Shadows Over Loathing

In 2022, the role-playing game Shadows Over Loathing was introduced to the gaming community. For a long time, the development was done in secret, without disclosing the essence and details. The author of the project was a small studio from the USA, Asymmetric Publications. While creating the world the developers were guided by Howard Lovecraft's works and inspired by the atmosphere of the 1920s.

Gameplay

The gameplay begins with the creation of a character. The gamer gets access to an extensive catalogue, including facial modifications, hairstyles and clothing. The plot is based on the mysterious story of the protagonist's uncle, Mister Murray. The latter asks his nephew to come urgently to visit an antique shop. However, having arrived at a place, the hero does not find the uncle, and faces a series of riddles.

The character will have to go to Ocean City, to find the values of the family and find traces of the missing relative. During the passage of the need to successfully cope with the tasks, divided into 6 chapters. In addition to the main storyline, there is a clever system of side quests. They add to the story dynamics and the spirit of adventure. To successfully complete the mission one must not only fight the enemies, but also solve puzzles. In the course of the levels the character gets access to new weapons and abilities.

Features

The atmosphere of Shadows Over Loathing deserves special attention. It's a classic "Lovecraftian" universe rife with horror and mysticism. Scary and frightening scenes alternate with humour, which both players and critics loved. There's also a character progression system reminiscent of Moonfall.

Among the features:

• Multiple ending options. A specific ending is formed depending on the decisions made in the game. You can pass through levels several times to see all variants of events. In addition, the decisions made affect each individual storyline
• Black and white graphics. Allows you to fully immerse yourself in an unusual world, where the rule of law and unsolved mysteries prevail. The only additional shade is red. It is used in the assassination scenes
• A variety of enemies. The protagonist has to fight both common bandits and monsters born of the dark world
• Unusual ways of destruction. Fighting evil will have to be non-trivial. For example, using portals in phone boxes or modifying serums
• Stylistics of the 1920s. Elements of a bygone era can be traced in the story, character appearances and dialogues

Pros and cons

The game has been warmly received by players because of its many pros:

• Unusual atmosphere
• Grim plot
• Combination of humour and horror
• Side quests

There are no major drawbacks, but the downsides include:

• Scenes of violence
• The complexity of some of the puzzles