We reviewed Call of the Sea

Driftwood
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 | 9:00 AM
3 comments

GSY Review Xbox Series X PC Xbox One

After spending something like 8 hours to complete Call of the Sea, we are ready to share our thoughts on the game as well as a bunch of new videos on PC and Xbox Series X. If you're looking for an adventure that doesn't take you by the hand too much but that does not resort to far-fetched puzzles, you might want to take a few seconds to read our verdict.
Note: Again, the PC videos were recorded in 5.1 so if you want to enjoy them to the fullest, download it.

Verdict

Although it can't be denied that Call of the Sea doesn't bring anything new to the genre, it is still well worth checking out if you enjoy adventure games and varied puzzles. In a way, it reminds us a bit of Conarium, with a different note and a more optimistic and positive touch. Call of the Sea is above all a love story, as you play Norah Everhart, a young woman whose husband went on a year long expedition to find a cure to her mysterious illness. The problem is that after keeping in touch for a long while, the letters suddenly stopped, which motivated Norah to look for her dearly beloved Harry. Call of the Sea offers a pretty linear experience overall, with areas in which you must solve a certain number of puzzles in order to progress and get to the next chapter. Some place you will go though are sometimes bigger than others, but most of the environments remain limited in terms of scale. Don't expect to be able to explore an entire island like in The Witness, though exploration is one of the key components of the game. By searching your surroundings, you will come across différent clues which will alow you to solve the puzzles, but you'll also find documents left behind by Harry's expedition so you can put the pieces of the story back together too. The relationship between Norah and her husband is an endearing one and though they never communicated directly with one another, the solid voice acting allows to understand how deeply in love they both are. Call of the Sea is also a visually charming game, another common point it shares with the recently released Haven, though in a different style. Like in the Game Backers' title, we are made to understand how important each character is for one another, which is a pretty nice angle in our opinion. There are darker moments in this adventure of course, but overall, it's a lot more positive than what we're used to in games set in a Lovecraftian universe and it's a welcome change. If you are a Game Pass subscriber, there really is no reason not to give this game a try. If you're not but you're looking for a more old school approach to adventure games (so a game where puzzle solving is made too easy), then be sure to check out our videos to see if there is something in it for you.