Review: Gibbous - A Cthulhu Adventure

 Goutham Jayaraman

Ravencrow Game Review #20

 

Gibbous - A Cthulhu Adventure

https://store.steampowered.com/app/914020/Gibbous___A_Cthulhu_Adventure/

Genre	Point and Click
Platform	PC
Developer	Stuck in Attic
Publisher	Stuck in Attic
Playtime	14 hours
Date Completed	12/4/2021
Date Reviewed	28/5/2021
Overall Grade	S+

 

Gibbous is a point and click adventure set in the dreary world of HP Lovecraft, centering its focus on the Necronomicon and Cthulhu, two of Lovecraft’s popular creations.

Set in fabulous locations such as Arkham Darkham, Transylvania and Innsmouth Fishmouth, the story follows oddly named Buzz Kerwan and detective Don R. Ketype as they stumble upon the Necronomicon which gives Buzz’s cat Kitteh the power of cynism. Together, the three of them journey across continents to try and undo Kitteh’s misfortunate accident, meeting a diverse cast of comical characters along the way all whilst delving deeper into Lovecraftian horror.

For me, being somebody with little knowledge of Lovecraft’s works, Gibbous was pretty much a regular high quality point and click game with a somewhat convoluted but still comprehensible story, memorable characters and solid humor. I was also expecting to see Cthulhu show up at any minute (shows how much I know).            

What I liked

-          The game’s humorous conversations

-          I could appreciate the game managing to stay light-hearted despite its dark setting

-          I liked how immersive the game was. It had beautifully drawn locations, good voice acting and a perfect atmosphere.

-          Talking cat

-          Talking cat with an attitude

-          How the game makes Lovecraft more approachable for newcomers.

What I disliked

-          No complaints, though I guess the story could have been easier to understand.

Gameplay 20/20	+ Standard point and click game mechanics + High interactivity + Good amount of humor + Playing as multiple characters + There were some creative elements that were fun to experience such as a rap battle and an interactive poster = Having Kitteh as an additional inventory “item” or commentator, although would have liked to see more responses out of her. Very often it was just a generic “She wouldn’t be interested” or “I shouldn’t bother her” etc.
Game Design 17/20	From what I can remember, the puzzles were nothing all that remarkable, about what you expect from the average point and click game. There were several moments where I did get stuck for a while, but was never frustrating or anything. In fact, the game is more on the casual side, especially considering it has a hint system.   Most of the puzzles are indeed logical and there was definitely clever design to be found, but some puzzles, especially later on, become more obtuse. This is a Cthulhu story after all, so it is what it is.   Other than that, I don’t have anything else major to say.
Graphics 20/20	+ Crisp and beautifully drawn characters and environments. + Lively animations and special effects + Dark but still light-hearted atmosphere provides for a humorous Lovecraft experience
Audio 20/20	+ Good soundtrack with plenty of atmospheric tracks that have been recorded with live instruments + High quality voice acting throughout
Story 18/20	I’m not a Lovecraft expert, but I think the story was still mostly understandable. Some cults worshipping a great entity known only as Bob Olmstein have suddenly set their sights on the Necronomicon in order to resurrect said entity, probably for world domination or something.   Don is hired to look for this book but gets turned away at the library where its supposed to be at, and is later kidnapped by a cult thinking that he has the book. Ultimately, the book is found by the librarian and curses his cat with the power of speech.   Kitteh is unhappy about being humanized (and she does keep mentioning that a lot), and so Buzz has no choice but to try and resolve the issue.   They meet this voodoo clown who points them towards Fishmouth.   The rest is more of a blur I guess. It became more of a matter of getting deeply involved with the cults and trying to stop them.   As far as lovecraft stories go, I’d say it was definitely a lot friendlier than other games where things are always confusing for majority of the game. The added humor woven into every part of the game, same as how Monkey Island does it, helped to keep the immersion and engagement level high and made the story more enjoyable.   I think the story had a pretty touching end as well and overall, will definitely be fun to play through.
Lore 18/20	+ The world design is pretty good and you do get a decent amount of backstory either by exploring or talking to NPCs. + The characters in the game are very memorable, probably because of their different roles, attitudes and even just their voices. + They have good interactions with one another and with NPCs as well. - Although it would have been nice to see Kitteh participate more because she was the funniest character in the game. She sadly doesn’t want to talk to most of the NPCs (or Buzz wouldn’t let her). Quite a wasted potential.
Value 18/20	+ Good playtime + Probably the only solid Lovecraft point and click around (there are some others but haven’t really played them, and they don’t seem to be talked about much) + I would say worth it for the experience, even if you do not have prior knowledge of Lovecraft. = About equal playtime and cost
Overall Grade 19/20	S+
Score	94

 

Gibbous - A Cthulhu Adventure is certainly worth the pickup, although as always, preferably on sale if possible. It offers a nice beginner-level Lovecraft adventure with tons of humor and references to popular media and should keep you laughing a considerable amount while playing through the game. The story can be a bit complicated at times but you’ll still get the gist of it well enough. Its amazing artwork and music alone should leave you enamored, honestly.