Iä! Iä! fhtgan, old pal.
Norah Everhart is looking for her husband, Harry. Her dear old pal, as she puts it, has gone missing on an expedition, which had an aim of finding a cure for Norah. For years, her health has been waning, but now that her husband has gone missing, Norah has decided to follow instructions from a mysterious letter she received and has now landed on the shore of a remote Polynesian island.
As Norah steps onto the island, she notices the difference it has on her. For years, she's used a cane, but now she can move faster, even run. So, with this newly gained health, she begins exploring the island, finding it full of bizarre carvings as well as signs of the expedition party of Harry's. Piece by piece, she gathers more information on what has happened on the island.
If you know anything about Lovecraft and the phrase I used to open this review, you've probably already gathered what the story is actually about. What the illness Norah suffers is all about. And what has happened to the expedition party? But if you're not familiar with these things, I won't spoil them. The way Call of the Sea spins the story is pretty interesting.
Here's a thing, though: if you are not into horror games, I can assure you that Call of the Sea is not a horror game. Far from it. It's more about the mystery. And puzzles. There are lots of puzzles. You can explore the locations at your own leisure. There are no monsters or scares, just you and the lonely island with its mystery.
To reach the heart of the island, Norah needs to solve several puzzles on her way. And I do mean puzzles; this isn't a standard adventure game either. I'd describe Call of the Sea as a narrative puzzle game. That feels like the most clear niche it falls into. There aren't any standard point-and-click-style adventure game puzzles ála bring object A to point B and so on. They are more about exploring the surroundings, finding clues, and then solving some sort of environmental puzzle that blocks the way forward.
The difficulty of these puzzles ranges from easy to hard, so as a whole, Call of the Sea offers quite a nice range of challenges for those willing to embark on it. It also helps that the game does look rather nice graphically, and the voice acting and the music are solid too.
However, it does need to be admitted that, especially towards the end, some of the puzzles are a bit repetitive, At least I couldn't help but think some of the latter puzzles have a bit of an air of padding in them, and while the final puzzle itself is fun enough, some of the more unimaginative puzzles, like the "Simon Says" drum puzzle, are in the latter chapters of the game.
Still, some minor naggles notwithstanding, Call of the Sea is a solid game. The story and the settings are great, and it's interesting to see Lovecraft's mythos used in a story that isn't about horror.
If narrative-driven mystery puzzle games are your thing, Call of the Sea is well worth playing. You can buy it from GOG and Steam. Call of the Sea is also available for consoles.
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