Tentacles on Mars – review of the game “Moons of Madness” on PS4

The work of Howard Phillips Lovecraft continues to inspire generations of creators from various fields of art. The legacy of the Providence loner (literary, not racist) is still alive after almost a century and is a source of inspiration for writers, cartoonists, filmmakers, comic bookers, musicians and game developers.

Moons of Madness is a science fiction horror movie in which we play the role of Shane Neweheart, a member of a secret manned mission to Mars, which turns out to hide more secrets than its participants initially thought. Although the twists are not the most sophisticated, the writers made sure not to reveal all the cards to us right away. Within a few hours of the game, we are faced with newer and newer secrets piling up (literally) in front of the protagonist.

On the planet of madness

I will not go into the plot details too much, so as not to spoil the fun for people who would like to play this title. Suffice it to say that the authors do not hide references to the Cthulhu myths. Starting from the paraphrase of the title of the novel In the Mountains of Madness , through the tentacles on the promotional graphics, to the various flavors in the game itself, they let us clearly know what inspired them. The plot also quite directly uses the motifs known from the texts of the writer from Rhode Island. Nightmares haunting the main character, an expedition facing the Unspeakable-Evil-From-Other-Dimensions, madness lurking just around the corner and an ancient mystery bordering science and mysticism are just some of them. At times it’s almost kitsch, but on the other hand, Lovecraft’s work can also be quite unleavened.

Something on the threshold

In terms of mechanics, the game by Rock Pocket Games is a FPP adventure game with literally a few arcade elements. A first-person perspective with a limited field of view and an almost complete lack of combat work very well in building an atmosphere of horror. Getting into the situation is facilitated by realistic graphics based on the Unreal Engine 4 engine and a solid sound layer, so important in the case of horror movies. The heroes’ dialogues and the mass of notes, messages and documents that we can read during the game allow us to explore the story even better. A small glitch on this occasion, however, is a crack, which gives the impression of carelessness, as if it has not undergone a final correction. Apart from the fact that the typeface used in the game has not been enriched with Polish diacritics,

Moons of Madness is a game that stands on the threshold between an exploratory “interactive movie” and a real adventure game. Although the story itself is pleasant to follow, we have practically no influence on the course of events. The creators in just a few places allow us to make some choices, but otherwise the plot is completely linear until the very end. The puzzles for the players also fail. Riddles are rare, and their level ranges from trivial to not very demanding. It is a pity, because the scenery of the Martian base allowed to create more satisfying logical challenges. Action items too is in Moons of Madnessnot much, although I am not sorry for that. The few moments when we have to run quickly through the winding corridors are just as long as it takes to maintain a sense of danger. Unfortunately, in a few places it was difficult for me to see where I was making a mistake and what the game actually requires from me, which in combination with the save system at checkpoints could be a bit irritating.

Madness without madness

The production of Rock Pocket Games is quite successful, although not without flaws. Its main advantage is the combination of lovecraftian themes with Mars exploration. The story presented in the game is a rather original mix of plot tropes, and the gameplay system leaves something to be desired. Nevertheless, Moons of Madness can keep weird fiction fans entertained for one or two evenings.