Eldritch is a very special game; at first, it appears as a generic indie title that uses every trope in the book, but beneath the skin of rogue-like gameplay and the flesh of Lovecraftian monsters, there is a unique and intriguing game.
At the start of the adventure you wake up in a mysterious library with no knowledge of who you are or what’s going on. The library serves as a small HUB world where you can heal up and participate in a short tutorial. You can also interact with the glowing books that are placed on pedestals around the library, which will teleport you to their respective levels. Within these haunted halls, it is your job to find the shrines where the souls of the Old Gods are being kept and figure out how these relics are related to your imprisonment in the library.
All of the areas in the game are randomly assembled, but, whereas most rogue-likes have perfectly square rooms connected via doors, the levels in Eldritch are actually very flowing and maze-like. Each stage of each level also has multiple floors, and quite often you won’t be able to explore a whole floor without first going up and finding a staircase down again. The levels are filled with various secrets and traps that add more depth to the exploration. Each of the four books currently featured in the game also has its own theme and obstacles that become increasingly difficult. Add to that the beautiful textures and the chilling noises the enemies make. and you’ve got some very solid and atmospheric levels.
The enemies in the game are not entirely up to par, though some of them did manage to frighten me. There was an early encounter with a Shoggoth that scared the crap out of me and the tall, invincible bastards look pretty creepy too. The rest of the enemies vary between ineffective and downright comical, which isn’t helped by their very simple AI. Frequently, monsters will die by the dozens at the hands of their own traps, and while it’s creepy when you find a few corpses scattered about an area, it’s a bit of a disappointing when you then find out the cause was a red spider with only a single hit-point left.
The enemies are made somewhat interesting via the looting system, which will have them respawn elsewhere in the maze if you choose to take their stuff. This means you can make a level safer by not looting the corpses, but without the keys, money and bullets found on their corpses, you might find it more difficult to progress later on. At first, you’ll only be able to fight these monsters using your fists, but later on you’ll find knives, guns and dynamite, which will allow you to deal with them more efficiently. You can also go the stealth approach and use bottles or rocks to distract foes while setting up traps with the bow. Sadly, that’s pretty much the extent of your arsenal, so it’s very likely you’ll find the weapons and accessories you want in the first stage and then never swap them out again.
The dynamite is the only weapon you will have to keep looking for, but it’s also the most entertaining one in the whole game, since it effectively allows you to carve your own way through the maze. Never again shall inconvenient walls halt your process! That’s what I like most about the game; it leaves it completely up to you to decide how to progress, and embraces creativity. There was a narrow hallway completely filled with stationary enemies, for example, which I bypassed by blowing a hole in the wall at the end with an explosive bullet, then throwing a teleportation spell through it.
The biggest problem with the game, though, is the fact that it’s very short. I managed to beat the game in three hours and only died six times in total, which many players won’t consider worth the $10 asking price. The replay-value isn’t very high either, so if you are looking for a good introduction to the roguelike genre, then The Binding of Isaac or Rogue Legacy would offer a better challenge and more content for about the same money. If you’re already into these kinds of games, however, then Eldritch should certainly not be overlooked.
(8.5 / 10)
Great
(8.5 / 10)
