Cthulhu Saves The World was a unique RPG that saw players take control of Cthulhu in an interesting take on the JRPG format, and had fun at the genre’s expense. Developer Zeboyd Games released a follow-up later for PC entitled, Cthulhu Saves Christmas, which has now come to Nintendo Switch and soon to PlayStation 5.. How does this adventure stack up compared to the original? Surprisingly well actually, especially since Zeboyd has brought in some of the ideas from their later games. The game begins with Cthulhu once again stripped of his powers, and now must team with Santa’s granddaughter and others to rescue the kidnapped Saint Nick, restore his power, and destroy the world by plunging it into madness.
Cthulhu Saves Christmas continues the idea of a parody RPG, but this time with much more depth to the mechanics, even if the game itself is shorter. The combat now takes a cue from Cosmic Star Heroine, where combat commands can be used once then need to be reset, while also using mechanics of the first Cthulhu game such as insanity afflictions and more. It works surprisingly well, and creates a combat system that works better than Cthulhu Saves The World and Cosmic Star Heroine by merging the best of both gams. The game walks you though the initial steps via a tutorial, but it is also made the subject of self aware humor like everything else in this game. Overall though, combat is more refined and more fulfilling here, and the system of determining when your next random battle will be and how to avoid it, is very well implemented and made clear.
I must praise the writing overall in Cthulhu Saves The World, as it is not only incredibly well done, but better than the first game in so many ways. While some of the Christmas puns got a bit annoying after a while,, they did not ruin my overall enjoyment of the game. The game is a funny piece of work, and dares to go even further than the previous entry ever did. Cthulhu Saves Christmas also brought in ideas that were intended for Cthulhu Saves the world, such as visual novel influences and relation ships ( or rather r’leytionshiops). There are many scenarios to encounter here, such as Cthulhu getting a job as a mall, Santa, going to movies, hanging out with others and a lot more, but he does it in his own unique way of course and that is where the charm is.
Everything from the UI, to the equipment system is overhauled here, and feels like a game with a lot more experience behind it . Zeboyd has clearly learned from their past work, and knows what to do in an RPG and what not to do. The music is exquisite, and the game has a ton of options for players who want to customize the game. With likeable, if sometimes a bit annoying. characters, and combat that is rewarding, I had a blast with the game.
This version comes with some new content as well, so there is still more to experience if you already played the game. There is a New Game+ mode that you can access after beating the game that will allow you to replay the game with a few new story scenes and having the option of harder enemies harder enemies (optional). These new scenes are pretty great, and you are also able to flesh out the r’leytionshiops you will miss in the first playthrough. There are also a couple of nice things to find on the second time around, and this makes the replay value go up for me. The game played well on Switch, in both docked and handheld mode, and I look forward to seeing the PS5 version. The new content will also come to the PC version in an update as well.
In conclusion, this is an ideal follow-up to a great indie game, and I highly recommend checking it out. You will not regret it.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided.