Cthulhu Mythos ADV: Elixir of Life (Free, Short ADV) Introduction, Impressions, and Strategy Notes

Game Overview

I played "Cthulhu Mythos ADV: Elixir of Life," a short adventure game in the style of a tabletop role-playing game.
There are three endings, and it takes about 30 minutes to complete them all.
This game seems like it would be well-suited for things like live game streaming.

The player is tasked by Mr. Nashiyama, a wealthy man with a terminal illness and a short time to live, with finding the "Elixir of Life" that can cure any disease.
You progress through the game by gradually gathering clues and sometimes exploring.

Since it's created using TyranoScript, it's primarily a work where you read text.
However, it's not just about reading text; sometimes there are scenes where you investigate by clicking around on the screen, like in an exploration adventure game.

Furthermore, players will be faced with various decisions in different situations.
In that case, you roll two dice, add a status modifier to the result, and then determine whether you succeed or not.
It's not just a visual novel; it gives the impression of an adventure game with a tabletop role-playing game (TRPG) feel.
I think the character creation process at the start of the game is a great way to draw the player into the world.

Review (no spoilers)

I was able to see all the endings in about 30 minutes.
Because it's a compact game, you can complete it in one go, like reading a short story.
The difficulty level is not high.

This work appears to be made in the style of the tabletop role-playing game "Call of Cthulhu" (CoC).
I haven't played that TRPG myself, so I can't directly compare the two.
However, since I have encountered works based on the Cthulhu Mythos, I was able to get a sense of that atmosphere.
In particular, the events that drain your sanity had a Cthulhu-esque horror and creepiness to them.
Even though I knew it would be dangerous to investigate, I found the irresistible urge to investigate—a morbid curiosity—to do so quite satisfying.

I think it will be difficult to see the best ending depending on how you allocate your initial stats.
I also restarted the game once because of that, but since the game itself isn't very long, it wasn't a problem.

This particular scenario wasn't grand enough to evoke the "cosmic horror" inherent in the Cthulhu Mythos.
However, I think it was a well-structured work that allowed you to fully experience the atmosphere of the Call of Cthulhu TRPG.
I'd like to play if another scenario is created.

Strategy Notes (Spoiler Warning)

There are three different endings.
You should be able to quickly unlock the different endings you can see by choosing either "Hand over the Elixir of Life (finished product)" or "You couldn't obtain the elixir" to the client, Mr. Nashiyama.

The best ending, which is probably the hardest to find, is the one you can see by handing over the "Elixir of Life (unfinished)".
To obtain this, you need to unlock the door at the back of the cult's facility.
You can obtain the key to the door by ambushing and defeating the monster that appears in the abandoned hospital lobby.
Since a certain level of violence is required to defeat it, it can be difficult to obtain depending on how you allocate your parameters.
If you miss this opportunity, you won't be able to visit the abandoned hospital again, so if your stats aren't high enough, you'll have to restart the game from the beginning.
Once you hand over the "Elixir of Life (unfinished)" to Mr. Nashiyama, you will successfully complete the quest.