Demo, Kickstarter bear the Curse of Chaos for new Chronicle of Innsmouth adventure

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Third installment in the ongoing Lovecraftian horror franchise unveiled for late 2026 release

Every four years or so we get a new installment of the Chronicle of Innsmouth series, which means that the Italian Lovecraft fans at the newly rebranded Atomic Horde are right on time with their announcement of the upcoming third game in the franchise, Curse of Chaos.

It was 2017 when the original Chronicle of Innsmouth debuted, providing players with an investigation into the unspeakable horrors afflicting the titular New England fishing town. Then in 2021, Mountains of Madness took us beyond Innsmouth to the likes of Arkham, Yemen and the South Pole in a prequel set ten years earlier that let us briefly play as the author of the Necronomicon and H.P. Lovecraft himself. This time around we're going much farther back in time, all the way to AD 500 in Oman, where we'll assume the role of Rabian, a "brilliant but introverted scholar from the Library of Athens, forced to return to his hometown of Kabar" while researching "forbidden cults and obscure lore" behind his father's disappearance many years earlier. He's accompanied by Canus, an equally intelligent but "morally ambiguous colleague with whom Rabian shares a complicated past."

Things only get worse from there when Rabian's "reluctant homecoming soon spirals into a nightmarish journey, as he becomes entangled in the machinations of an ancient cult worshipping forgotten deities." As he's pulled further and further into a "chilling investigation of cosmic horror and creeping madness," it becomes clear that these rituals are intended to "summon Yog‑Sothoth, the 'Key and the Gate,' whose arrival would open a passage for the Great Old Ones and reshape reality." To stop them, Rabian must seek out "forbidden knowledge" from "libraries of pre‑human knowledge" and uncover a portal to Celeano, the "mythical Great Hall outside of time." His task won't be easy, however, as along the way he must deal with "an ancient creature able to travel between different planes of existence."

This "sweeping odyssey through ancient Oman and far beyond" promises to be both personal and epic, blending themes of "familial duty, forbidden lore, and cosmic dread" in a tale where "every discovery draws you closer to the truth yet erodes your grip on sanity." As with its standalone predecessors, Curse of Chaos promises a "mature, atmospheric" point-and-click adventure presented in detailed pixel art, continuing the series' ongoing graphical evolution with a higher resolution than ever before. The enhanced visual presentation is complemented by "full professional English voice acting" for every character, and original music "featuring period-inspired instruments." 

The time period and settings are much different this time around, of course, sending players to a "rarely explored historical era" and a variety of diverse locations, from the "scholarly halls of Athens to the "meticulously recreated sun‑baked streets of Kabar" before descending into "subterranean labyrinths, forgotten temples, and cities not meant for human eyes." The mystery to be unraveled is not a direct adaptation of Lovecraft's works but rather an original story based on the master of horror's "most enigmatic" writings, including the short story "The Nameless City" and the poem "Nyarlathotep." Along the way there will be plenty of "challenging yet logical puzzles that test your deduction and problem-solving skills, intertwined with cryptic texts and arcane symbols."

A playable demo of Chronicle of Innsmouth: Curse of Chaos is now available for Windows, Mac and Linux on Steam and itch.io (the latter also offering an Android version), and if all goes well we should see the completed version of the game before the end of 2026. For that to happen, however, there will need to be some sacrifices first. No, not THAT kind of sacrifice, just some financial support via the Kickstarter campaign launched to raise €18,000 by December 2nd.