DaRmaZat Developed by the eccentric minds at ACE Team and published by Nacon, The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu drags you and your expedition group straight into a cursed jungle where monstrous creatures actively alter reality. Instead of giving you the typical big guns and unstoppable hero complex found in military shooters, this terrifying trek drops you into a tense, nerve-wracking extraction loop soaked in historical cosmic dread inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s mythos. Much like a shimmering tropical mirage, however, this beautiful, atmospheric journey hides a jagged underside, proving that even the most alluring expeditions can leave a traveler feeling thoroughly beaten down by clunky design and rough mechanics.
The Mound’s ultimate objective is clear yet terrifying: plunge into the dark thicket as Conquistador-era explorers to unearth infinite riches, rescue survivors, recover lost items, and secure hidden treasures buried deep within the mound’s hostile wilderness. Up to four explorers can form a group, yet these high-stakes expeditions remain incredibly intense even when tackled solo offline.
Each journey begins aboard a massive galleon where El Capitán assigns a contract to the crew, sending everyone into the deep thicket with clear objectives but absolutely no guarantees of survival. Setting off on an expedition requires selecting a location and a mission from the map, choosing a weapon and toolset, and waiting for a longboat to row everyone ashore.
Once landed on the mainland, you have the assistance of an ox cart that functions as your mobile inventory. Throughout the trek, items can be freely deposited into this cart or pulled out as needed. Navigating The Mound’s massive maps – where no single layout or run is ever the same – demands a constant, stressful balancing act. Scavenging with a bare minimum of resources becomes mandatory while trying to hoard the maximum amount of valuable loot before attempting to extract.
Danger remains completely relentless along the way. Brutal natives show absolutely no mercy, and bizarre creatures like giant spiders constantly stalk the perimeter. Staying alive and restoring health mid-expedition requires eating native fruits scattered throughout the environment or relying on incredibly rare potions. Once you successfully make it back to the boat, a formal evaluation of the mission follows, increasing your rank and unlocking brand-new possibilities for future contracts.
Your sanity is also constantly under siege, unleashing genuinely frightening hallucinations. The jungle actively plays tricks on you. A sparkling object in the distance might look exactly like a priceless, high-tier artifact, only for an explorer to approach and realize it was a hallucination masking a deadly trap, such as a hidden pit filled with sharp spikes. Even worse, your teammates can randomly morph into monstrous entities, leading to disastrous outcomes when you fail to communicate efficiently.
The aesthetic design and atmosphere are absolute triumphs in The Mound, creating an exceptionally eerie, oppressive world. The phenomenal sound design captures everything from the rustling flora and fauna to terrifying ambient environmental noises that keep you constantly on edge. Failing an expedition also triggers a death screen that I found downright horrifying.
However, not all of the game’s mechanics are equally successful. Contracts and loadouts are entirely randomized and not linked to one another, meaning you can easily become locked into a gun-focused mission without being able to preview the map, only to discover upon arrival that it is raining everywhere – effectively ruining your run before it even begins. Furthermore, combat lacks a block mechanic, forcing mandatory damage trades unless you can kill an enemy in two swings, which is far from easy given the clunky melee execution. These flaws are unfortunately compounded by even worse technical issues, as performance can be highly unstable and the game suffers from occasional crashes on the PlayStation 5.
Final Thoughts
The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu delivers a wonderfully tense, highly atmospheric extraction experience that thrives on its unique sanity mechanics and brilliant co-op dynamics. However, the clunky combat, flawed map-condition randomization, and highly volatile technical performance mean that a fair amount of patience is required to survive this cursed jungle.
Additional Information
Release Date: July 15, 2026
Reviewed On: PlayStation 5 Pro. Download code provided by the publisher and PR agency.
Developer: ACE Team
Publisher: Nacon
Relevant links: Available on PlayStation Store (NL-NL, NL-BE, US).
