Focus Home Interactive and Cyanide Studios released a new trailer for Call of Cthulhu, the upcoming horror game due for release on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. The trailer is only four minutes long but it outlines some of the gameplay mechanics and story elements.
Players take on the role of Edward Pierce, a war veteran and alcoholic private investigator who looks into the mysterious murder of the Hawkins family after they were died in a fire.
The gameplay starts with a simple objective, to reach the mansion. The first-person horror game allows for a number of different outcomes to various scenarios based on the choices you make, not unlike BioWare’s classic games before they became converged.
As you can see in the screenshot above, during one of your early encounters with a rather unruly fellow, you’ll have the option to try to talk him down from his aggressive behavior, or attempt to wrestle the axe from his hands.
Very similar to Big Bad Wolf’s The Council, players will be able to unlock new options as they talk to NPCs and interact with other characters. These options become available depending on the skills and proficiencies you upgrade for Edward throughout the investigation into the Hawkins’ family murder.
You’ll also spend a good portion of time exploring the mansion, and uncovering the mysteries behind the mansion and the family.
There are paintings to explore using your psychology skills. You can picklock doors to gain access to rooms with information not meant for less persistent prying eyes. And you can also use a reconstruction mechanic by holding down the left and right triggers, which will allow you to further investigate what happened using heightened perception.
The reconstruction sequence is very similar to the reconstruction of scenes in Telltale’s Batman: The Enemy Within, but with the added element of using the knowledge you gain to question other characters about certain events.
Back at E3, Cyanide already gave away that the game handles the protagonist in classic Lovecraftian fashion, so don’t expect a happy ending.
You can look for Call of Cthulhu to launch on October 30th for the Xbox One, PS4 and PC.
