How far would you go to save someone you love? It’s a cliché
question that video games ask often, yet one Call of the Sea – a new
first-person adventure game set on a 1930s picturesque island – makes somewhat
interesting by having it be the main drive for its husband-and-wife duo. Norah acts
as the latter of the pair and is someone willing to find out, travelling to the
South Pacific in search of her other half after his sudden disappearance. What
follows is a mysterious and puzzle-filled journey lightly inspired by the works
of H.P Lovecraft. And though fun for the most part, it’s held back by some odd logic
leaps required to solve certain riddles that only serves to disrupt the story’s
pace.
Call of the Sea wastes no time showing its hand, instantly dropping
you on a tropical island paradise and challenging you to discover what happened
to the crew who arrived before. Doing this involves exploring environments,
piecing together documents and visual cues, and just generally learning more
about this continent-spanning expedition and discovering how exactly you fit
into it. Don’t go in expecting a pure Gone Home or Dear Esther-style adventure,
though, because while the game shares a few traits with many of the walking
simulator genre’s best, it quickly becomes clear that puzzles make up just as
much of this experience as the story. This isn’t a narrative you can just let
wash over you.
Things begin relatively straightforward at first, with most enigmas
requiring you to match or line up certain symbols with one another using the
relevant visual clues you naturally bump into. It helps that Norah’s notebook
also plays a handy role, becoming increasingly filled in with scrawlings whenever
you find relevant sights and objects of interest. Problems arise, however, as
soon as you hit your first roadblock, where it’s easy to find yourself staring
at a page for longer than feels right and you can’t quite work out the
solution. Because despite Call of the Sea’s cool story and colourful scenery, it’s
no slouch when it comes to puzzle design and there is no hint system in sight.
Every level is broken up into chapters with each featuring
several small, and then a main obstacle to solve. Chapter 3 is where my mind
was first sent in a spin, as I continually consulted my notebook and combed
around the area searching for a clue I was convinced I must have missed. This
was a shame as I quickly found myself hooked on Norah and Harry’s relationship
and wanted to know how events would unfold, eager to press on to the next story
point. Unfortunately for me, all of Call of the Sea’s conundrums only ever have
one solution, and unless something in my brain eventually clicked, I wouldn’t
ever see where the journey ended.
While I’m not saying every puzzle needs to be a breeze, Call
of the Sea struggles often with finding the right balance between puzzles and
exploration. Several times in this 5- to 6- hour adventure did I feel my
headway halted by some unfair leap in puzzle logic that would demand at least
some minor degree of experimentation. This, I feel, could have easily been
avoided by having Norah provide audio hints or direction via dialogue after a
certain amount of time has elapsed. When it’s clear I have no clue what to do
next. As it stands there were way too many times where I was going around in
circles. Success with puzzles will vary from player to player, however, so
hopefully you will have a smoother ride than I did.
Frustration and a lack of hints aside, solving each chapter’s
core puzzle can feel incredibly satisfying at times, particularly when you do
spend an inordinate age trying to solve something and eventually reach that
“ah-ha” moment; nothing feels better. A lot of this is due to the visual
variety Call of the Sea offers in each chapter. Sure, the early sections might
largely take place against the backdrop of an island paradise, but being based
on H.P Lovecraft ensures not everything is always as it seems, and Norah’s
journey of self-discovery goes to some interesting places.
Having previously proved her vocal chops before as Delilah
in Firewatch, Cissy Jones once again gives a stellar performance as Norah here
– really selling you on the idea that she is a person intent on going to the
end of the Earth to find answers. Her introspective thoughts help to fill up a
lot of the dead air that would otherwise exist as you continue to roam the
island. And while the script can lean a little too hard into expository
dialogue at times, I’d much prefer this than the much quieter and more eerie
alternative.
Unfortunately, on the technical side of things, Call of the
Sea does struggle a bit with frame rate in later chapters. It’s a little
surprising considering that, while beautiful in the art department, it isn’t a
graphical powerhouse and is at present a console exclusive to Xbox systems. I
played on a One X for this review and noticed numerous stutters and slow down
as the areas I entered became more built up and populated. This, combined with
the odd instance where important puzzle prompts wouldn’t appear without a
chapter restart, does make Call of the Sea a little more untrustworthy
technical than is ideal.
Call of the Sea’s puzzle aspect might be a bit ruthless at
times, but players with the willpower to press on can look forward to a
different type of love story. Any major issues with the narrative’s pacing are
luckily made up for by an engaging central performance and the thought of not
knowing where the next hidden area of the island might lead makes for an
engaging mystery. The setting and characters are a success, just don’t go in
expecting the next big step in first-person storytelling.
