Stygian: Outer Gods
Stygian: Outer Gods
Game
Game2019
Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones
Developer Cultic Games
Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones is a tactical role playing video game developed by Cultic Games. 1C Entertainment published it for PCs in 2019. It takes place in a Lovecraftian setting. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
253 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Nov 4, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
55
Mixed
101 positive · 82 negative
95% range 48–62%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 101 | 82 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 6 | 3 | 47 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| Mastodon * | 1 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
618 of 952 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
57% recommend · 106 yes, 81 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 187 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mixed (1,677 of 2,526 positive).
Players widely agree the game is unfinished and ends abruptly. [1][2][3] Many praise the atmosphere, art, and Lovecraftian writing. [4][5][6] Some reviewers note the combat is clunky and the game has bugs. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [14]
It's really, really good and really, really unfinished.
- [7]
There definitely is a good game somewhere underneath. The premise and the first hours are great. But the deeper into the game the worse it becomes. Stygian is unpolished and unfinished. The devs obviously overscoped and couldn't deliver. There's a lot of stuff in the game but mostly half-baked. The worst for me was combat. It's slow and clunky. Ranged is subpar, so mostly you just hit each other in turns. Combat is …
- [1]
It's unpolished and incomplete. The first half of the game has a lot of interactions, good writing, combats and exploration and then once you reach the point of no return, the game abruptly ends. It's kind of sad because there are very solid foundations for an outstanding Lovecraftian rpg in there but it seems like the studio just released before they got to finish it. I was hoping that they would update further but …
- [4]
As a russian fond of properly roleplaying games, it is always heartwarming to see a game made here that has an identity. As an aspiring gamedev, I try to take solace in knowing that small teams and even solo developers can create beautiful art. The game is unpolished. In a lot of ways, it's unfinished. The combat feels off. However, it drips with armosphere, and gives you the freedom to establish a character. It is …
- [3]
A decent but flawed RPG. The art and the atmosphere are mostly good, but you can see exactly where the money ran out. The game ends on a cliffhanger, and I'm not talking about the plot. The game is just unfinished. You will beat the game with quests still in your journal that are impossible to complete because the devs never finished writing them. It ends as if it's part one of an episodic game, but there are zero …
Summarised from 34 of the 247 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
57% of the 187 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones. The complaint that keeps coming up: game is unfinished and ends abruptly. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones received positive reviews on Metacritic. RPGamer praised the game's writing, role-playing potential, and complexity, but they criticized the combat, having to manage multiple health scores, and the ending, which they said "feels incredibly rushed". Rock Paper Shotgun praised the game's focus on role-playing and its depiction of Lovecraftian horror. Bloody Disgusting called the combat a poorly-explained chore, but they recommended it to fans of atmospheric and slow-paced role-playing games.
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 253 · most liked firstHello to all the new folks following me from the Nemesis sword video! (which did way better than I ever expected 😂) I’ve also made some other Hades stuff before, like my Ares cosplay and the Stygian blade ✨ Photos by @carlos-adama.bsky.social and @sosayweall.bsky.social
neutral · AI labelView post →It's really, really good and really, really unfinished.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (1992) is a first-person RPG for MS-DOS by Blue Sky Productions. Blamed for the kidnapping of a baron's daughter, as the Avatar you must prove your innocence and rescue her from the depths of the Stygian Abyss... (a wrongfully imprisoned thread)
neutral · AI labelView post →First off, this game is one of the best RPGs reflecting the H.P. Lovecraft Mythos and if you love that kind of thing, get this game, its great! Why cant I recommend this game? Its abandoned and only half finished, too short and gets very repetitive if you want to 100% it. I read a rumour in the forums that the publishers stole the game rights from the developers and that is why they cant complete the game, some people say the ending is "open-ended" but they certainly intended to have at least…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's unpolished and incomplete. The first half of the game has a lot of interactions, good writing, combats and exploration and then once you reach the point of no return, the game abruptly ends. It's kind of sad because there are very solid foundations for an outstanding Lovecraftian rpg in there but it seems like the studio just released before they got to finish it. I was hoping that they would update further but it's been years now and it's clearly not happening. It's a shame really.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The last thing I did before shutting down Conan last night was recruit a Stygian Dancer II. She *IMMEDIATELY* took up residence on a stool at my bar. If I could change the names of thralls in the game, she'd be called Norm now. I'm still gonna do that, but the game doesn't know.
neutral · AI labelView post →Just finished playing the early access version of Stygian: Outer Gods for a writeup in PC Gamer later, but the abridged version: A gorgeously detailed set of environments that doesn't seem to know quite what kind of gameplay to fill them with. But mostly, it's We Have Resident Evil 8 At Home.
neutral · AI labelView post →It may look intriguing, it may look fun, BUT DO NOT BUY IT. Story is unfinished. Lots of bugs. Demo had more voice lines... Some mechanics are good, but it is not worth you money, or time.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Edit: [I've finished the game since I wrote my review and I came back to confirm that what others have mentioned on their reviews. As of 25/2/2025 5 and some years after the game's release, the game is indeed incomplete and ends abruptly without giving the player the opportunity to make use of/identify some of the special items and artifacts aquired at the latest part of the game or make use of their recently acquired skills. The plot is axed halfway through only allowing the player to decipher…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You can tell the developers put more effort into making the game difficult than they put into making the game playable and fun. At every turn you're forced down a singular path, which isn't much fun when the achievements expect you to do this with every character class. Highly recommend a pass on this unless you happen to get it free in a bundle. Even then- don't expect much more than apathy from this game as it will consistently fail to reward your efforts with anything else. Also there is no…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There definitely is a good game somewhere underneath. The premise and the first hours are great. But the deeper into the game the worse it becomes. Stygian is unpolished and unfinished. The devs obviously overscoped and couldn't deliver. There's a lot of stuff in the game but mostly half-baked. The worst for me was combat. It's slow and clunky. Ranged is subpar, so mostly you just hit each other in turns. Combat is mandatory. There are a lot of non-combat character classes but picking…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First-person psychological horror action game Stygian: Outer Gods enters early access on April 14. Wishlist here: store.steampowered.com/app/2581410 #indiegames #steam #indiegame #horror
neutral · AI labelView post →(5.7) New Game Mode: Stygian Onslaught #GenshinImpact
neutral · AI labelView post →Not terrible, but not good. Works similarly to the old Fallout games. Lovecraftian world that somehow manages to be kinda boring. There are some interesting mechanics, like progressive escapes that let you run from combat but treat it as a victory. You can make a non-combat main character. Spells cost sanity, which can be a pain to deal with. You lose sanity every once in a while & if it gets too low, you lose. The item highlight feature is a must, but it doesn't highlight everything. I was…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Stygian blade from Hades Sword design so good, it got me to start playing a whole ass game.
neutral · AI labelView post →Stygian: Outer Gods. Set in the universe of Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones, the game lets players witness and influence the events preceding the Black Day.
neutral · AI labelView post →I managed to finish the game on my third attempt, and if I had to chose one word to describe my experience with this game, it would be disappointing. I really wanted to like it, but the abrupt and unbelievably unsatisfying ending left a sour taste in my mouth.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Where's the rest of the game dawg
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Starts off strong with fun characters, writing, and settings. I love HPL and the Cthulhu mythos and they do a good job of implementing it. Combat is atrocious and is basically a roll of the die to see if you can attack before enemies kill you outright. I've encountered 2 completely game breaking bugs requiring a full game restart to progress. The devs have completely abandoned this game, which is truly disappointing as it could be so good. Would not recommend in the slightest.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →No. I really, really wanted to like this one. It has an interesting premise, it was the hook for me. You awake with your manservant in a sort of weird limbo, it's barely acknowledged by others how insane the entire thing is, everyone is reduced to glorified hobos and somehow, you try to investigate something in all this. The interface is extremely dated. It looks and feels like a nice flash game from the early 2000s. The animations are stiff and floaty, with the kind of delay between…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game is awful. It has a cool premise or world overall, but the implementation of battle systems and the non description of items in the game, actions such as using spells or items in the game etc are awfully implemented. i wish I could have refunded this game but its too late to unfortunately. a 2 out of 10 kinda game
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Only reason I give a thumbs down is because the game is in forever early access. There's an 'ending cinematic' but it's like in half of the journey what you set out to do. > Be detective character > Try to find a person with a face no one remembers > Think 'oh, nice, I made a character with a type of path I'd want to explore' > Get ♥♥♥♥♥♥ in unavoidable fights as you're too weak to fight and don't find enough junk to sell for better weapons > Barely get through some battles, always close and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Grimbeard had a great video on the first game, which really felt like it was onto something cool and then just... stops. This new Stygian just has me thinking 'I really should replay RE8'. Also reminded me that I never got round to the expansion for it.
neutral · AI labelView post →This game could have been really great. The art style is amazing and there are some cool ideas in here. Unfortunately, it's literally unfinished. I guess they ran out of money? The story isn't finished, there are tons of bugs (including game-breaking ones) and combat is also broken. I think it's still worth experiencing (on sale) for the art, just be aware that you're getting an unfinished chunk of what could have been.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Last day of #PAXU! Running low on Orbital Blues, our #TTRPG of sad space cowboys & its solo game The Wanderer and The Stygian Library! Come say hi at @studio2publishing.bsky.social booth 2951
neutral · AI labelView post →Lovecraft Horror - Stygian: Outer Gods Hits Steam Early Access 14th April. Developer Misterial Games and publisher Fulqrum Publishing will be launching their first-person Lovecraftian horror game ‘Stygian: Outer Gods’ on PC via Steam’s Early Access programme on the 14th of April. Dive into a hostile world that challenges your very existence, in this survival horror game with RPG elements. Unravel a thousand-year-old mystery, risk your sanity and face the Outer Gods with your skills. Every…
neutral · AI labelView post →A fun, visually stylish and mechanically engaging game, I keep coming back to Stygian despite its flaws (and there are a few, to be sure). Unfortunately, I can't really recommend playing too much of it. Once you've left the confines of Arkham, things start to break down. Not in the fun Lovecraftian kinda way, either. The most interesting story beats are either introduced up-front in a slow burn kind of storytelling that keeps you hunting for answers, but enforced combat encounters and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a russian fond of properly roleplaying games, it is always heartwarming to see a game made here that has an identity. As an aspiring gamedev, I try to take solace in knowing that small teams and even solo developers can create beautiful art. The game is unpolished. In a lot of ways, it's unfinished. The combat feels off. However, it drips with armosphere, and gives you the freedom to establish a character. It is not the best reading-focused roleplaying game out there, but it is the best in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is not going to be a popular review. I really liked the game, despite the rage it gets. The game is graphically beautiful without needing to be too demanding. It has great soundtrack, ambiance, really effective at creating an atmosphere we would expect from a game set in a Lovecratian-like universe. It has some reaplayability value two with it's many character types and achievements to get, although it will get tiring once you know the story already. I loved the mechanics, the side…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It is a really good game with worst realization I ever seen. Good mechanics and world, style and character perception features. But it is extremely unfinished, unbalanced, untested and lot of other un's. This is a good quality demo - only 25% of plot available. But this is a terrible quality game. Don't by this, it is a waste of time and money, and infinite source of frustration.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A decent but flawed RPG. The art and the atmosphere are mostly good, but you can see exactly where the money ran out. The game ends on a cliffhanger, and I'm not talking about the plot. The game is just unfinished. You will beat the game with quests still in your journal that are impossible to complete because the devs never finished writing them. It ends as if it's part one of an episodic game, but there are zero signs that there will ever be a sequel. It may sound cruel, but if this game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After around 10 hours of playtime, I can say that this game may just not be for me. I wasn't into the themes and the game seems difficult for the sake of being difficult. The character creation is fine but after hours of playing I wish some things were explained better. I enjoy games that give the player freedom to play how they want to play and build their characters how they wish. But it's clear the game wants to you play a certain way and the character I made was not suited for this…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is an unfinished mess. Too bad, it had great potential.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Orcus help me but not having a magazine to work on at the moment has left empty a small amount of real estate in my head for an old game I’d toyed with back in 2018 to escape from its gaol in the Stygian depths of my consciousness & plant its tattered flag upon.
neutral · AI labelView post →This game had the potential to be the best turn based RPG since it's release date till the day Im posting this review. Unfortunately, it seems the devs simply decided to not completely finish this and also abandon the sequel development. Instead, the best plan they could come up with was.... a lame cat game that nobody cares about. So yeah they managed somehow to F this up: One of the best video-game projects ever made during the so called "modern gaming era". Bravo.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I feel like it is a 'gaccha!' game. I was 1/3 through the game. I locked myself into a scenario where aggro was the only option to progress. I did not want to end up permanently encountering enemies for the rest of the game. I looked up guides how to solve this situation in other ways and had to make another character. Now, not wanting to have to start again I looked up guides. It felt crap but I just wanted to see it through and enjoy the setting. Everything was going fine except that my…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones is a fantastic RPG. The story is interesting, the characters are unique, the quests are varied, and the systems run deep. There are various ways to play this game, and I can’t wait to jump back in and explore some new paths. This is one nightmare I highly recommend.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It feels unfinished
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It hurts to think this is possibly one of my favourite games ever made, I just love the atmosphere, art style and RPG elements. It hurts to know this will forever remain an unfinished game. Play at your own risk.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The definition of cosmic horror: This game is insignificant. Beautiful artwork, clear resolution mechanics for skill checks and combat, just too much tedious boredom to trudge through to see the interesting bits.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →While the atmosphere and writing is pretty good, the overall gamedesign leaves something to be desired. Major gripe: in a certain quest involving a murdervictim you can miss talking to 2 npc's (mobsters) and if you do the game is unable to progress any further, i had to retsart my game after i figured it out. There is no recourse. Smaller gripes: many quests punish you with loss of sanity for comcluding them. This feels very counterintuitive since it is basically a motivation to avoid a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Stygian: Outer Gods piqeus my interest because it's set in the same universe as Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones, which was a very unique if janky and sadly unfinished RPG that I still am quite fond of despite its flaws. This one looks more Survival Horror. store.steampowered.com/app/2581410/...
neutral · AI labelView post →Good replay value but that's it. Game feels limited for non-combat builds. Very short for an RPG. Needs more weapons and party members. Ending feels rushed and comes out of nowhere.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Was enjoying the hell out of it until I reached a part where I was outmatched. I thought that I might have missed something or skipped ahead to a later area, but no. The combat is just broken. A shame because I was enjoying all of the other elements of this game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →👍 If you are a HUUUGE GIGANTIC Lovecraft nerd 👎 Otherwise (the game is maybe 75% finished - you can't complete either of the two main quests)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dungeons of Dredmor - Stygian Search [Matthew Steele]. Man, I love this game so much. Maybe I'll actually manage to beat it some day...
neutral · AI labelView post →My thumbs up represents me liking the game more than me recommending you to buy it. The game is flawed and unfinished. I still enjoy the game despite these flaws. Being a die hard H.P fan and I always end up getting lost in the worlds, regardless of the flaws they have. So if you are cool with flaws and bugs and balancing issues then maybe give it a go. Unlikely based on how many negatives, I don't mind it and keep coming back to it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Way the game is structured implies that a bunch of character builds are viable when really only pure combat characters are worth anything, so if you wanted to try a character that was focused around stealth and investigation, or science and speech you're out of luck. Important concepts and rules about what you are able and not able to do aren't properly communicated to the player. Cool idea poorly executed.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm going to get a lot of hate for this, but I Really liked this game Everything about it was amazing except maybe the quick ending, though its good enough if there was a sequel coming out. It's just sad it's never going to get a sequel. I like this lovecraftian game more than a lot of others.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →RPG friends, I've been looking to widen my Cthulhu Gaslight stuff for our upcoming game. I keep seeing stuff about the Hudson and Brand books from Stygian Fox. They look pretty damn good. Anyone used them?
neutral · AI labelView post →This game is unfinished with the program not even functioning at times. the "hard" combat isn't hard the enemies just swarm with repeat waves and hit for a quarter of your health twenty times before you can take your turn. I'm waiting more than playing the game when combat occurs. Then the program just doesn't do anything sometimes because of spaghetti coding. a lot is here but this game is clearly unfinished and was not play tested enough. The setting and story are interesting but the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A bit of progress. The party was able to send word to their guild they were fine. They went up and down a Stygian library. While finding a bunch of loot and a new friend in the process. #ttrpg #mausritter #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →Yeah i can't really complain too much as i got this for free,but it's very much an indie game through and through as a big fan of RPG horror games,i was expecting to sorta like this even if its bad but no. Its very unpolished,the writing is INSANELY cringe at times,and it also just ends out of nowhere. I feel like they would've kept updating this game had it received more positive reception,but it seems like nobody really likes this game Not really worth playing if you ask me,but i still…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm about 1/2 through the game (based on I've deciphered half of the poem) and wanted to give my first real review on Steam to Stygian. This game came out in 2019 but I've sat on it until recently when my life has finally slowed down. And as I prepare to go back to school to further my writing degree, I was looking for something that would be inspiring for my own creative ventures. Stygian seemed to be the perfect choice. Frankly, this is by far the best Lovecraftian game I've played,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I knew this game was basically unfinished, but tried playing it anyway because the art looked good and the Lovecraft theme is always appealing to me. Sadly I found it a bit dull, also I made some choices that damaged my sanity so badly I felt I needed to restart. Since I already knew the game had a bad ending with no fix in sight it didn't seem worth it to continue. Maybe I'll go full kamikaze with this character at a few places just to see what happens, who knows ;) Also I chose the Explorer…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →was ok until i ran into issues like some of the other reviews. wish they'd come back and fix this up.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game got no love from the developers so people didn't much like it with all the bugs. Very low sales mean no fixes. The new game coming out? I'll wait a while for some reviews before I buy into some buggy pos.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a game for masochists. It actually punishes you for whatever you do. You chose to fight? You lose sanity. Which if you don't cure, you will get devastating mental conditions, which can cause you attack your own people, or lose a combat turn and similar pretty frequently. It is also an RNG as I got mental condition with full sanity after resting. And it is permanent for the length of the game! You chose to flee? You get angst where you also get a negative modifier with heavy…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"Mixed" is the best way to describe it. It has some good ideas, beautiful environments and quality dialogue but... everything about it feels unfinished. Minor bugs abound, there's like a single side-quest, one real area, slow as molasses combat and and ending that isn't really an ending. If you're a fan of the Lovecraft mythos and CRPGs then it's worth your time, but you really need to like both as neither one here can stand by itself.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is not a hidden gem, but it could've been- I enjoyed the game, it has its problems, and probably isn't worth full price, but I wish I could find another game just like this but... more. It's so close. So close. It does also end abruptly, which is unfortunate, but I can still hope for more. Long story short; I enjoyed it despite its flaws and don't regret giving the devs my money. If it's on sale definitely check it out, if not- I don't know.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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