Ah, it’s that special time of year again when pumpkin spice candles assault your sinuses and Monster Mash is on the radio ad nauseam (psh, what’s a radio?). However, what kind of October would it be without a little existential dread from your old pal H.P. Lovecraft, hm? A little apocalypse here, some dark rituals there and voilà—he’s the ultimate Halloween host. The man was obviously a twisted genius, plaguing readers’ minds with his upsetting machinations and monstrosities. It’s ironic then that when it comes one particular adaptation, the master of cosmic horror prompts more snickers than screams.
In 1995, Infogrames spawned the point-and-click, Call of Cthulhu: Shadow of the Comet for MS-DOS. At first glance, the plot seems to faithfully hinge on Lovecraftian tropes like foreboding fear, ancient evil, and deranged cultists, which is all fine and dandy, but filtered through the prism of a frustratingly difficult ’90s game featuring characters brazenly modeled after real-life celebrities, things quickly descend into comedy.
Take your time, Parker, it’s not like there’s a time limit on catching Haley’s Comet or anything
This isn’t a slam against point-and-click games; just the opposite, especially from the ’90s. LucasArts blazed a prominent trail throughout the decade with hits like Day of the Tentacle and Grim Fandango, the former effortlessly merging humor and complex puzzles. If the folks behind Shadow of the Comet were aiming for that sweet combo, they nailed it, but I doubt that was the intent. The developers, from a French team known as Chaosium, were staunch Lovecraft disciples and well-versed in Cthulhu lore. The result of their efforts was an adventure game based off of the story The Dunwich Horror, with a few twists and turns to not completely plagiarize (but we’ll get into it later). Was the game a worthy offering to their leader? Perhaps.
The first thing you’ll notice when you fill the shoes of protagonist and cool-headed British reporter John T. Parker is that the control systems are.…interesting. I hope you’re comfortable navigating long stretches of the quaint American town of Illsmouth with just the four cardinal directional arrows on your keyboard. Yeah, it’s technically a point-and-click, but the mouse is so faulty that it might as well fall into a sub-genre called clack-and-clack.
Actually, that wouldn’t be so bad if Johnny’s speed was actually manageable. This guy is slooooow, and it turns out that it’s on purpose. For example, Parker’s clipped British exploring mechanic is directly tied to the game’s animations. If you try to increase his speed, the game’s animations and interactions with characters speed up in turn, which not only looks ridiculous, but it’s a shame, as the characters are hands-down the juiciest parts of the game.
Based off of Lovecraft’s actual face, the developers really did him a favor here
For those that have stuck around until now, it’s time for your reward. For some reason, the penalties for Use of Likeness violations in 1995 must’ve been quite lax, as almost every single persona you encounter was based on a reputable actor or actress. It’s flat out bonkers why SotC didn’t get flagged for infringement, but it’s also hilarious seeing stars of the big screen kidnapped and repurposed in a Lovecraft movie. Obviously the most glaring—and probably your reason for clicking on this article—is the unquestionable 1:1 likeness of Jack Nicholson from The Shining. I mean, who else has that inimitable hairstyle and diabolical sneer? But no, it’s not ax-enthusiast Jack Torrance, but local cultist Nathan Tyler drinking the day away in the Dead Horse Inn. Later on, the gang’s all here with cameos by Jimmy Stewart, Melanie Griffith, the fat guy from Beetlejuice, H.P. Lovecraft himself, Mr. Dennis Quaid as our no-nonsense hero, and more!
Now that we’ve all had a good chuckle, let’s sober up a bit. I hope this doesn’t come across as a slam against point-and-clicks, because I clearly love ’em. Just like those beloved cheesy ’80s slasher films, SotC is an entertaining and creepy romp down memory lane, but it’s really too hamstrung by its own limitations to enjoy it in the way the earnest nerds at Chaosium intended. And that’s cool. I’m just glad H.P. himself didn’t get a chance to play it. He probably would’ve said something racist and then banished them all to the abyss.
For we lucky players though, check out a walkthrough at 1.5x speed, or, if you’re short on time this Halloween, just play my favorite Cthulhu party game: Spot The Celebrity. Pst, here’s a clue…Vincent Price is the doctor. Happy Hunting!