The Innsmouth Case Review
An Entertaining Text Adventure That Perfectly Captures the Feel of H.P. Lovecraft. The Added Humor is Great Too.
- Platforms: Steam
- Price: $12.49
- Players: 1
- Genre: Choose Your Own Adventure, Text-Based, Adventure
- Developer: RobotPumpkin Games
- Publisher: Assemble Entertainment
Intro
Hello everybody, I’m finally back with a brand-new review! In this one, I’m going to be covering a text-based choose your own adventure game called The Innsmouth Case.
It’s no secret that I’m a pretty humongous fan of the Cthulhu mythos and have been for quite a long time now. I keep an eye out for literally any type of media that’s based on it which wound up leading me to this game.
I’m a pretty avid reader but this was the first text-based adventure game that I’ve experienced in a long time. It’s a genre that I fell out of a long time ago but the moment I saw the title for this one I was immediately interested in it. I’m quite happy that I decided to give this game a try after completing it. I enjoyed it greatly, and we’ll talk about why shortly.
With our introductions out of the way, let’s kick off this review!
Story and Setting
The Innsmouth Case puts you in the role of a private detective and is told from the first-person perspective, much like H.P. Lovecraft’s own stories. I’ll admit that normally I have difficulty getting into stories that are told in the first person but I got into this one surprisingly easily. I think the story is helped a great deal by its music and illustrations. Made it easier for me to be immersed in the story.
Your character is hired by a woman named Dahlia Marsh to find her missing daughter in the town of Innsmouth. Upon arrival, you’re free to proceed as you wish and the story changes based on your choices. Your choices lead you to one of many possible endings and very few of them have good outcomes. The stories leading up to the endings capture Lovecraft’s vision of Innsmouth perfectly, and your character goes through some absolutely terrifying experiences.
The game also has a sense of humor which is quite unique for a story based on Lovecraft’s mythos. This was very welcome because it made the horror elements that much more impactful when it goes from cracking a few jokes to absolute terror and suspense.
One of my favorite jokes in this game took place in the arcade where my character was waiting in line, and he sees the kid in front of him wearing a rap themed hat that says “Boats & Hoes”. I had my character ultimately take his hat off and toss it into the crowd. I cracked up laughing at that whole exchange.
One of the few negatives that I can say about the story is that there were quite a few grammatical and spelling errors but these are easily fixed and will likely get ironed out in future updates.
Gameplay
Since this is a text-based adventure game there isn’t a lot to the gameplay. Much of the gameplay revolves around picking various dialogue and location options as you progress the story.
There are plenty of places and people to meet within the city of Innsmouth and your choices will alter how you’re viewed and which people you wind up talking to.
Pros
- Excellent Story That Captures The Overall Feel of Innsmouth and H.P. Lovecraft
- Tons of Possible Endings
- The Humor is Great and Made Me Laugh Out Loud Quite A Few Times
- The Character Designs are Unique And Fit The Game Perfectly
- Great Soundtrack That Really Adds to the Experience
Cons
- There Were Quite A Few Grammatical And Spelling Errors
- Since It’s a Text Adventure It’s Not Going To Be Everyone’s Cup of Tea
Final Verdict
Overall, I enjoyed my time with The Innsmouth Case and if you happen to enjoy the Cthulhu mythos, text-adventures, or choose your own adventure games, then I highly recommend this one. Its humor is great, it’s characters are unique and interesting, it’s filled with some pretty terrifying stuff, and it captures the overall feeling of H.P. Lovecraft perfectly. Definitely, one to check out!
In the end, I’ve decided to give the game a 4/5 Stars. I loved it.
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