Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth makes the mistake you will see time and time again on this list: it actionizes Lovecraftian horror. It is a cross between an FPS and a survival horror game that ultimately fails at both. The lack of Heads-Up results in a lack of quality of life features, such as ammo counting and aiming. At the same time, the survival horror element manifests mostly in the form of a sanity meter. This is ultimately less effective than the sanity meter of its contemporary games, such as Eternal Darkness, which came out a few years prior. The Lovecraftian lore ultimately feels like window dressing that never becomes this creepy, all-consuming horror. You will feel no dread playing this title.

Necronomicon: The Dawning of Darkness avoids the problem many weaker Lovecraft games fall into. It’s an adventure-puzzle game, which means no need to engage in gunfights with the Yith or go into the caverns of R’lyeh with guns blazing. However, the core mystery in this game is vague to the point of disorientation, with puzzles either too cryptic or too simplistic to truly enjoy. It’s a noble effort at times but fails to really be particularly good at what it sets out to do.

The Terrible Old Man is not necessarily a bad game. It’s really just not much of a game. This short point-and-click adventure is an adaptation of Lovecraft’s story of the same name. The game is ultimately a very simple, very concise tale. However, for those hoping to become lost in Lovecraft’s worlds of gods and monsters, this game will leave you wanting more without offering you all that much satisfaction.

Call of Cthulhu: The Official Video Game is an action-oriented adaptation of the popular tabletop game. Unfortunately, it’s proof that what works in a tabletop game doesn’t always work in a video game. The game is linear and restrictive, eliminating much of the open-ended fun of the tabletop game. On top of that, the game itself is awkward. The RPG level advancements feel unimportant, with a higher level of stealth or strength playing a small factor in the scheme of things. Stealth and combat are awkward and unintuitive. Perhaps worst of all, however, is that the game just isn’t scary. Call of Cthulhu is proof that what works in traditional tabletop RPGs doesn’t always work in video game RPGs.

The Sinking City is an investigative mystery game that sends you throughout a city overtaken by Lovecraftian horrors, all while investigating crime scenes with psychic powers. The Sinking City is a fine enough adventure game and mystery, but it fails as a Lovecraftian horror. It makes one crucial mistake: it normalizes the horror. When you see a resident of Innsmouth with their traditional fish-like look, it’s horrifying. However, seeing level-headed NPCs casually talk trade with you while looking like a fishman…well, it leaves you feeling nothing. Lovecraftian horror centers on the other-worldly being something worth fearing. You’ll feel nothing in this game.

Call of the Sea is a charming adventure game that fails only as a Lovecraftian horror game. It incorporates several themes of Lovecraftian horror, including transformations into an aquatic monster and the fear of the sea itself. However, while the game has a unique style all its own, it’s far from particularly scary. Its puzzles can also be on occasion tricky to maneuver. However, thankfully, it’s far from a bad game. Just a weak Lovecraftian horror story.

Splatterhouse 2010 is a reboot of the classic horror game franchise. However, it proved such a clunky, awkward disaster that it failed to bring the long-dead series back at all. While Splatterpunk is more obviously a general horror tribute, it incorporates a great deal of Lovecraftian iconography throughout its run. None of it is well-implemented, in part due to how Lovecraftian horror is meant to be, well, not something you can just punch hard in the face.

Alone in the Dark is actually one of the few games to successfully adapt Lovecraft’s iconography. Alone in the Dark: Illumination, however, really failed hard at adapting the same content. The game is a rushed, clunky entry into a series that had long resorted to diminishing returns. It is a glitchy, poorly designed mess that ends up being more absurd than frightening – when it leaves an impression at all. This game effectively killed one of the oldest horror franchises around.

Moons of Madness is barely a game. While many games here are linear, Moons of Madness feels more like an interactive film than anything else. Much of the story is told through listening to terminals than engagement with the world you’re dropped into. Lovecraftian horror seems tailor-made for sci-fi adventures, but Moons of Madness is just ineffective as a game. Most players will be awestruck by some visuals and locations, but you’re left with so little to do once there, that your mind will begin to drift. On top of that, it’s not particularly scary. That’s another sin this game commits that makes it a weak Lovecraft adaptation.

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is one of the best conceptual crossovers imaginable: Lovecraft and Sherlock. The problem, however, is that, while it works as a Sherlock Holmes story, it fails as a Lovecraft story. Far from Neil Gaiman’s A Study in Emerald, this game features Sherlock Holmes hunting down Cthulhu cultists. The game is part of Frogwares’s Sherlock Holmes series, so the developers know how to make an adventure game centered around mystery solving. However, at no point will you see anything supernatural occurring. If you’re playing this game, looking for Cthulhu…you’re out of luck. This is a game for Conan enthusiasts, not Lovecraft enthusiasts. For that reason alone, the game is profoundly disappointing to a certain audience.