Nice glasses.
Cthulhu's Catharsis is a 2019 4X Turn-Based Strategy game released on Steam and developed by Dastardly Digital. You play as one of four characters from the Cthulhu Mythos: Cthulhu (of course), Nyarlathotep, Shub-Niggurath or Yog-Sothoth, and the other three are breathing your air.This game contains examples of:
- Adaptational Badass: Cthulhu in the original mythos is still only a pawn in the grand scheme of the cosmos, but in this game he's equal enemies with several Outer Gods.
- Adaptational Villainy: Yog-Sothoth and Shub-Niggurath aren't very actively antagonistic in the original mythos, the former not being so at all, while in this game they're both vying for control of the Earth as are Cthulhu and Nyarlathotep.
- Adorable Abomination: The main cast are all drawn in a cartoony simplistic style, Cthulhu has a sweater and glasses in the banner, Nyarlathotep has a snazzy suit and tie, and Shub-Niggurath is an actual goat.
- Alliterative Title
- Apocalypse Cult: Any humans you conquer and don't kill become cultists in your service. They unconditionally support your goal of dominating Earth, and their only function is to die in mass ritual sacrifice so you can cast spells and summon units.
- Apocalypse How: Usually Class 1 over the course of a game, Class 6 if you feel like it.
- Boss Battle: The board will sometimes be invaded by Dagon or Mother Hydra, extraordinarily powerful units on nobody's side who can take out countries single-handedly and survive. However, each player can bid cultists when one of these units awakens, and the highest bidder can bribe them to attack a player of their choice upon their awakening.
- Brought Down to Badass: Adaptational Badass above could also be seen as this, where the Outer Gods are brought down to the same level as Cthulhu and are battling for control over the Earth of all things. This may be in-character for Nyarlathotep, but Niggurath is much less actively malicious and Sothoth just minds his own business.
- Cosmic Horror Story: Wears the hat proudly. Humans aren't any sort of threat or opposition, but a currency that you regularly spend in millions. Your only enemies are the other gods and whoever wins, the human race loses.
- Critical Existence Failure: Countries will appear completely intact until all their Hit Points are drained, at which point the precise land within their borders will be vaporized with absolutely no damage or effect on the surrounding lands.
- Curb Stomp Cushion: Most countries are capable of killing one or two of your pawns during the process of conquering them, but it doesn't last and if you feel like it you can pay them back in full afterwards.
- Divine Conflict: The Earth ain't big enough for the four of 'em.
- Evil Versus Evil
- Lovecraftian Superpower: You can give your units mutations such as wings or Combat Tentacles to give them tactical advantages.
- Magick: God Magick, each playable character's unique ability.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Alexus Jonas, a Conspiracy Theorist who writes journals in the Year X about the Eldritch Abominations invading Earth and their relationship with the government.
- "Risk"-Style Map
- Scoring Points: Terror Points are a value you gain from doing "cool stuff" that has no direct impact on gameplay, but does unlock some funny Story Breadcrumbs.
- Slave Race: Shoggoths and humans, once you and your opponents start Xpanding.
- Story Breadcrumbs: Seven journal entries that unlock when you reach a certain total amount of Terror Points.
- Tech Tree: Two: one allows you to unlock and upgrade buildings, units and mutations at the cost of a certain amount of souls, and the other allows you to unlock single-use spells and other perks at the cost of waiting eight turns for each one.
- Units Not to Scale: Each building and unit probably isn't the size of a small island, though it wouldn't be out of place for the setting.
- Video Game Cruelty Potential: Mandatory during a match of course, at least if you want to win, but you can also keep playing post-victory and do whatever you want with what's left of the Earth. Take Over the World, kill everyone and destroy every continent, draw penis-shaped islands, whatever.
- Villain Protagonist
- Your Soul Is Mine!: After taking control of a country, you can absorb the souls of as many inhabitants as you want and enslave the rest.
