Worshippers of Cthulhu

There are many games based on H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos. But a city-building strategy game in which you lead a cult to awaken Cthulhu so he can reshape the cosmos is really something new.

Worshippers of Cthulhu immediately looks like an Anno game set in a dark green Cthulhu setting - and that's roughly how it is, but the game doesn't reach the complexity of Anno 1800. But Crazy Goat Games' game doesn't aim for that either. In this mix of strategy, city-building and colony simulation, players lead the Cult of Cthulhu and manage their city to awaken Cthulhu. Players begin by building and managing cities on multiple islands of varying fertility, where resources are gathered, buildings constructed, resources generated, and the population/cult expanded. The population can be satisfied with certain products and then they level-up, with the population being divided into families, each with a preference for a job. Why is it important to keep your followers happy? Because a happy cultist generates more Eldritch favour - and a game stands or falls on Eldritch favour.

The ultimate goal is to gain the favour of Cthulhu, and to achieve this goal, sacrifices must be made on a regular basis, both in terms of resources and human sacrifice at the stake - during these in-game events, the game becomes macabre, bloody and sometimes takes on a more cinematic perspective. As players expand their territory, they must decide the fate of non-believers: will they be re-educated into followers, or will they be sacrificed to further your cause? This raises the question of how fanatically a player will pursue their goal - this is where the balance in Cthulhu's Patience is important. Or players can be a little less 'macabre fanatic', which makes the game a little longer. Ships for battles cannot be built by the players themselves; instead, they summon sea monsters to do the job - again, cultist sacrifices are required. Players can also carve shapes into the flesh of ritualists in the Hall of Ceremonies to change their profession.

The developer of is Worshippers of Cthulhu is Crazy Goat Games, an indie game studio based in Poland with 35+ developers. With over ten years of experience in making products for clients, they recently started developing their own games, such as The Dragoness: Command of the Flame (Heroes of Might & Magic inspired roguelike adventure) and Republic of Pirates (pirate strategy and city builder), both with publisher PQube. Now, for Worshippers of Cthulhu, they are working with international indie game publisher Crytivo, based in San Diego, California. "Crytivo was born from crowdfunding and all of our knowledge about the business of publishing has come from hard-earned experience. Most importantly, we have learned that modern publishing requires constant innovation," the company said. Crytivo handles marketing, PR, production, project management, press/influencer relations, community development, conference attendance and crowdfunding. Crytivo's best-known titles include The Universim (developed in-house), Prehistoric Kingdom (Blue Meridian) and Above Snakes (Square Glade Games).

Worshippers of Cthulhu went into Early Access for PC on 21 October 2024. It costs €24.50 and came with two story chapters, with the first mission acting as a tutorial. The sandbox update was released just before Christmas 2024, increasing replayability with a wide range of settings. The developers plan to keep the game in Early Access for about a year, depending on how impatient "their deity" is. The game does not have a multiplayer.

Conclusion

Worshippers of Cthulhu doesn't quite measure up to the big city-builders like Anno, Frostpunk and Against the Storm or Farthest Frontier, as the game lacks both complexity and identity, despite its doomsday vibe. Nevertheless, Crazy Goat Games and Crytivo's game is more than just a good gap-filler as a city-builder alternative, especially if you like the dark Cthulhu setting. It still lacks a bit of UI/UX polish and replayability, but that's why it's in Early Access.

Features

• City builder with a dark, Lovecraftian atmosphere
• Traditional city-building with fanaticism and dark rituals
• Sandbox mode with story chapters