Hi-Rez Studios finally unveiled the next god coming to SMITE, and it’s none other than the Great Dreamer himself—Cthulhu.
Publisher Hi-Rez Studios has been hyping up their upcoming SMITE god announcement through a series of cryptic Twitter posts, leading up to a more epic reveal than anyone could have hoped for.
Cthulhu revealed
What started as a tweet of a magic circle captioned “summon me” would lead to a second post of a rather ominous poem headlined with a bunch of gibberish.
A closer look at the caption, however, would give away the seemingly obscured name “Cthulhu.” The word R’lyeh can also be clearly seen, which is a dead giveaway, considering that’s the name of the underwater city that he sleeps in.
The final tweet was the god’s official announcement, which was accompanied by a foreboding cinematic trailer.
Cthulhu, #TheGreatDreamer, has awakened from his eternal slumber. Prepare for power the likes of which no one has ever seen.
Prepare for madness. pic.twitter.com/G2uYedkRWK
— SMITE (@SMITEGame) May 25, 2020
High Priest of the Great Old Ones
On SMITE‘s official website, Cthulhu is described as the “gateway to a set of cosmic entities” who have been around since time immemorial and house immeasurable strength.
The backstory continues by outlining the scale of the Great Dreamer’s powers, which are so overwhelming that they affect all life on earth, despite him hibernating in his underwater prison.
Thematically, the developers were going with “madness” when they envisioned Cthulhu for the third-person god-based multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA). The character design and powers were molded to mentally debilitate and destroy his foes.
All hail Cthulhu!
The Great Dreamer is about to awaken in Smite: The Battleground of the Gods: https://t.co/TrqT47fbKk pic.twitter.com/ApsDmTVWIh
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) May 25, 2020
Personality-wise, Hi-Rez described him as “nihilistic,” possessing a blatant disregard for all the other beings in the game world.
The Atlanta-based publisher wanted to clarify that, while they’re thrilled to include the Lovecraftian being in the SMITE universe, they do not condone the homophobic and racist ideals embraced by the author.
Origins of The Sleeper of R’lyeh
Cthulhu is a cosmic deity from the mind of renowned horror fiction writer Howard Phillips “H.P.” Lovecraft, and was first featured in a short story called “The Call of Cthulhu” published nearly a hundred years ago.
Since then, the baleful god has been the center of many films and video games, including Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth and The Sinking City. Just like how Cthulhu was designed for SMITE, the deity is often depicted as a gargantuan being with an octopus-like face.
He will soon awaken, and the gods will be tested like never before!
Tune into #TheGreatDreamer Update Show tomorrow at 3pm ET for the reveal of SMITE's next god – Cthulhu! pic.twitter.com/7nZeNFNNpF
— SMITE (@SMITEGame) May 26, 2020
Hi-Rez never mentioned the exact date of Cthulhu’s debut, but fans can expect his madness to descend upon the SMITE universe around mid-June. Interested gamers should check out the game’s next update for more details.
Image courtesy of Smite/Twitter