This is now available on Steam, and I shocked myself because it was an instant buy.
I lost four weekends out of my life back in the mid-nineties trying to construct DOS configuration disks that would navigate around this game's inept programming. I still remember lines and voices from the early part of the game, as well as my frustration that after a few encounters the game ground inexhorably to a freezing halt, no matter what I did or how I reconfigured my computer.
I will probably be shocked at how primitive the game is, and will probably laugh out loud if I find it impossible to run this game either.
It's not on sale, but I'm willing to risk six bucks after waiting twenty years.
I'll report back if the game runs.
I remember that back in the day there were really neat objects that came with the package, and they weren't (or most of them weren't) security devices. I'll miss them, but there's no way to deliver that part of the experience in a digital medium in a meaningful way.
Was it a point & click style "adventure" game?
It's so old it doesn't use the same conventions as adventure games do now. But the mechanics are very reminiscent of old Sierra games like Quest for Glory.
To move the character you click on a spot, the pointer turns into an arrow, and the character starts walking in that direction.
What sets the game apart is an atmosphere that periodically careens into hysteria. Lovecraft himself was pretty much off the deep end and took great delight in describing descents into madness. This game is (or was -- haven't played more than a minute of it this time around) very true to the spirit of Lovecraft. It's not a shooter by any stretch of the imagination. A lot of modern game treatments of Lovecraft trivialize him by going that route. This game is about mental decay, degeneration, and hysteria. You start by seeing an early 19th century astronomer after he's seen things that have driven him dangerously mad. You spend the course of the game seeing the same things, and guess what happens...
Also available on GOG for $6.
Also for free on various abandonware sites (of course it depends if you see them as criminal activity or a way of preserving retro digital culture, the latter doesn't sound quite legit if it's also on Steam and GOG)..