''Cthulhu Saves the World'' is an indie turn-based role-playing video game developed and published by Zeboyd Games. It was released in 2010 for Xbox Live Arcade, and in 2011 for Windows. It was later bundled with its predecessor, ''

Breath of Death VII ''Breath of Death VII: The Beginning'' is an indie turn-based role-playing video game developed and published by Zeboyd Games. It was released on April 22, 2010, for Xbox Live Arcade, and on July 13, 2011, for Windows. It was later bundled wit ...

'', as a compilation release. A parody resembling a retro

16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two mos ...

JRPG and based on the

Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an ...

, the game stars the Great Old One Cthulhu as an antiheroic protagonist who is stopped by a wizard before he can destroy the world. He must become a "true hero" in order to break the spell and regain his evil powers. The game received favorable reviews from critics, and was a commercial success. It was praised for its value, but criticized for aspects of its gameplay.

Reception

John Walker of Rock Paper Shotgun said that his review "barely matter d at the price the game was selling for, calling it incredibly low for such a game. Stating that the "core idea" of the game was already enough to sell it, he noted that it was a "coherent, detailed RPG" despite being a parody, praising the variety of monsters as "extraordinary". He also remarked that the game's story was humorous and had a high level of detail to its world interactions. Despite this, he criticized the game's

random encounters A random encounter is a feature commonly used in various role-playing games whereby combat encounters with non-player character (NPC) enemies or other dangers occur sporadically and at random, usually without the enemy being physically detected b ...

, saying that despite the fact that the game allowed the player to "clear out" an area by defeating a certain number of enemies, it still felt "arduous". He also called it too easy to run out of magic points, saying that it was not well-balanced. Charles Onylett of '' IGN'' scored the game positively, saying that it paid JRPGs the utmost respect despite satirizing them, and describing it as a "heartfelt homage". He said that the game's references would only register to those who had both played games like '' Final Fantasy'' and were familiar with the writings of H. P. Lovecraft. He called the game a "great success" despite having only a "sliver of a target audience". Andrew Webster of '' GamesRadar+'' also gave it a positive review, saying that despite being too linear and short, its visuals were charming and its writing "hilarious".

Legacy

A prequel game, '' Cthulhu Saves Christmas'', was released for Windows on December 23, 2019.

References

{{Zeboyd Games 2010 video games Cthulhu Mythos video games Fantasy video games Indie games Parody video games Retro-style video games Turn-based role-playing video games Windows games Xbox Live Arcade games Zeboyd Games games