Conarium (english review)

Under the Mountains of Madness

While mainstream movies don’t generally make use H.P. Lovecraft's mythos, the computer games have been illustrating its madness since the 90s. The writer himself regarded his stories as open source material already back at his days, so Conarium has taken its job to write a slight sequel to the 1931 novel At the Mountains of Madness. Main protagonist Frank Gilman from Miskatonic University wakes up from the Upuaut antarctic base without any previous recollection. Head hurts, and gibbous artifact of the unknown sort casts strange lights to the vacant room. Comprehension soon follows, something has gone amiss. What hideous secret lies behind the disappearance of the research crew and what demonic and indescribable things dwell in below?

Zoetrope Interactive has led many previous players to madness with its earlier Darkness Within-games. The PC version of the game was published a year ago and newly published Xbox version provided screenshots for this review.

Game information

Name: Conarium Publisher/Developer: Iceberg Interactive/Zoetrope Interactive
Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, PC Type: Horror adventure
Age ratings: PEGI 12 (ESRB Teen)
Reviewer: Rami
Pictures and links:
PS4 TrailerGameplay (PC)

From the perspective of the gamer?

The game aims to be a strong, logical part of the Lovecraft and his disciples Cthulhu Mythos. At the Mountains of Madness was set before the war and later at the ’50s, the Antarctic was explored by the brave expeditions. 

The immemorial cities of the Great Old Ones have been discovered under ice and the expeditions are braving the nameless darkness below have made use of minisubmarines to explore the stygian depths below. The player is plagued with several questions of the eldritch kind. Where is the expedition leader doctor Faust and what is the tenebrous artifact named ‘Conarium’? Why focus on fringe sciences and sickening occult research? What dreading secret lies under the Upulaut base and where is everyone?

Frank explores the hideously empty base, combing through the closets, research notes and finding the important items to aid his progress. The researchers have left several notes behind that shed light of the madness that has taken the place and what indescribable horrors they have uncovered under the ice. At the times Franks advance stops to the puzzle, however, they are not often hard. However, the game isn’t just walking simulation but during his research of the decadent and fetid ruins, Frank finds himself even from the pilot seat of the submarine! While few action sequences exist the disturbing story of the accursed research is in the center of storytelling.

The immemorial story works out with the hallucinations, flashbacks and radio messages. Some of the spectral visions Frank experiences are experiences of the past, some indescribable and hideous depictions of the history of the eon-old ruins. The journey of Frank is reminiscent of the steady descend of Dante Alighieri to the lower levels of hell. The game offers shallow dive to cosmic madness of the Lovecraftian horror. If this sounds like something out of the book, you are right - the game is remarkably faithful to the twisted source material. The game has several endings depending on the deeds of the players.






I was really petrified by the beauty of the visual planning of the game. At the start, the base isn’t too complicated, but during the course of the game, the depictions became more and more uncanny. I wouldn’t have believed someone dares to build the architecture of the Great Old Ones, but the game manages to develop the feel of the antediluvian ages with its worn Art Deco-style.

Turkish developers have managed to keep well within the boundaries of the literature and alien technology depicted in the game well fits the source. The developers share their thoughts about challenges in the previous gamingbolt.com interview. Technically the game works well at XBox with 60 fps and 1080p screen. The loading times are fair, but not all transforms are smooth.

Perspective of the ratings?

PEGI-age rating offers rating 12 because of the language. Suppose Stygian horrors and dead bodies are not part of the review. This did make me wonder why ‘horror’ category couldn’t be used for the game. The PEGI has 12-rating for horror, which would have fit pretty well.
Domestical rating system of Finland has put effort into the evaluation of the criteria for ‘distress.’ The distressing elements are encompassing in the 12-rating. Rating of 7 would mean the situation solves itself out during the same scene, so often the horror trope movies are classed between 12 to 16. Strong emphasis on supernatural horror and jumpscares can raise the age rating to 16.

If we look at the content of the Conarium the thing that springs to mind is that it is wandering around with the torch. When player understand that the idea is not to be chased but to investigate the mystery the understanding leads to him coming up with the game much better. This effect is hard to rate with any current age classification system. Both PEGI and ESRB have been flabbergasted about the game. Finnish classification system dedication to the ‘distress’ criteria means that it doesn’t rely on the cliches or screen effects of the horror trope. Even implicated things can cause distress on the viewer.

Would the Conarium be 16 in Finnish classification system? The question is rhetorical as we are required to use PEGI age ratings as well. While the official age rating is 12, we can still think what it should be. For the sake of argument let’s rise some criteria from the age rating of sixteen:

• 23. Shocking, distressing, prolonged and intensive threat of death or of serious violence or of psychological breakdown directed at people or animals. Also idolising of suicide. Severe anxiety relating to the supernatural. 
• 24. An abundance of realistic and detailed (macabre) images of mutilated, seriously injured or decomposed bodies or victims of violence.

Both the 23.rd and 24.th criteria won’t seem to be fit quite right. While the game has a strong focus on investigation, the setting alone makes the skin crawl. The requirements would fit better to the horror-survival, but this isn’t the case here. How about Finnish age rating of twelve?

• 28. Strong, sudden and surprising sound and image effects causing anxiety, fear or horror, or a long-term menacing threat. Relatively severe anxiety relating to the supernatural.
• 29. Singular realistic and detailed images of mutilated, seriously injured or decomposed 
• bodies or victims of violence.

Now, this sounds a lot more like it. Criteria 28 can be applied by the fact that the game has surprising sound and image effects indeed. The city of the Great Old Ones is also filled with depictions that can be considered supernatural. So the depictions are ‘relatively severe’ but not severe.

Criteria number 29 can be considered fulfilled by finding the singular dead crewmembers in the stage of composition.

Parents and game education?

Briefly put, Conarium has thick putrid, and it can fill the criteria of Finnish 12 age rating. Our current legislation doesn’t differ interactive or non-interactive entertainment, but there is a possibility that things will change by new EU Audiovisual directive. Then again, if you watch the stream or sit by watch horror game, you are not an active player but a passive watcher. I don’t see parents and kids playing horror games together so I would say that based on Finnish age rating the 12 is hard to age rating. Of course, some people are sensitive and who should not play these kinds of game, regardless of the age.

As an afterthought, I did make a simple test by comparing tvtropes.org nightmare fuel list to the game content.

Amnesia filled some 17-18 tropes while Witcher 3 filled 13. Conarium filled some 10-11 nightmare fuel tropes. This is not an exact test but shows how Conarium is closer to thrillers than actual horror. It is written to be slow-paced, a bit like Lovecraft's books.

During the game, you can talk about

• Have you read H.P. Lovecraft novels? 
• Why is a classical writer from 1904-1935 still hugely popular? 
• What makes the insane stories interesting?