‘My mind quaked and shivered as I regarded the game’s preternatural form… its unsettling qualities evoking the most primitive horror in the pit of my very being…’

Let’s address the shoggoth in the room: making Lovecraft media is tricky. Lovecraft games? Doubly so! The works of H.P Lovecraft are more than just period pieces sprinkled with tentacled monstrosities and a sanity bar. They’re deep dives into dark corners yet unplumbed and riddles yet unsolved! They’re expeditions into the shadows lurking under your bed–the uncertainty lingering when you ask ‘what IS that?’

That said, it was far easier to scare people at a time where leeching was still widely considered a medicinal practice and women riding bikes could instill moral panic. Remnants of R’yleh might not have these advantages, but for a game made by a solo developer, it could certainly be worse!

The Lurking Fear

Beginning work on Remnants of R’yleh in 2022, Darktree Game Studio tells the tale of Jason: an unlucky deep-sea diver who chances upon cyclopean ruins hidden below the waves. Armed with an old-timey diving suit, a flashlight hefty enough to cave a monster’s skull in, and his keen, if not rattled, wits, Jason must navigate the sunken citadel and escape with his life, and sanity, intact!

Standard fare as far as Lovecraft games go, right? One thing that sets Remnants of R’yleh apart, however, is the atmosphere. It’s rare to find a game that does deep sea well–few come to mind aside from Frictional Games’ SOMA and Unknown Worlds Entertainment’s Subnautica. Remnants of R’yleh, however, truly nails the oppressive atmosphere of the abyss! Squeezing through tight, murky pipes and passages aided only by a flashlight fighting a losing battle with the inky darkness surrounding you, the game does a fine job of making you feel out of your depth. Even with a radar alerting you to foes and objects of interest, the claustrophobic diving helmet HUD makes it easy to get blindsided by an undersea abomination if you aren’t careful! Thassalophobes rejoice: this game is for you!

… R’yleh Though?

Compelling though Remnants of R’yleh’s atmosphere may be, it might be a while before ‘the stars are right’. Straight from the get-go the demo provides you with an undersea flashlight to whack enemies with. While I still dodged the first few enemies, I soon realized that the game wasn’t as oppressive as I thought. While the player can shrug off quite a few monster attacks, the haunters of the dark go down rather easily. They landed a few cheap scares on me at first, but when I realized how many health stations were strewn about, I became the monster. 

Cleaving the beasts in twain with my sawblade/flashlight combo and the crossbow I found later on, I couldn’t help but wonder what the final product would look like. Lovecraft’s stories are noir-like in presentation, as are other Lovecraft-inspired games like Headfirst Productions’ Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth and Silicon Knight’s Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. The player should feel out of their depth even after acquiring a weapon! White knuckling their sanity as they fight a losing battle against cosmic forces beyond their comprehension! After playing Remnants of R’yleh, I worry the all-too-familiar trappings of the horror first-person shooter will overshadow the genre’s unique tension.

The Shadow Over Darktree

My second complaint, and one I seem to be making a lot these days, is that while Remnants of R’yleh’s puzzles were alarmingly simple, I often found myself drifting in circles around the demo trying to find out what I could interact with. Tasked with ‘Activating the Special Signs’, it was hard deducing what was set dressing and what was a puzzle component. I’m firmly against the trend of smearing yellow paint all over the game to guide players. That said, given how alien the game’s setting is, I wouldn’t mind putting glimmers on more of the game’s objects.

Last but not least, per the game’s Steam page, Remnants of R’yleh does employ AI-generated images, text, and models. I missed it at first, but it became clear when I found a human skeleton that was twice my size. The demo doesn’t go deep into the plot, but I’m almost certain Jason isn’t supposed to be a halfling. In any case, I hope the clout Darktree Game Studio gets from this demo allows them to hire artists. *Editor’s note: NeverMore Niche stands with the real people behind game development: artists, VAs, writers and more. We will not support a game that chooses to use AI over employing actual people.*

In conclusion, while I’ll admit the game piqued my interest, it still has a long way to go. Who knows what beast will emerge when it’s ready?

Remnants of R’yleh is part of Steam Next Fest: June 2025. The demo is available to play during the fest.