6/12/2023 0 Comments Call of the sea psnOne chapter takes place on a bright, sandy orange beach, while the next atop a mountain on a stormy, purple night. The environments also give the game a beautiful and stylistically diverse series of settings to distinguish each chapter. It’s also backed by a great performance by Cissy Jones of Firewatch fame, whose voice carries you through Norah’s mindset, though her repeated talking to herself can sometimes feel like a forced way to reveal necessary details, as she’s not meant to be recording or broadcasting to anyone else. Very few single letters or remains give you that much detail themselves, but scouring every corner for new details is rewarding to figure out the fate of the expedition and see some unforgettable things for yourself. It doesn’t do much that other games haven’t done, but its story plays out and unfolds over the course of each chapter in a way that rewards you for paying attention to a lot of different details. Call of the Sea falls in that category."Īs walking simulators go, Call of the Sea is surprisingly intriguing for such a run-of-the-mill formula. "Less enjoyable puzzle games are less transparent about their systems, excusing unclear mechanics and subpar signposting as further methods of challenge. Of course, nothing with that expedition went according to plan, so Norah is there to sort out what happened and experience many of their troubles for herself, primarily doing so by following where they set up camp, reading their letters, rummaging through what they left behind. As you join the protagonist Norah on her mission, you’re told very little about what she knows and who she’s following, only that she has a long-term illness and is following the trail of her husband’s expedition on an unknown island in the 1930’s. The walking simulator aspect follows in the proverbial footsteps of those that came before it, most notably Firewatch. There are flashes of brilliance and interesting visual sequences, but the lack of clarity in the majority of the puzzles at the heart of this puzzle game overshadows the rest of the game’s promise.Ĭall of the Sea is developer Out of the Blue’s first title as a standalone studio and walks a line between a narrative-focused walking simulator and a puzzle-filled dive into a mysterious island, sometimes blatantly alternating between the two. Its Lovecraftian setting and enticing story fall to the wayside in favor of a frustrating, unsatisfying set of puzzles whose solutions are usually found more through gaming the system than through true deduction. Call of the Sea falls into the latter category. Less enjoyable puzzle games are less transparent about their systems, excusing unclear mechanics and subpar signposting as further methods of challenge. The best of the best are there to give you a challenge and make you think but are clear about their mechanics and don’t run you around aimlessly. One of the major differences that sets the best puzzle games apart from the rest is how well they respect your time.
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