The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is a horror adventure game based on the popular prose of the cult American writer H.P. Lovecraft, known in our country as The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. The game was created by the independent Argentinean studio Senscape, which has had titles such as Asylum and Serena, and the core of the team are people responsible for the highly acclaimed Scratches adventure from 2006. Sunand Tryambak Joshi, a well-known literary critic and an expert in the field of so-called weird fiction, also helped to develop the game. Despite the unsuccessful crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, the production was completed and released on the PC platform.
### Story
The action of the game is set in the writer’s hometown, Providence, and tells the story of the protagonist Charles Dexter Ward, who is becoming more and more insane. He discovers that he is the descendant of the infamous Joseph Curven, an alchemist and cabbalist who came with Salem, who made a pact with impure forces. With the help of his friend, Dr. Marinus Willett, our protagonist begins a race against time, the stake of which is to save Providence (and perhaps all of humanity) from the pernicious legacy of Curven. During their search, the characters will discover the dark secrets of Providence, explore the story of the witch and occultism of the gloomy town of Salem, and face the evil that the mysterious Pawtuxet farm has captured.
### Mechanics
In terms of mechanics, we are dealing with a point-and-click adventure in which any arcade sequences and any cheap “fears” have been completely abandoned in favour of a suggestive climate and recurring motifs characteristic of Lovecraft’s work (such as the Necronomicon book, exploration of gloomy cemeteries and the discovery of dark secrets from the past). In the game we won’t see the battle sequence, and our hero won’t be able to die. The creators focused on the dark history, reaching back to the roots of the genre and able to evoke a thrill even in the greatest computer horror veterans.
### Technical issues
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward on PC boasts high quality drawing graphics, referring to the golden age of adventure and running on an original graphic engine called Dagon (also used in Asylum). Despite the apparent lightness, the creators managed to capture the characteristic Lovecraft atmosphere, additionally supported by a suggestive sound layer.
### Additional information
It is worth noting that the production of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is a large undertaking, not only in the dimension of the described video game. Simultaneously with the work on the game, a documentary was also shot, telling the story of H.P. Lovecraft’s life and describing the places connected with his work in Providence.
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