Even before The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu properly begins, it has already committed to its most important design decision: atmosphere, thick, heavy, humid atmosphere. Even before I put a foot on the island, the ship – our temporary base to launch treasure hunts from – is caked in fog; its wooden planks and beams drip with condensation. It creaks and smoothly tilts, lamps light its corners drawing the eye to its weapon lockers, loadouts, cooks for turning hunted meat into something more potent – all the things you find in a co-op extraction loot ‘shooter’, but here absolutely loaded with storytelling and mood.
This art direction lends The Mound an identity before anything has even happened, and as someone who loves a bit of Cthulhu tension, it appeals to me. Even the functional elements of the co-op extraction loop, such as the weapon lockers, loadout stations, and cooking stations for turning hunted meat into upgrades, are not clean UI spaces dressed as props but dimly lit corners of the ship. They’re embedded into the ship’s lived-in decay, and it feels solid and grounded.
