Premature Evaluation is the weekly column in which we explore the wilds of early access. This week, Fraser s investigating eldritch goings on in action-RPG Lovecraft s Untold Stories. Never heard of him.
Just when I thought Lovecraft had been mined to death, Lovecraft s Untold Stories comes along and I find myself protecting giant penguins and blowing up pink blobs of toxic goo. You remember the giant penguins from At the Mountains of Madness, don t you? Of course you do! They re the best bit, though tragically underutilised. By giving them their time in the spotlight, Lovecraft s Untold Stories fulfils its titular promise.
It begins rather conventionally, though: a note from a mentor, a spooky mansion, a cult up to no good. For a single level, it toes the line, cramming in all the familiar tropes. Then it starts throwing in gun-toting space bugs. It s kinda Lovecrafty (I m over Lovecraftian), just like it s kinda an RPG and kinda a roguelike.