Unraveling the Tentacled Abyss: A Deep Dive into Lovecraftian Gaming Mystique

The digital distribution platform for video games, Steam, boasts numerous user-generated tags, which serve as keywords to help users discover specific categories of games on the service. All Steam users, ranging from players to developers, can contribute tags, with “Lovecraftian” being one notably prevalent tag. Currently, there are more than 1200 games classified as Lovecraftian in the Steam store.

What does “Lovecraftian” truly signify or entail? Prema Arasu, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Western Australia, seeks to clarify the term, concentrating on its function in consumer culture. They also examine the term’s application in marketing, sales, purchasing, communication, and archiving practices. The term “Lovecraftian” derives from the influence of H.P. Lovecraft, an American author known for his peculiar, scientific, fantasy, and horror stories, who formulated the “Cthulhu mythos.” This term denotes cosmic or eldritch terrors and strange creatures that have appeared in various forms within Lovecraft’s writings and in works inspired by his narratives. Lovecraft often described these terrors as beyond description, asserting that witnessing or encountering them would drive anyone to madness. Lovecraftian additionally often pertains to the most renowned creature from Lovecraft’s lore, Cthulhu, the tentacled horror.

The presence of games tagged as Lovecraftian on Steam, along with the popularity of this tag, signifies that the term has established its own subgenre. The number of Lovecraftian titles available on Steam also implies that digital gaming serves as an excellent medium for adapting the works of H.P. Lovecraft. The term Lovecraftian encompasses anything related to weird, cosmic, or eldritch horror. A common element associated with Lovecraftian games is the inclusion of sanity effects that influence gameplay. For instance, if a player encounters a monster and their sanity diminishes, it could negatively impact their experience. There are various methods for implementing these effects in games. Sometimes, a touch of madness proves to be quite effective. Some game developers choose to disassociate from the term due to Lovecraft’s political views and xenophobia, opting instead for the term eldritch. However, to the general public, eldritch is often viewed as equivalent to Lovecraftian. Typically, this term also suggests a high likelihood of tentacles appearing, which are iconic symbols within Lovecraftian media. Interestingly, there are actually only a handful of tentacled creatures in Lovecraft’s writings, with Cthulhu being the sole humanoid creature depicted with octopus-like traits.

Contrary to common belief, Lovecraftian does not invariably imply horror. Numerous games that take inspiration from Lovecraft’s narratives are parodies, presenting elements of the Cthulhu mythos laced with varying degrees of humor that trivialize the seriousness of the horror. An example is “Sucker for Love.” This game is a dating simulation, which is a subgenre of simulation games featuring romantic themes, often likened to visual novels. In the game, the possible love interests are represented as cute anthropomorphic anime-style renditions of Cthulhu and other Lovecraftian beings. There are two interpretations or definitions of what Lovecraftian entails: incomprehensible cosmic horror that plays with sanity or whimsical tentacled monsters that joyfully subvert the term’s grim origins.

Arasu focused their research on Steam due to the platform’s reputation and its user-centered metadata system. An important aspect of their research is that in 2014, Steam began to manage user-generated tagging and initiated a process of cleaning and organizing their archives. As part of this effort, Steam decided to designate “Lovecraftian” as an established category over “cosmic horror” or “eldritch horror.”

Essential information:

Published In: Games and Culture

Article: Lovecraftian Games: The Afterlife of Cthulhu on Valve’s Steam Client,

Author: Prema Asaru

Publish Date: December 12, 2023

Images: Promotional images from Steam (Call of Cthulhu, Cthulhu saves Christmas, Dredge, Sucker for Love), Screenshot taken by me from Steam store, Black&White octopus from pixabay (CC)

Post Views: 27

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