At the center of the story is Chris David, an American who unexpectedly inherits the crumbling Grand Hotel in a quiet English seaside town. What begins as a renovation project soon reveals something far stranger lurking beneath the faded wallpaper and broken windows.

During the day, players focus on restoring the Grand Hotel and helping bring the nearby village of Kingswood-on-Sea back to life. Using tools like a sandblaster, paint sprayer, and even a furniture cannon, players can repair, decorate, and rebuild locations throughout the town. The game expands beyond the hotel itself, allowing players to explore a small open world filled with abandoned shops and rundown buildings that can also be restored.

Some renovations uncover more than just fresh paint and new furniture. Hidden within these spaces are ghost stories, forgotten memories, and clues that slowly reveal the town’s unsettling past.

When night falls, the tone shifts dramatically. The same tools used for renovation become part of a ghost-hunting toolkit as players investigate eerie locations and follow supernatural leads. The trailer teases investigations across Kingswood-on-Sea, including visits to unsettling locations like the village church, where strange happenings begin to surface.

Time management also plays a key role. Players have just 30 in-game days and nights to renovate the hotel, explore the town, build relationships with locals, and investigate the growing mystery surrounding the Grand and its residents. Deciding how to spend that limited time will shape how much of the story players uncover.

The trailer also highlights the game’s musical side. It features “Skeletons in the Closet,” an original song performed by Marcia Richards of The Skints, who voices the character Lily. The track is one of more than ten original songs woven throughout the game, with each major character bringing their own musical story into the narrative.

There Are No Ghosts at the Grand blends narrative exploration, renovation gameplay, supernatural investigation, and musical storytelling in a seaside setting that’s equal parts cozy and unsettling. By day you’ll rebuild the town, and by night you’ll chase ghosts—whether the locals admit they exist or not.

Be sure to keep an eye out for more updates as the mystery surrounding the Grand Hotel continues to unfold.

The narrative investigation game is set to launch on April 16, 2026, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC, inviting players to descend into the depths of the Pacific Ocean and confront the horrors of a legendary sunken city.

A Descent into the Mythical City of R’lyeh

Set in the year 2053, the story follows Noah, a specialist in occult investigations working for the secretive Ancile organization. When a group of researchers from the mysterious corporation Ocean-I vanish without a trace, Noah is dispatched to uncover the truth.

His investigation soon leads him to the lost underwater city of R’lyeh, a place long tied to the slumbering cosmic entity Cthulhu. As Noah ventures deeper into the labyrinthine ruins, the line between reality and nightmare begins to blur.

The new story trailer hints at the dangerous research being conducted by Ocean-I and the role its CEO, Andrew Marsh, may have played in awakening forces better left untouched.

Investigation on the Edge of Sanity

Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss is designed as a first-person narrative thriller rooted in the cosmic horror tradition of H. P. Lovecraft. Throughout the journey, players must piece together clues, solve intricate puzzles, and make key decisions that shape how the story unfolds.

Noah isn’t alone in the investigation. An AI companion known as KEY assists throughout the mission, helping analyze environments and uncover critical information. But even with technological support, resisting the mind-warping influence of Cthulhu becomes an ever-present challenge.

Every choice matters, with multiple endings awaiting players depending on how they navigate the investigation and the psychological toll of confronting ancient cosmic forces.

A Cosmic Horror Journey Awaits

Blending investigative gameplay, narrative choices, and atmospheric puzzle solving, Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abysspromises a deep dive into one of the most iconic corners of Lovecraftian mythology.

Console pre-orders are available now, ahead of the game’s full launch on April 16, 2026, across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

In INFERIUS, you awaken as a lost Pilgrim, damned and marked, wandering through a hell that twists and reshapes itself around your forgotten sins. Armed with only a lantern and a deck of Tarot-inspired Major Arcana cards, survival comes down to cunning strategy and grim sacrifices. Battles unfold in tense, turn-based card duels, where every draw carries weight and every sacrifice can ripple through the world itself.

The descent into the Inferno is more than just physical—it’s psychological. The nine dominions of hell each reflect a sin, ruled by grotesque entities drawn from both classical and cosmic horror. Your sanity becomes as fragile as your health, with the lantern serving as both shield and lifeline: guiding your path, solving puzzles, and warding off the darkness.

Key Features

• First-Person Horror Deckbuilder – Build, mutate, and wield a Tarot-inspired deck in turn-based card duels that emphasize choice, sacrifice, and survival.

• Nine Levels of Hell – Each dominion is themed after a sin from Dante’s Divine Comedy, offering unique monsters, mechanics, and visual horror.

• Lantern-Driven Sanity System – Light the way forward, uncover secrets, and cling to your sanity as the shadows close in.

• Grotesque Horror Enemies – Face surreal, fear-fueled monsters drawn from phobias like arachnophobia, claustrophobia, and paranoia.

• Unforgiving Roguelite Loop – Die, return, and rebuild your deck, with each run reshaping hell and revealing new truths buried in damnation.

INFERIUS dares players to descend deeper with each attempt, rewarding persistence with power—but at the cost of perception and sanity.

Horror on the Horizon

As the last lighthouse keeper after an undisclosed global calamity, your role is deceptively simple: keep the beacon lit and guide ships to safety. But it quickly becomes clear that something ancient and monstrous lurks in the deep. Ships return ghost-like, their crews vanished. Locals whisper of things that should not be. The sea… is watching.

Drawing inspiration from cosmic horror and bureaucratic pressure, Static Dread challenges you to manage resources, maintain your sanity, and make choices that ripple across the world around you. Will you save those lost at sea—or doom them?

Features:

• Atmospheric Horror: A deeply immersive setting filled with creeping dread and surreal mystery.

• Ship Guidance Gameplay: Use tools like your radio and logbooks to guide passing vessels—or fail them.

• Papers, Please Meets Eldritch Terror: Manage lighthouse operations under pressure, while horrors mount.

• Moral Choices and Consequences: Your decisions shape multiple story outcomes—and survival.

• Multiple Endings: Explore how your actions affect the fate of the lighthouse, the town, and beyond.

Static Dread: The Lighthouse is available now on Steam for PC. Grab it for $9.74 (regular price $12.99) until August 20 and experience the quiet horror of guiding souls through the unknowable dark—before it claims you too.

]]> 35680 https://www.yogomi.com/2025/06/call-of-the-elder-gods-a-haunting-return-to-lovecraftian-mystery-and-puzzle-solving/ Tue, 10 Jun 2025 06:54:33 +0000 https://www.yogomi.com/?p=34113 Get ready to dive headfirst into madness. Call of the Elder Gods, the long-awaited sequel to the award-winning Call of the Sea, has officially been revealed, and it looks like we’re heading straight into the jaws of cosmic horror. Unveiled with a brand-new trailer during this summer’s showcases, publisher Kwalee and acclaimed indie studio Out of the Blue are taking their narrative puzzle expertise to a whole new level—and a much darker one.

30 Years Later, the Shadows Return

Set three decades after the events of the first game, Call of the Elder Gods reunites players with Harry Everhart—now a haunted professor at Miskatonic University—and introduces Evangeline Drayton, a student plagued by mysterious dreams of an ancient artifact. Together, they’ll unravel a mystery that stretches far beyond a forgotten island paradise, journeying through time and space to uncover terrifying truths tied to the cosmos itself.

The cinematic trailer, narrated by Yuri Lowenthal (returning as Harry), sets a chilling tone, hinting at memories best left buried and the kind of secrets that twist reality at the seams.

A Narrative Puzzle Adventure Steeped in the Occult

Like its predecessor, Call of the Elder Gods leans heavily into object-based exploration and clever puzzle design, but this time with expanded scope and deeper layers. Players will control both Harry and Evangeline as they travel from the firelit halls of a New England estate to the alien geometries of ancient cities beyond time.

Toggle-able hint systems and journal mechanics let you tune the challenge to your liking—or embrace the madness by deciphering the cryptic Occult Books scattered throughout the game.

Key Features:

• Dual Protagonists: Swap between Harry and Evangeline to solve multi-layered puzzles and navigate branching paths through the narrative.

• Global and Otherworldly Locations: Traverse beautifully rendered environments in Unreal Engine 5—from the red sands of Australia to frozen wastes and uncharted dimensions.

• Voice Talent & Score: Yuri Lowenthal and Cissy Jones lead a fully voiced cast, with a haunting score by returning composer Eduardo De La Iglesia.

• Lovecraftian Lore: Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s The Shadow out of Time, the game explores themes of grief, memory, and madness on a cosmic scale.

Out of the Blue’s creative director Tatiana Delgado spoke to the studio’s passion for storytelling:

“We’re crafting something bigger, bolder, and far stranger than anything we’ve done before. Call of the Elder Gods is a love letter to the unknown.”

Benjamin Forrester, VP of PC & Console at Kwalee, echoed the sentiment:

“Out of the Blue has a rare talent for weaving emotion and mystery into their puzzle design. Fans of Call of the Sea are in for something truly special.”

Call of the Elder Gods is coming soon to PC and consoles. Keep your eyes on the stars—and maybe add it to your wishlist while you’re at it.

To celebrate the collaboration, players can now sign up for a closed beta playtest, offering an early dive into the game’s eerie depths and a chance to provide valuable feedback before launch.

A Deep Dive into Terror
Following the success of Those Who Remain, Camel 101 is back with its most ambitious project yet. Drawing inspiration from horror classics like F.E.A.R., Resident Evil, and Half-Life, Beneath blends psychological horror, fast-paced action, and atmospheric storytelling to deliver a tense and terrifying experience.

Players step into the boots of Noah Quinn, a seasoned deep-sea diver whose routine mission spirals into a nightmare when he becomes stranded in the abyss. With supplies running low and monstrous creatures lurking in the shadows, Quinn must fight to keep his sanity intact while uncovering a sinister underwater conspiracy.

Survival at the Brink
Beneath is more than just a shooter—it’s a survival horror experience where every choice matters.

• Every Shot Counts – Ammo and supplies are scarce, so careful resource management is key.
• Stealth or Combat? – Hide in the darkness to avoid enemies or take them head-on in heart-pounding firefights.
• Nightmare Fuel Enemies – From heavily armed soldiers to grotesque Lovecraftian horrors, each enemy demands a different strategy to overcome.
• Explore the Abyss – Navigate the crushing depths with your specialized dive suit, balancing oxygen levels while uncovering the secrets of deep-sea research stations.

A Passionate Partnership
“It’s a pleasure to work with Bruno and Ricardo again,” said Leo Zullo, Managing Director at Wired Productions. “As brothers, their bond resonates deeply with Wired, and long-term relationships are important to us. We’re putting our hearts and souls into Beneath.”

Camel 101 shares the excitement. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to team up with Wired again,” said Ricardo Cesteiro, co-founder of Camel 101. “Beneath is our biggest project yet, and we know their expertise will help us bring it to its full potential.”

Ready to Descend?
Beneath is coming soon to PC, with more platforms potentially on the horizon. Want to experience the horror early? Sign up for the closed beta now!