The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu Reviews
The Mound: Omen Of Cthulhu is a Lovecraftian co-op extraction horror game that sends up to four players into a hostile wilderness in search of treasure. With unpredictable enemies, hallucinations, changing environments and an ever-growing sense of danger, every expedition becomes a fight between greed and survival. While the experience truly shines with friends, its perfectly haunting atmosphere and clever mechanics make every journey into the unknown worth the risk
Review in Unknown | Read full review
The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu has an appealing premise, strong visuals, and some initially entertaining hallucination mechanics, but its ideas quickly become repetitive. Weak combat, technical problems, frustrating exploration, and underused Lovecraftian themes leave the experience feeling noticeably underdeveloped.
Review in Czech | Read full review
"To The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu" is, overall, one of the most noteworthy titles based on the Cthulhu Mythos.
Review in Greek | Read full review
In the end, The Moud: Omen of Cthulhu is a game I can see myself returning to time and time again, with massive replayability. 18 custom maps, not procedurally generated, with just a few tweaks – it’s a game for most friend groups down for a laugh and up for a good time.
The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu is a fascinating anomaly. If you have a regular group of friends, love Lovecraft, and don't mind rough technical edges or the occasional unfair slap from the game's design, you'll experience some of the most intense horror moments of the year in its jungle setting. However, for solo players and those looking for a polished experience, it's difficult to recommend in its current state. The potential is enormous, but the execution falls frustratingly short.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
At the end of the day, The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu might not be the best co-op game of the year, but it’s certainly one of the most unique.
The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu is a polarizing, uneven, but ultimately unique and ambitious title that succeeds at executing its incredibly interesting core ideas a little too well. It ultimately delivers on its premise of reimagining Lovecraft effectively, but lacks the necessary concessions to make it a consistently enjoyable time. The worldbuilding is fascinating and the aesthetic direction is strong, but the clunkiness of the gameplay and combat drag the experience down quite a bit no matter how intentional. The Mound’s dedication to the accuracy and the surreal nature of the original novella is the source of the game’s highest peaks and lowest valleys, and the disparity between both is nothing short of cosmic.
The Mound is a graphical masterpiece that is well optimised and tries to innovate in a crowded market of friend-slop games. However, it falls short with its deeply flawed psychosis system, and repetitive treasure hunting that loses all of its charm as a result. The Mound is crying out for random treasure placement that would force players to truly embrace and engage with the world they have built.
The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu delivers a compelling blend of Lovecraftian horror and extraction gameplay, held back only by technical shortcomings and a rough onboarding experience.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
ACE Team has undoubtedly laid a rock-solid foundation, and with the necessary updates, The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu could become a standout title in the genre. Still, I doubt that my biggest issues can be resolved, since the combat and progression systems are so deeply ingrained.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu delivers some fresh and clever ideas wrapped inside an atmospheric co-op horror adventure, but it doesn't always maintain its momentum, and the repetitive structure stops it from reaching true greatness. .
ACE Team’s debut in the realm of extraction games represents an open challenge to today’s market, clearly demonstrating how a brilliant design concept can effortlessly overcome budget constraints and technical imperfections. The bold choice to transform Lovecraftian horror into an active gameplay engine—one capable of undermining the group’s sensory certainties—elevates the Valdivian adventure to an essential benchmark for fans of co-op horror and psychological tension. Anyone willing to turn a blind eye to the frustrations of a strict economic progression—provided they tackle exploration strictly shoulder-to-shoulder with teammates armed with microphones—will find in this expedition one of the most authentically memorable and auteur-driven experiences of the current generation.
Review in Italian | Read full review
I went in expecting a decent co-op survival game with a Lovecraft skin, but what I found was one of the most effective portrayals of psychological horror I’ve experienced in gaming. Its madness system constantly keeps you questioning your own senses, the world is rich with intriguing lore, and the oppressive atmosphere perfectly captures the fear and uncertainty that define the Cthulhu Mythos.
The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu is a cooperative horror game that surprises with its technical aspects, but ends up going overboard with imbalances and missteps in some of its design choices.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Until any potential fixes are made, the mound can remain buried for a little while longer.
Review in French | Read full review
The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu presents several good ideas, but fails in the execution of almost all of them. The first few hours of exploration manage to deliver moments of tension and an immersive atmosphere, but the experience quickly becomes repetitive.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
An atmospheric setting, great audio and visual design, and some amusing and occasionally unnerving cosmic horror have resulted in a unique spin on the extraction genre. For those that vibe with it, it’ll probably provide many hours of fun, with lots to do as players solve mysteries, and seek out the mysterious ‘mound’ and what lies beyond – even if the gameplay loop starts to become a bit repetitive.
In terms of atmosphere, "The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu" surpasses most other Lovecraft-inspired games. Unfortunately, the game repeatedly undermines its own long-term appeal, whether through its wildly fluctuating difficulty, performance issues, or poorly explained gameplay elements.
Review in German | Read full review
Ultimately, there’s very little positive I can say about *The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu*. The madness mechanic does produce some hilarious and unexpected moments from time to time, particularly in co-op, but that’s not enough to mask the fundamental problems. The combat feels unpolished, essential gameplay features are missing, and the first few hours are marred by frustrating design choices and a lack of explanation. On top of that, there are technical issues, a clunky inventory system and characters who are barely distinguishable from one another. After a series of smaller indie projects, ACE Team has clearly bitten off more than it can chew with this more ambitious production, and as a result, they’ve completely missed the mark. The madness mechanic does provide a few memorable moments, but even that gimmick quickly loses its charm when you’re shot by a hallucinating teammate for the umpteenth time.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Despite some performance and combat issues, The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu is a gripping and captivating co-op horror experience that feels novel and fresh thanks to an impressive environment and Sanity system, allowing it to stand out in a saturated market.