And I’m not even sure if I can say what that thing is. None of these puzzles are any real mind-benders, mainly Myst Lite stuff like figuring out proper sequences or combinations, but they are still nicely designed and have the right level of difficulty for such a narrative-focused adventure.īut while Call of the Sea is an overall well-crafted experience with a great story and nice puzzles, it always feels like it lacks a little something. Luckily, Norah jots anything important that you can view down, requiring one to explore everywhere possible to get the hints they need. Of course, Norah really does have to get through several obstacles, as the various abandoned temples and scientific equipment requires players to solve various puzzles. Their devotion to each other really does come through, making you believe they truly would break through any obstacle for each other. The writing is nice and well-done, easily covering several lovable little quirks in the duo’s relationship. Similarly, the game sells the romance between Norah and Harry, even if the two never share the same space for the longest time. One particular moment where she goes on an experience so life-changing that she almost forgets about Harry is a particular highlight. Cissy Jones once again delivers a fantastic performance, selling the feeling of shock and wonder perfectly. Instead, this focus is more on the surreal aspects and the pulp adventure, how Norah explores all of these fantastic temples and sees what happened, how she reacts to the bizarre world that was uncovered, and most importantly, how she actually finally feels alive on a lush and intriguing island after living so long with a disease. Unsurprisingly, Call of the Sea hits all of the beats one would expect in a Lovecraft-style tale: remnants of ancient civilizations, fish people, body horror, characters going mad for various reasons, bizarre science and physics-defying objects and landscapes, but what makes it unique is how none of this is mined for horror (well, not much). Only the remains of it are left behind, and now Norah has to find out what happened and hopefully find Harry, all while being unable to shake the feeling that she almost seems to feel at home on the island… And there Norah immediately finds Harry and his team, stranded but working hard, very much happy and…nope, of course the expedition has completely gone south. But then a mysterious package appears with clues suggesting that he’s still alive, so off Norah goes to a mysterious island in the South Pacific, where the expedition was dropped off. When her husband Harry sets out on an expedition to try to find a cure for it, he ends up missing.
Set in 1934, Call of the Sea follows Norah, an ordinary art teacher suffering from a mysterious disease. And this game brings up an even bigger question: can you actually get a good game and a good romance story out of Lovecraft-inspired material? Why not have a Lovecraftian game that’s not only more of a straight-up first-person graphic adventure, and why not one that takes a different approach with a different story genre? To answer that question, we have Raw Fury and developers Out of the Blue with Call of the Sea. Maybe part of the problem is that all these games are horror titles, and as such feel the need to insert combat and/or stealth. Call of Cthulhu was thoroughly average, The Sinking City already left me bored after a couple of hours and Dark Corners of the Earth was ambitious, but too bugged and difficult. Lovecraft have often had trouble translating to solid adventure games.
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