There are many ways to adapt H. P. Lovecraft. One can throw tentacles at the player every five minutes and call it a day or attempt something a little more unsettling – something quieter, stranger, and far more interested in what knowledge does to a person than how a monster jump-scares you or decreases your health bar. Developed by Paradnight Studio, and published by the in-love-with-ultra-indies-that-are-rarely-good Sometimes You, The Nameless City firmly plants itself in the latter camp, by adapting Lovecraft’s short story (which is believed to be the beginning of his mythos) with an atmospheric descent into ancient ruins that really, really don’t want visitors.
The setup of this 10% first-person adventure, 90% walking sim is classic Lovecraft: an unnamed narrator wanders into a long-abandoned city somewhere in the Arabian desert, because curiosity and self-preservation is optional. The intro briefly explains that this place has been around longer than the oldest of humanity’s constructs, and as you walk within its walls there’s an overwhelming sense that it predates not just civilisation, but perhaps the idea of civilisation itself.
It’s important to make a few comments on the visual aspect. This follows the now common trend of horror and horror-flavoured super-indies that began their life at Itchi.io, which is to lean heavily into a PS1-era aesthetic. This critic loves the style and still plays games from that era, so he isn’t exactly opposed to the use…but there’s a good and a bad approach to that. The Nameless City doesn’t look bad. No, no, no. It features plenty of memorable scenes, even before one steps into the titular city. There are some issues, however.
The textures are a bit too low-res even when compared to other titles of its ilk, and on top of that everything seems to be made from various shades of muddy brown. There are some places where good ol’ contrast comes into play, but most of the time your eyes will get tired. There’s a final problem to talk of. Moving the camera around has a certain low frame rate kind of feel that’s hard to describe. It’s possibly not actually low frame rate, but it feels weird and adds to the eye strain.
It’s a shame really, because, despite these flaws, the atmosphere and the look of it all are part of the fun here. The stark geometry and harsh lighting create something alien rather than nostalgic, which fits like a glove with the vibe this wants to have. The sound design does a lot of heavy lifting too. The ambient audio hums and crackles in all the right ways, with some bizarre electronic tunes enhancing the ominous, eldritch mood.
Gameplay-wise The Nameless City is mostly about exploration, with light puzzle elements sprinkled throughout. There’s a mechanic involving the collection of glyphs, which can then be combined in a spellbook to bypass obstacles. It’s a neat idea, but it’s wasted on a ride that takes about 60 minutes, and as such there’s only a handful of glyphs and not many moments where these can be used. Oh, and solving puzzles doesn’t require much thinking either.
For the first stretch (roughly 20-30 minutes or so) everything clicks nicely into place. Exploration is deliberate and appropriately tense. Corridors twist, staircases spiral ever downward, and the trip down does an excellent job of making it crystal clear that the protagonist is heading somewhere he shouldn’t. Not in a “there’s a boss fight ahead” sort of way, but in a “this will permanently alter your understanding of reality” one. As is the case with like 99% of Lovecraft-inspired video games, there’s a sanity system available, which while simple, reinforces the idea that progress comes at a cost. It’s just a shame like everything else this mechanic never quite evolves that much.
Suddenly, just as this settles into a comfortable rhythm of eerie exploration and puzzle solving, it decides to change things up. Dramatically. Suddenly, the hero is dropped into a long and boring abstract puzzle sequence involving multiple gates that need to be opened and closed in a specific order. Despite the sudden change of scenery, the actual procedure is less “ancient cosmic mystery” and more “try to connect 50 identical wires in the right socket/wiring diagram not included.” This section really kills the pacing and feels like it wandered in from another project and refused to leave.
Clocking in at an hour isn’t inherently a problem, but it does leave the experience feeling underdeveloped. As an adaptation of a short shorty this shouldn’t be a 10-hour-long ordeal, but an additional 30 to 60 minutes would help substantially. The developer clearly understands Lovecraft and what makes his unique brand of horror work, but due to the limited room left for storytelling, ideas are introduced, hinted at, and then quietly abandoned. At least the ending is fittingly dark and oppressive.
Should you write off The Nameless City altogether? Well, when it’s on form it manages to grasp cosmic horror while others fumble with it. This isn’t about heroically thumping unspeakable creatures, but about poking one’s nose into matters that were quite clearly better left alone. At its best there’s a proper sense of unease…but it’s not always at its best. Try it only if you really, really, really love the source material.
