And tying them into the world itself gives you a good reason to explore every nook and cranny of a level. The logical design, that there is only one way to solve them, removes a lot of the frustration that most puzzle solving games have by way of trying to find various item combinations. In fact the only way to visit previous areas again is to replay those chapters.Įven with all the clues at your disposal, later puzzles can become quite challenging and rewarding to solve.
Each level, or Chapter, is self-contained, meaning you won’t have to worry about puzzles running across multiple locations on the island. Thankfully the puzzles are logically laid out if you have all the clues and there is no item management to worry about. The exploration and puzzle solving go hand in hand as finding all the clues to solve the puzzles will require you to be thorough in exploring the environment. Puzzles start off rather innocuously to get you into the flow of them and slowly increase in complexity. Next to the exploration aspect, the other major gameplay design is puzzle solving. There’s cargo from the Sumatra Queen from Shadow Over Innsmouth, letters from the Starry Wisdom Cult, even Crawford Tillinghasts Resonator from From Beyond makes an appearance. Lovecraft fans can enjoy the references and nods towards his stories, both expected and unexpected alike.
But that doesn’t change just how engaging it is or the drive to push forward to the final revelations. This is Nora’s journey about finding herself as much as it is about finding out what is happening to her.įrom a narrative standpoint, if you’ve read enough Lovecraft, then you’ll more than likely know the answers to what’s happening to Nora very early on, along with where the story could possibly go. It’s intent on providing a very human adventure in the joy of discovery, even if that discovery can be steeped in tragedy. Call of the Sea isn’t intent on throwing sanity crumbling abominations at you that are trying to slough the meat from your bones. Instead it’s a game steeped deeply in the joy of exploration and discovery, of uncovering hidden mysteries and the awe that goes along with that, a section of Lovecrafts work that many overlook today. There will be photos to be picked up and letters to be read, all of which introduce the characters whose fates you will slowly discover.ĭespite the Lovecraftian inspiration, Call of the Sea is not a horror game, though there are the occasional horror elements. She is neither an action hero, nor truly prepared for what she will find but still forges ahead in the hopes of finding her husband Harry alive.Īrmed with only her journal, an indispensable tool in which she chronicles her journey while making note of any clues she finds along the way, Nora’s narrative monologue is indispensable in fleshing out the story and giving you a reason to care about why she’s there, along with providing you with the clues you’ll need to solve the games puzzles. Nora herself is an interesting character, talkative throughout the adventure as she narrates her life story, the connection with her husband and how her illness has affected who she was. Throughout the journey, you’ll control Nora on an isolated, unnamed island that hides weird mysteries and secrets from an ancient, pre-human civilization.
Call of the sea rating simulator#
Lovecraft, Call of The Sea is a pulp fiction, weird tale brought to stunning life in Unreal Engine 4 as an exploration adventure game that is equal parts walking simulator and point and click puzzle solver in 3D. Not looking to lose the love of her life, Nora sets out to retrace his steps in the South Pacific where he and his party have mysteriously disappeared. Set during the 1930’s, Call of the Sea places you in the shoes of Nora, a sickly woman whose husband has gone missing during an expedition to find a cure for her debilitating illness. Once a niche attraction, the amount of media been produced in this genre is staggering, making any attempt to bathe in these fertile cosmic waters a tough one if you can’t stand out from the crowd.Įnter stage left, developer Out of the Blues Call of the Sea, a Lovecraftian videogame through and through. Cosmic Horror and Lovecraftian gaming have really taken off in recent years.