They were designed with natural elements in mind that the player has to pay careful attention to and refer to in Norah’s journal, such as patterns she comes across, including the lunar cycle and levels of the tide. As a praise, I enjoyed how creative and different the puzzles were from anything else I had ever seen. The puzzles are the meat of the game, though, and they felt overall like a mixed bag. At one point Norah is caught in a ferocious thunderstorm the sporadic lightning is loud and imposing, and shook me to my core while I was playing as if I were actually there in the storm myself. I am also very impressed by the sound design. The visuals are gorgeous in every corner, and special praise needs to be given to the game’s color and lighting. Once the player finds what they need from each area, there is no reason to return to those areas for anything else. Although they appear large and expansive at first glance, they serve a simple service, and the game is not an open world by any means.
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The plot and physical layout of the chapters are pretty straightforward and simple. What starts off as a seemingly simple search ends up being anything but by the conclusion of the game.Ĭall of the Sea is not a very long game by any stretch most players will wrap it up in about five hours or so, and there are only six chapters and a prologue chapter to set things up. Many of these clues, often found in camps the team has created that Norah will come across, appear in the form of journal notes and cryptic images, some of which will also reveal the state of mind of the expedition and plot revelations that Norah will react to.
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Norah is naturally inquisitive, a quality demonstrated through gameplay as the player can explore the island’s surroundings for clues and puzzles that will help piece together the fate of the expedition and secrets they may have uncovered. Set in the 1930s, Call of the Sea is about a young woman named Norah who is searching for her husband on a mysterious remote island in the Southern Pacific after she lost contact with him during an important expedition. One instance sees Norah speaking up in defense of a member of the expedition, who was rejected from entrance into a program based on his race. Positive: Norah and her husband are faithful to each other and their relationship is seen as very positive, healthy, and unconditional. Sexual: One of the expedition members is noted to be a playboy in notes Norah finds with only a photograph hinting at this lifestyle nothing overt is shown throughout the game. Language: Language is very tame, but with a few profanities sprinkled throughout, and a couple of instances of taking the Lord’s name in vain. Violence: Small amounts of blood are shown, as well as references to blood rituals and human sacrifice.
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Spiritual content: Hints of dark magic and demonic influences are sprinkled throughout the story. Regardless of its influences, Call of the Sea is its own creation and tone, with players subtly encouraged to take the time to explore and piece together the clues they come across for a clearer picture, as well as to solve its myriad of puzzles. For this first venture, Call of the Sea harkens back to a combination of influences, such as puzzle games like Myst and Firewatch, and H.P.
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Call of the Sea is a remarkable game that captivated me the further I delved into it, and I can only hope that future projects will be even greater in scope and scale. When I first watched the reveal trailer for Call of the Sea, I couldn’t believe it when I learned that it is the debut game for indie developer Out of the Blue, a small team based in Madrid, Spain.