Alone against the static is the latest addition to the solo adventure line for Call of Cthulhu published by Chaosium.

The Alone Against adventures are designed to be played without a Keeper, in the style of choose-your-own-adventure books, but with the addition of a character sheet and mechanics similar to standard ttrpgs, Call of Cthulhu in this case.

They are an excellent resource for when you feel like playing a game but have no one to play with. Up until now, we had four other similar adventures: Alone Against the Flames, Alone Against the Dark, Alone Against the Frost, and Alone Against the Tide. Although this type of adventures has accompanied Call of Cthulhu since the early days of the game’s publication, it wasn’t until recently that we have seen a greater focus on solo scenarios, as confirmed by the publisher, due to the pandemic, mandatory social distancing, and other circumstances that have led many players to discover a suitable form of entertainment in these circumstances.

To write this review, I played this scenario twice, with an eye on replayability and the different solutions the story can have, to discover what could be uncovered by making different decisions, and to see how the two pre-generated characters included in the adventure work. And I can already tell you that I will play it more times. Further below, I will explain why.

Alone Against the Static is written by Brian Holland and differs in several aspects from the other solo scenarios published so far for Call of Cthulhu. First, the adventure is set in the 90s, while the others are set in the classic era, a time when we still didn’t live in the hyperconnected world we have now, and it was possible to end up completely cut off and isolated from civilization, as happens in this scenario. Additionally, a new mechanic is added, the Log sheet, which allows for more replayability and depth in the story’s development.

The story puts us in the shoes of Alex or Charlie, a young couple going through a rough patch in their relationship. They decide to spend a few days in Charlie’s brother’s cabin in the Black Hills of Dakota to reconnect and reignite the fading flame between them. It becomes evident early on that this emotional bond has a significant impact on the story, determining our options and decisions based on our emotional state to survive what the mountains hide.

This is another major difference compared to the rest of the scenarios in the «Alone against…» series. The story is specifically designed for these two characters and does not have the generalities that the other scenarios may have, making them playable with several distinct pre-generated characters or characters created by the player. This decision is quite effective as it allows for a deeper connection with the characters and enhances the concern for their well-being.

The story begins with a car ride along a winding mountain road in a scene filled with tension between Alex and Charlie. This, along with several other scenes in the first part, is uniquely written for each character, with subtle differences in decision-making and text depending on the character we are playing. Later, once a particular event, which I won’t spoil, occurs, the bulk of the adventure begins and is written for one of the two characters regardless of who we are portraying. In other words, we stop being Alex or Charlie and become «you,» and the other character becomes «your partner.» This part can unfold similarly (although it’s unlikely) even if we play with different characters each time, with the exception that their abilities and luck in rolls can make everything happen in very different ways.

From that triggering element we will only stay with our character and we will be able to explore the cabin and its surroundings to discover a dark secret hidden in the mountain that can end our life literally and figuratively.

The playtime, depending on the reading pace, which I recommend to be slow and with a good ambient music for greater immersion, will range from one hour to two hours per iteration. In other words, it can be played in one sitting without any problem.

Regarding replayability, in addition to having two characters with different personalities and skills, which through successes or failures in the rolls will lead us through different paths, we have a Log sheet, where we find a summary of what to do if we die or go insane and a list of 36 keywords that we must mark throughout the adventure as we discover objects, secrets or information. These keywords will allow us to use that knowledge or tools at other moments of the adventure if we have «unlocked» them before. In the first game, which I played with Charlie, I unlocked nine of these keywords, and in the second game, with Alex, seventeen. Not all of them matched, but some did, which shows that the adventure can develop in very diverse ways depending on the rolls and the decisions we make. The first one played out like a survival horror, and the second one had much more traditional investigation in the style of Call of Cthulhu.

In addition to this Log sheet, throughout the adventure, several checkpoints are established, in the style of video games, that allow us to resume the adventure from there if we reach a conclusion and want to try a new way to solve the scenario without having to go back to the beginning, which can be a bit tedious until the heart of the matter starts.

Conclusions

Alone against the static is a successful evolution in the line of solo adventures for Call of Cthulhu, featuring innovations (for this game, as there were similar solo variants in other games similar to the Log sheet) that provide a mechanic to track progress and determine how much of the mystery we have unraveled, as well as a deep, twist-filled, dark, and terrifying story.

That’s precisely why I mentioned earlier that I’m going to play the scenario multiple times. On the first occasion, I felt like I was just a spectator, and although everything unfolded logically based on my decisions and rolls, I hardly discovered anything about what was happening on the mountain. However, on the second occasion, I managed to gather a lot of information and even obtained a magical item that, thanks to an incredible roll, achieving a successful Occult roll with a base value of 05% (!!), proved crucial in resolving the session.

Despite all that, considering that I still have many keywords to unlock, it’s evident that there are more paths to explore. This wouldn’t be a problem if the story wasn’t so deep; we could just leave it at that. However, it entices me to keep delving deeper, approaching the story in different ways.

As an additional feature, the scenario introduces a new entity from the Mythos, including its background, associated cults, characteristics, etc., allowing us to use it in our own scenarios if desired. This is much appreciated, especially when your players are able to identify the creature behind everything from the first clue.

In terms of technical aspects, the artwork is top-notch, evocative when necessary and clarifying when appropriate, in full color both in digital and print formats.

The electronic document includes hyperlinks, enabling us to directly click on the chosen option at each step and jump to the appropriate page. This is very convenient and keeps the gameplay fluid without constantly scrolling through the book.

Lee esta reseña en español aquí.