Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss Reviews
Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss has a ton of potential with its setting, narrative, and investigation mechanics, but buggy save-states and jank make it a frustrating experience.
Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss is a game with enormous influences from the cosmic horror genre. It is an entertaining game for fans of this specific subgenre and brings little innovation.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
For those waiting for the next gem in the cosmic horror genre, *Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss* is unfortunately not it.
Review in Greek | Read full review
Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss is a disappointing case of a game with an interesting premise being pulled under by technical problems. The investigation elements, occult mystery, and deep-sea setting all had the potential to create something memorable. Sadly, confusing mechanics and serious bugs stop the game from reaching that potential. The game-breaking glitch I encountered makes it impossible to give this a strong recommendation. Once fixes arrive, this may be worth revisiting, especially for players who enjoy slower investigation games. But in its current state, Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss is a game I would wait on.
Of course, this won’t be an issue for everyone, and if you’ve the time to commit to the mystery we think there is something compelling about Cthulhu: Cosmic Abyss. A game that isn’t afraid to let players muddle through it on their own is an idea to be lauded, and here there is a core mystery that will provide a compelling enough reason to continue if you can get into the rhythm of the puzzling.
Despite a minor hiccup with a save issue, the overall polish and responsiveness from the developers leave a strong impression. For players who enjoy narrative- driven investigations with psychological depth, this is a journey well worth taking.
Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss has a lot to offer for those looking for an immersive, narrative-driven horror thriller. Its gameplay doesn’t demand quick reflexes or wanton destruction, but rather deduction skills and attention to detail. I don’t see everyone being a fan of this title, but for those who are really big into Lovecraft, this is probably exactly what you would want from a game tackling the mythos, one that is all about questions and the unfortunate answers that go with them.
Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss is a game built on strong ideas rather than flawless execution. Its puzzle systems and investigative mechanics all show that it wants to make Lovecraftian stories more modern by letting us interact with them and explore them using logic. When everything works, it has a satisfying loop of finding things out and making sense of the world that feels like it was made with love by Big Bad Wolf.
The investigation side of Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss is interesting and engaging, with making the player look around the environments thoroughly. Also, offering two paths per section adds great reason to do another go around. It was a shame I couldn’t finish the game due to chapter five becoming a major headache of problems. Some of these were items that spawned back in areas upon reloading the game. Not being able to move further due to damage, and lastly, placing key items in the correct places and not yielding any results. My computer also suffered hard frame drops when doing a sonar pulse in chapter 5. To the point, I would have to wait a few minutes for things to settle, even when my character was standing still. For the story so far, I wouldn’t say the story is all that interesting and kinda feels told around chapter 3, which makes playing later chapters a bit of a slog. So as the game is, I will be giving Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss, the Thumb Culture Silver Award. It was okay, just not overly filling they Lovecraftian theme for me.
NACON and Big Bad Wolf bring us a new story based on this cosmic character created by H.P. Lovecraft.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Rather than delivering a consistently smooth experience, Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss is a game that thrives in its investigation systems, atmosphere, and environmental storytelling. At its best, the game makes you feel like you’re actively reconstructing events rather than simply progressing through them. However, the experience is held back by uneven pacing and occasional controller mishaps. The result is a strong but imperfect experience that resonates more as a standout concept than a fully polished execution.
Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss was an enjoyable experience that will click with some but won’t be for everyone. The atmosphere of the game and the puzzle-solving really clicked with me. Parts of the game require some brainpower to get around, but that is the most engaging part. From a horror perspective, it’s quite tame, so if you’re looking for jump scare action, this might not be your jam. If you’re looking for tense, eerie and an uneasy time with great dialogue, clever puzzles and decent storytelling, then it’s worth a buy. You can pick up a copy for Xbox Series X/S HERE.
Without resorting solely to superficial mythological elements, Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss does a decent job of structuring its experience around investigative gameplay while also exploring the thematic dichotomy between a logical approach to often illogical cosmic events. While this may not be particularly original within the genre, finding such a consistent execution is still far from common.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Cthulhu The Cosmic Abyss was a great promise, with an interesting trailer for any Cthulhu fan. A narration taking us to R’Lyeh, as your grandpa took you on a walk when you were a kid (and if you didn’t, you understand the metaphor). At least before Papi decides to start the ride back on the road. There is still a puzzle game with blocking bugs at this point. Too bad!
Review in French | Read full review
Cthulhu: Cosmic Abyss is a great example on how to make a game centred around interactive storytelling fun. While it may lack some of the action and combat orientated takes of previous Cthulhu games, Cosmic Abyss thrives in its environmental storytelling and deep investigative mechanics, that give it an addictive, and engaging style of gameplay that is rarely explored in gaming. Strong supportive characters, with a likeable main protagonist, made me feel connected to them, and their personal battles they went through with the Eldritch God Cthulhu.
I really wanted to like Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss more than I did. Somewhere behind the ridiculous performance issues, crashes, and janky game design is an utterly compelling experience with a few issues holding it back, and it became downright frustrating to play. When the game was working, I was hooked on solving the mystery. With a fantastic mind map system and solid investigations that really don’t hold your hand throughout. I urge fans of cosmic horror to check this one out, maybe after a patch or two, just to make sure.
Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss presents itself as a homage to one of the greatest horror authors of the 20th century. Even with some minor performance issues, the derelict locations you explore as Noah are some of the most beautifully crafted renditions of Lovecraft’s mythos that have ever been put to a screen.
Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss delivers a solid, respectful take on Lovecraftian horror, immersing players in a dark journey filled with well‑crafted mysteries and atmosphere. Its strongest elements lie in world‑building and narrative mood, while some rigid gameplay choices and occasionally over‑complex puzzles make the experience less accessible. It’s a recommended pick for those who enjoy slow, investigative adventures rooted in Providence’s myths, less so for players seeking a faster pace or more immediate action. An imperfect yet sincere and captivating work that will resonate most with genre enthusiasts.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss struck us as an ambitious and intriguing project that successfully blends Lovecraftian horror, science fiction and psychological thriller elements within a fascinating and oppressive underwater setting. The gameplay revolves around analysing clues, manipulating objects and environmental deduction, offering tools such as sonar, the Crypt and Key, the support AI, as well as the ability to unlock new frequencies, which give a different twist to the usual Lovecraftian experience, in what we might call a disturbing and mind-bending adventure. It’s a choice consistent with the source material and, for this very reason, we’re sure it will win over those who love elegant, slow-paced, cerebral horror, but it might also leave those wanting a faster pace or greater variety in terms of action feeling a bit perplexed. The visuals are excellent, with environments – thanks to Unreal Engine 5 – that are meticulously crafted and full of detail, though there are a few rough edges; it’s a shame about the technical side, which isn’t always up to scratch but can easily be improved with a patch!
Review in Italian | Read full review
Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss is a game with two faces; on the one hand, the game feels unique up until chapter 2, but after that, the complexity and the Vault really kick in, making things a lot harder and less engaging. After chapter 3, I started to feel the rut and began to lean more towards using the included walkthrough, as the investigations and deductions started to bore me. The important Vault, which forms part of the core of the investigations, is, in my opinion, a bit too emphatically and prominently present, and even in exploration mode, finding your way out isn't always straightforward. In terms of atmosphere, the game emphatically sets the mood, especially in the first three chapters, and it excels there. However, it quickly declines after chapter 3, when you are about halfway through the game. With about 10 to 15 hours of gameplay, the game can take up quite a period, but in fact, the game isn't even that big if you knew exactly what to investigate, activate, and follow. Furthermore, the clues are far from always clear, meaning that even with hints, things sometimes remain unclear. Especially in Chapter 3, I found the clues quite muddled and too mixed up, and following 'trails' was also far from effective. All in all, I can conclude that if you are a true investigator, or a persistent puzzler, this will be a very challenging title. But for the slightly more seasoned casual gamer who enjoys a bit of puzzling, action, and some RPG elements, this game falls a bridge too far.
Review in Dutch | Read full review