070
OAKMONT
CITY MAP
ar from the Victorian
terraces of Baker
Street, the East
Coast city of
Oakmont,
Massachusetts is windy, wet, and
grim. Detective Charles Reed
secures passage there after
having strange visions of a
submerged city and a strange,
tentacled creature. During the
First World War he was in the
Navy, and he’s still haunted by
something unfathomable he saw
while serving, something he can’t
quite remember. But his own
troubles aren’t the only case the
detective ends up taking on.
Playing as Reed, you have to
track down evidence from all
corners of the city, linking clues
with your own deductions. Here
are the scraps we managed to
recover from our hands-on
investigation with the first two
cases of the game, which took us
a good few hours’ detective work.It’sGrim down south
Beginning our investigation at the portW
e finally arrive in the harbour, in the city’s
Grimhaven district. The Captain tells us in
no uncertain terms to get off his boat, but not
before we’ve grabbed our belongings,
including a gun we’re sure we’ll have to use by
the time we’re done with this city.
A man by the name of Johannes van der
Berg is waiting for us, our first point of
contact. He points us towards Robert
Throgmorton, head of one of the city’s grand
families, who apparently can tell us more
about these visions. Luckily he is down at the
harbour on his own business anyway. He is
easy to spot between the citizens who seem
to be worshipping the sea, and the half-sunken
piers – we overheard someone refer to him as
a “crazy ape”. He certainly looks different –
well-built and strong.
Throgmorton’s son went missing after a
deep-sea expedition went sour, and he’s been
told a local fisherman had found him washed
up, and brought him home, but now he’s gone
missing again – our first case in the game.1
It’s a detective game, but the Lovecraftian without a fear of
death wouldn’t be right. Some terrors, you just have to shoot.There’s a dynamic weather and day/night system, but a lot of
the time Oakmont will be rainy and foggy – just like the UK!CITY MAP
GRIMHAVEN
BAY