Family-friendly Lovecraftian horror comedy... Say, WHAT??? The stars were definitely right for this one. As unlikely as that combination of elements is... This really works. The plot is excellent, mashing up some of H P Lovecraft's best stories in a novel and fun way. Some of the darker elements of those stories are skirted around (for example, why people in Fishmouth look like... Well, fish!) so that it remains appropriate for younger players, while providing plenty of self-aware snarky humour for mum and dad. The style really reminds me of late-era two-dimensional Disney animations, and on that level, it looks great. The solution to puzzles isn't always obvious, so there's a degree of challenge for everyone, and, as already mentioned, it's a fresh take on Lovecraft which a lot of fans of the author may love (I'm part of that constituency and I definitely did, spotting little references here and there among the more obvious elements). And, while they drift away from the Lovecraftian element, I also really enjoyed the sequences set in Paris and Romania (although Paris seemed a bit... Brief?) Ironically, though, what should be the story's greatest strength is it's greatest weakness. Its ending is really powerful - but not in a good way; the creators of the game have done a brilliant job of making you emotionally invested in the characters, so the climax is more than a little shocking and I could imagine that 7-year-old me would have been traumatised. But, rationalising it, downer endings are a hallmark of Lovecraft so... With that said, I really loved it and I can't wait for the follow-up.
