Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones Looks Insanely Good

Istanbul based Cultic Games just launched a Kickstarter campaign for Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones, their take on the beloved Lovecraftian genre. While many games draw inspiration from the Cthulhu Mythos, rarely has one looked as tragically beautiful as Stygian.

Touted as a game of “horror, loss, and madness,” Stygian is a mixture of turn-based tactical combat and rich, narrative driven role-playing. The world of Stygian is set in a gorgeous hand drawn 2D environment. While again, it looks amazing, the gameplay mechanics are also top-notch.

Players create their own protagonist, based on several familiar archetypes, each with unique origin stories, skills, and traits. Characters will also utilize a belief system to determine how they cope with being forced to confront the unexplained monstrosities they encounter. Their increasing mental instability will influence dialogue options and combat prowess. Sometimes it helps to be a bit mad in Lovecraft’s world.

NPC party members will react to the dynamics of gameplay, so it is not wise to cast them aside lightly. While it is possible to utilize the dark magics of the world, doing so is a gamble that doesn’t always solve more problems then it creates. Sometimes the cost really can be too high.

I’m not usually one to gush over backer rewards. They’re just neat extras and should not be the basis for backing a project, but Stygian’s are worthy of their own shop. Aside from a bevy of digital goodies at the lower levels, backers can buy their way up to handcrafted leather bound physical game copies, an illustrated “children’s” book, and even an actual cultist robe emblazoned with the Stygian logo.

The campaign needs $61,312 by July 1st to be funded. Stygian is already seeing quite a bit of support, so hopefully no ritual sacrifices will be necessary to get them there.