H. P. Lovecraft's The Case of Charles Dexter Ward

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is a horror adventure game based on the popular prose of the iconic American writer H.P. Lovecraft. The game was created by the independent Argentinean studio Senscape, known for such titles as Asylum and Serena, and the core of the team are people responsible for the acclaimed 2006 adventure game Scratches. Sunand Tryambak Joshi, a well-known literary critic and an expert in the field of so-called weird fiction, also helped to develop the game. Despite the unsuccessful crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, the game was completed and released on PC.

Story

The action of the game is set in the writer's hometown, Providence, and tells the story of Charles Dexter Ward, who is slipping into madness. He discovers that he is the descendant of the infamous Joseph Curven, an alchemist and cabbalist who came from Salem and made a pact with evil forces. With the help of his friend, Dr. Marinus Willett, our protagonist begins a race against time, the stake of which is the salvation of Providence (and perhaps all of humanity) from the sinister legacy of Curven. During their search, the characters will discover the dark secrets of Providence, explore the story of the witches and occultism of the gloomy town of Salem, and face the evil that overrun the mysterious Pawtuxet farm.

Mechanics

In terms of mechanics, we are dealing with a point-and-click adventure game without any arcade sequences and any cheap jump scares, abandoning them in favour of suggestive atmosphere and recurring motifs characteristic of Lovecraft's works (such as the Necronomicon, exploration of gloomy cemeteries and discovery of dark secrets from the past). In the game we won't see the battle sequences, and our hero won't be able to die. The creators focused on the dark story, reaching back to the roots of the genre and able to evoke a thrill even in the greatest veterans of video game horrors.

Technical aspects

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward boasts high-quality hand-drawing graphics, referring to the golden age of adventure game and running on an original graphic engine called Dagon (also used in Asylum). Despite the apparent lightness, the creators managed to capture the characteristic Lovecraftian atmosphere, additionally supported by a suggestive sound layer.

Additional information

It is worth noting that the development of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward was a large undertaking, not only as the video game. Simultaneously with the work on the game, a documentary was also filmed, telling the story of H.P. Lovecraft's life and describing the places connected with his work in Providence.

Last updated on March 4, 2020