CaseQ. Games 06.17.2020 02:Jun AM EDT

Cthulhu in Smite: Why Players Think He's Not a Good Fit [Hi-Rez Studios Responds]

Smite is possibly the only online game that allows you to play as a god or goddess from legends or mythological creatures along with their special tactics and abilities.

Developed and published by Hi-Rez Studios for Microsoft Windows (March 2014), PlayStation 4 (August 2016), Nintendo Switch (February 2019), and Xbox One (August 2019), Smite is a free-to-play, third-person multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game.

Cthulhu, a cosmic entity and a cult icon from H.P. Lovecraft's book The Call of Cthulhu is the latest mythological creature to join the world of Smite that includes renowned gods and creatures such as Achilles, Anubis, Baba Yaga, Loki, Chang'E, Rama, Susano, and a whole lot more.

Game Rant noted how Hi-Rez Studios described the creature as the "most anticipated god ever" and is literally the largest among the characters. In the game, Cthulhu is known as "the Great Dreamer", and the High Priest of the Great Old Ones.

In an article from Bouding Into Comics, the Hi-Rez press release added this description for the character: "Even as Cthulhu sleeps in the underwater prison of R'lyeh, his power seeps into every shred of life on Earth, causing discomfort and despair. He will soon awaken, and the gods of SMITE will be tested like never before."

In the trailer, you can see how his gameplay "revolves around aggression" with attacks that invoke insanity and allow him to feed off of it until opponents' minds "shatter,". You can see the trailer below.

Why Cthulhu should not be part of the roster

While others are excited to see H.P. Lovecraft's character come to life, some disagree saying that he shouldn't be part at all. Reddit User u/godkiller1999 stated that the character wouldn't fit in Smite because he's based from popular literature and not a mythological one.

Another Reddit user said that: "Every character in smite currently has some mythological, cultural, or historical significance to the region they originated from. While Cthulhu, though popular, really just has a fan base that enjoys the literature, but doesn't really extend far beyond the realm of pop culture" (Antmega500). You can check out the rest of the thread here.

Hi-Rez Studios Response

To respond to the growing concerns of the SMITE community, the press release explained: "We think Cthulhu fits SMITE in ways these other potential "Gods" do not. Cthulhu is, in his lore, a supernatural being of immense power. He is the high priest of a pantheon of cosmic deities whose presence alone is enough to render a human completely insane - the sort of character at home on the Battleground of the Gods, and arguably the best-known godly figure who is not currently in SMITE."

The statment continued, "Yes, Cthulhu originates from a piece of popular fiction, but from one nearly 100 years old. Baba Yaga is about 250 years old, by comparison. And the Arthurian legends as we know them today were, truly, the product of 12th century popular fiction."