Big Bad Wolf on Creating Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss, the Style and Future of the Game

Introduction

Historically, we began as a studio specializing in the development of AA games that mix narrative and RPG mechanics, with expertise in branching storylines. Over the course of our productions, this approach has allowed us to build solid experience in creating interactive stories where the player's choices shape the adventure.

With The Council, our first title, we gave players the chance to build their own story, combining crucial choices, verbal confrontations, and puzzles. With Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong, we refined this formula by adding more advanced and demanding investigation phases.

Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss follows this tradition, with a clear desire to go deeper in its investigation gameplay. From the very beginning of production, we set out to do more than tell a detective story through a set of branching paths. We wanted to fully embrace that fantasy and let players carry out a real investigation. Their own steps lead them to different ways of seeing and solving the same puzzle.

We give players freedom in how they investigate, while also rewarding their curiosity as they uncover the mysteries unfolding in front of them, chapter after chapter. These are the main pillars on which we built the game.

Gameplay Experience

Players can expect a gameplay experience focused entirely on investigation and narrative, steeped in an immersive cosmic horror atmosphere, all presented from a first-person perspective.

Exploration, observation, deduction, and object manipulation sit at the heart of progression. This approach gives substance to the world and places the player in the role of a true detective. It also shapes the puzzle design, as players find solutions through their actions in the environment, without always facing explicit choices.

The game also integrates a corruption system that progresses in three distinct ways:

• Scripted moments: powerful, unavoidable narrative events that impact every player.
• Investigation resolutions: the way players resolve investigations directly influences their corruption level. Some paths preserve the character’s integrity, while others push them irreversibly toward the abyss.
• The cost of knowledge: when players exhaust their consumables or choose to save them, they can accept a dose of corruption in exchange for energy points, which are necessary to deepen the analysis of certain clues.

The character's arc and ending link directly to their level of corruption. During the game, corruption also has a direct impact on upgrades. Certain perks only trigger at high corruption levels to offer unique effects, while other skills help buffer or stabilize this progression.

KEY is a fundamental component of the experience. From a diegetic point of view, KEY explains Noah's tools as players interact with the world through its interface. Narratively, KEY acts as his companion. If Noah is Sherlock, KEY is Doctor Watson, except KEY constantly evolves.

More human than machine, KEY accompanies Noah throughout the adventure but cannot intervene directly in dangerous situations. This leaves him alone to face what he encounters and preserves the sense of solitude. In short, KEY serves as a powerful gameplay and narrative tool, while raising a central question: who is really the tool of whom?

By introducing a character like KEY into the Lovecraftian universe, we bring in an entity that reacts differently than humans to the discoveries and ancient horrors that await those who delve into the mythos. We adapt this universe into a science fiction setting.

This choice allows us to modernize the detective's classic toolkit and reflect current issues such as resource depletion, climate change, the influence of large private fortunes, and the rise of AI. In a way, Lovecraft wrote his stories in a contemporary setting of his time. By choosing a near-future setting, we aim to stay close to that spirit.

The Influences Behind Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss

The following are a few examples of references that inspired us rather than directly influenced us. First and foremost, of course, are Lovecraft's short stories. Even though they founded a genre that has since been adapted, both directly and indirectly, they remain a constant source of inspiration for us. Players will see that direct inspiration as they progress through the game.

We also draw from our previous games. While we wanted to reinvent ourselves and mark a clear break from our earlier titles, Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss still builds on that foundation. More broadly, we stay very curious about the video game landscape and regularly play, test, and analyze works related to the genre we are exploring.

For example, Outer Wilds and The Forgotten City informed our thinking around investigation design. Dishonored 2 was also interesting to study in the way it offers alternative paths to reach the main objective. For the first-person approach, which was a first for the studio, we looked at titles such as Cyberpunk 2077, Resident Evil 7, and Resident Evil Village as case studies.

Challenges

The main challenge we faced after Swansong was moving to Unreal Engine 5. For this project, we chose to embrace the latest technologies developed by Epic Games, such as Lumen, Virtual Shadow Maps, Nanite, and TSR. However, fitting them to our needs and artistic direction was not always straightforward.

We worked through various technical constraints and made these systems function together to achieve the desired results while maintaining solid performance. For this reason, we chose Software Ray Tracing over hardware-based solutions and worked deeply within these systems to strike the right balance between visual quality, playability, and user experience.

During pre-production, we spent a significant amount of time testing how these systems interacted by building scenarios that reflected our intentions. Once we validated the visual targets, we focused on resolving bugs, technical limitations, and performance issues until the project reached a shippable state. We then built a solid production pipeline, ensuring that each technical system integrated properly with the others, and developed tools to simplify and speed up workflows.

From there, we scaled these solutions across the entire project, which brought its own set of challenges. Iteration can be time-consuming, but adopting technologies like Lumen improved both visual quality and the "what you see is what you get" aspect, making it easier to align with the creative direction compared to baked lightmaps.

A centralized lighting system also played a key role during production. A single class controlled all light behaviors, which streamlined workflows and allowed faster iteration during reviews. This made it possible to apply changes in real time, including adjustments to related systems such as volumetric fog. We also developed tools to improve the animation pipeline between Maya and Unreal Engine, before ultimately deciding to work directly within the engine and recreate those tools for Unreal Engine 5.

While this project did not require it, we also presented our Dialogue to Level Sequence tool at Unreal Fest 2024. Throughout production, our objective was to optimize continuously and anticipate potential issues. For the most part, we achieved what we set out to do. We still dedicated a long final phase to optimization, without compromising the artistic direction or visual quality.

Community-Building Efforts

We engaged in a multi-faceted approach that included many of the standard ways to build anticipation ahead of a game's release, including impactful trailers that highlight the core pillars of the experience: a tense atmosphere, futuristic tools that drive the investigation, and the relationship with your AI companion in the face of horrific situations.

We also developed a few more creative activations, such as an ongoing community ARG on the game's Discord. This ARG deepens engagement with the lore and gives core players additional insight into the universe in which Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss takes place.

Regarding advice, we feel it would be premature to share any at this stage, as the game has not yet been released. For now, our focus is on delivering the best possible launch and reaching as many players as we can. Once the game is out, we will be in a better position to learn from the actions we have taken and reflect on them.

What's Next for Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss After Launch

We had the opportunity to see players try the game's demo during Steam Next Fest, and a new demo is currently available as part of our participation in the Lovecraftian Days event on Steam. The entire team has also been closely following streams, live gameplay videos, and playthroughs shared online. So far, the reception feels positive. Players are embracing the concept of a demanding investigation and seem particularly receptive to the game's atmosphere.

It is still too early to know how this will hold over time, but we feel a strong sense of momentum around the project, both during trailer releases and when players get hands-on with the game. This is very encouraging, and we sincerely hope this enthusiasm continues.

Without revisiting the technical challenges already mentioned, we learned a great deal during development. Adapting the license was a significant challenge, especially translating a universe that is, by nature, meant to remain unimaginable.

We also aimed to offer more permissive 3Cs (camera, controls, character) and to design gameplay tools that feel both innovative and satisfying to use, while fully supporting the investigation experience. We made meaningful progress in how we manage production and scope, allowing us to reach the level of visual quality and overall feel we were aiming for.

As for what comes next, we will remain available as needed, whether for fixes, additional patches, or other adjustments. More broadly, our ambition follows the same path: to keep learning, refining, and strengthening our formula to create games that are more accomplished, ambitious, and distinctive. Perhaps still within the Lovecraft universe. The future will tell.

Big Bad Wolf

Interview conducted by Amber Rutherford