Conarium

Conarium is a decent and solid approach to Lovecraft in videogames, that still should have go a lot deeper in the most terrifying and enjoyable aspect of his stories.

Conarium plunges us in the purest Lovecraftian universe. Cosmic horror, unknown civilizations and mystery are the pillars of the game. The story can be tedious sometimes and puzzles are not really challenging. But if you want a cosmic horror adventure, you should give it a try.

Conarium is certainly one for the fans of H.P. Lovecraft, despite the fact that it’s less of a traditional horror, and more of a puzzler with elements of suspense present. That said, the game does a wonderful job at presenting a dark and eerie story that follows in the footsteps of its source material, complete with a great setting and several nods to its inspirations. Unfortunately, however, its slow pace and its short length holds it back quite a bit.

The narrative, atmosphere, and graphics have proven to be particularly superb; however, the poor voice acting and lack of significant interactive content root this game firmly as a walking-sim above a full horror experience. Serving the niche of Lovecraft fans, this is a marvelous game to play, but as a horror video game it will easily lose those not already interested in this style of macabre.

A decent Lovecraft puzzler that’s low on action but high on hallucinogenic plant spores.

Covering horror as often as I do, I know by now the telltale signs of a horror game that is little more than a walking sim with a few scripted door slammings. Conarium thankfully rises above this regularly faulty approach by including just enough actual threats to keep players on their toes. It is still an adventure game in part, but it gets that part mostly right too thanks to a good atmosphere and a story worth following whether or not you've read its original inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft. Puzzles and controls leave a lot to be desired, but Conarium does much else well, making it an easy recommendation for any fans of the author.

It’s certainly not the ideal game for those expecting sweat-inducing horror or adrenaline-pumping action, but for those who like to explore eerie environments and unravel a good story, there’s a good evening’s worth of entertainment.

Conarium is a fun game, especially if you’re a fan of H.P. Lovecraft. The developers are clearly huge fans and you can tell by how much they’ve crammed into this 4/5 hour game. They’ve taken solid base material and made it their own, which is fantastic to see. Sadly, the game feels like a bit of a slog, even though it isn’t that long, as there is just so much reading and very little action.