Call of Cthulhu

An interesting hybrid of action and adventure, Call of Cthulhu pits you in the role of a detective in a denigrated 1920s New England town. The puzzles start out relatively palpable but gradually devolve into the realm of insanity, as does your character (in true Lovecraftian form) in response to increasingly horrific incidents. The funny thing is, the game actually gets less scary as it progresses. In the early stages you encounter gruesomely mauled/hanging corpses and hold it together just fine, then lose your marbles later on over harmless statues and chanting monks. The insanity feature is cool, but the game either needs to be scarier or my character needs to be less of a sissy.

Dan White