Lovecraft didn't attract as many players as today. The marketing campaign also failed. Ultimately, the game sold mere... 5,000 copies by the end of 2005. This was an extremely poor result for a game that was listed a few years later by GamePro as one of 11 best games of all time.

1. Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth in our encyclopedia