Game Title: Call of the Sea

Developer: Out of the Blue

Publisher: Raw Fury

Review Platform: PC (Steam)

Release Date: December 8, 2020

Call of the Sea is a walking simulator with puzzle elements and a decent story taking place in the 1930s. You play the role of Norah Everhart, an art teacher who is suffering from an unknown illness that causes dark spots to form on her skin and gives her vivid nightmares. Her husband, Harry, has gone off in search of a cure for her but it’s been months since she received his last letter.

Norah receives an anonymous package the contents of which suggest that she can find Harry 74 miles east of Tahiti. Despite her condition, she immediately embarks upon a voyage to find her lost husband. She finds out that her destination is an island that the locals are afraid of and don’t venture to. After days, she finally manages to convince a ship captain to take her there. Seeing the island from afar, she realizes she has been having dreams about this island for months. How curious! And thus the journey begins...

From here on out, you get to explore the island and follow a trail of clues to try and figure out what happened to Harry’s expedition and why he came here in the first place. The majority of the clues are in the form of handwritten notes left behind by the expedition crew. Norah has a handy journal where she writes about her experiences and takes notes of things she thinks are important. You can use the journal to keep track of all the useful clues and information you find along the way. For those who have difficulty reading handwritten fonts, both the journal and the documents found throughout the game have the option to be read in a typewritten font.

The journal can update weirdly depending on the order in which you find information, so some parts of it might look empty until you find the relevant piece of information that’s supposed to go there. Similarly, sometimes Norah’s reactions don’t seem to correlate with everything you’ve found up to that point, suggesting that the clues are designed to be found in a specific order. Despite this minor issue, I found the journal to be a very enjoyable feature and I consulted it constantly.

The notes Norah takes are usually crucial to solving the many puzzles you’ll come across in the game. The puzzles are not overly difficult but some are challenging enough to feel quite rewarding upon completion. All you need to solve them is common sense and a certain amount of stubbornness.

The story takes place in chapters and moves forward linearly. Each chapter plays out in a specific area in which you can move about relatively freely and explore however you prefer. You usually have full access to all parts of the area within one chapter, but after moving on to the next chapter, you’re unable to go back. However, any chapter can easily be replayed through a Chapter Selection function accessible from the Main Menu. For my fellow completionists, the Chapter Selection feature can even show you whether or not you’ve discovered everything the chapter has to offer.

The island is quite mysterious and seems to be full of secrets, but it’s also beautiful. The game’s graphics are relatively simplistic but very pleasant to look at. Vibrant colors and gorgeous sceneries are around every corner, turning exploration around this seemingly mythical island into a delightful and enjoyable experience.

Everything is not all unicorns and butterflies though! Moving forward, the story takes a darker turn as Norah starts to feel a connection to the island and gradually discovers a life-changing truth about herself. In the end, she is left with a very difficult choice to make. Either option can involve both happiness and heartbreak, therefore neither is perfect. Depending on your choice here, you will get one of two endings, both of which are difficult, happy, and sad at the same time.

Final Verdict

I'd recommend Call of the Sea to fans of Puzzle Exploration games and Walking Simulators. It certainly isn't the best of the genre and might not have a mind-blowing story, but it's definitely worth a play.

Call of the Sea is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Amazon Luna.

Pros:

    • Beautiful graphics and relaxing gameplay

    • Intriguing story that uncovers gradually, keeping the player interested

Cons:

    • Plot development is not the best and could have been done better

    • Voice acting can be a little corny and unconvincing

Rating: 7/10