Call of the Sea

82%
Game Brain Score Based on 1,855 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • music
Call of the Sea Game Cover
Through engaging puzzles and a captivating story, Call of the Sea provides an excellent, poignant adventure.
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"Call of the Sea" is a first-person adventure game set in the 1930s. Play as Norah, a woman searching for her missing husband in the uncharted islands of the South Pacific. Uncover the secrets of a lost civilization and solve intricate puzzles to advance the narrative-driven story. The game features stunning art deco-inspired visuals and a captivating original soundtrack.

  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

82%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,855 reviews
story839 positive mentions
grinding45 negative mentions
  • Beautiful graphics and art style that create an immersive atmosphere.
  • Engaging story with emotional depth and interesting twists.
  • Puzzles are mostly intuitive and provide a satisfying challenge.
  • Slow movement speed can make backtracking tedious and frustrating.
  • Some puzzles can feel overly simplistic or lack depth.
  • Excessive exposition from the main character can detract from immersion.
  • story1,617 mentions

    The story of "Call of the Sea" is a captivating blend of exploration and emotional depth, centered around Norah's quest to find her missing husband on a mysterious island. While the narrative is engaging and features beautiful visuals, some players found it predictable, especially for those familiar with Lovecraftian themes. The storytelling is delivered through environmental clues and Norah's reflections, creating an immersive experience, though some critiques noted that the pacing and character depth could be improved. Overall, the game is recommended for those who appreciate story-driven adventures with a touch of mystery.

    • “The story is told through letters, pictures, and clues you find scattered around the island, left by your loving husband and his crew, who left on an expedition to find a cure for your illness.”
    • “The story is compelling, the score is beautiful, and the visuals are stunning!”
    • “The story unfolds nicely and the visuals are beautiful.”
    • “Minimal character depth and story, feels very contrived and shallow.”
    • “The story didn't make much sense to me though.”
    • “The story is poorly executed, both writing and performances.”
  • graphics522 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their stunning visuals and artistic style, often described as beautiful, vibrant, and immersive. Many players noted that the art direction enhances the overall experience, complementing the engaging story and puzzles. However, some users experienced technical issues, such as graphical glitches and performance problems, which detracted from the otherwise impressive visual presentation.

    • “It was beautiful to look at, and the visuals changed a little with each chapter, which helped keep my interest up.”
    • “The graphics are stunning, the voice acting is exceptional, the soundtrack is evocative and beautiful.”
    • “The visuals captured the essence of the lonely Pacific island and its secrets wonderfully well, and there are also sections where you get to swim underwater, which are not exactly Soma or Bioshock level, but still a welcome change of pace.”
    • “To be honest, I've probably only played this game for 1.5 hours; the other time I was trying to fix graphic bugs or interact with a story object which you can't.”
    • “I had to set the graphics to the lowest settings for the game to function properly, but once I did, I enjoyed the game.”
    • “The graphics are a let down even on max.”
  • music195 mentions

    The music in the game has been widely praised for its beauty and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere, with many reviewers noting its orchestral quality and emotional impact. The soundtrack, often compared to classic adventure films, complements the stunning visuals and engaging story, creating an immersive experience. Overall, the combination of well-composed music, effective sound design, and excellent voice acting contributes significantly to the game's appeal.

    • “The sound design, both the OST and the ambient sounds, perfectly accompanied the visuals and set the tone for the various stages of Norah's journey.”
    • “The soundtrack is breathtaking - probably my favorite part of the whole game, having its melodies stuck in my head weeks later.”
    • “The music is gorgeous, and the ending is very satisfying.”
    • “There's rarely any music in the game, though what is there is also pretty.”
    • “At the time of writing, the game suffered from a very nasty bug that caused the main menu music to play on a loop over the top of all other game audio, including the level music, if the options menu was ever visited.”
    • “It took me a long while to realize this was truly broken (I just thought the music of the game was purposefully weird or lazily done).”
  • gameplay147 mentions

    The gameplay is primarily a walking simulator with a focus on puzzle-solving and exploration, often criticized for its slow pacing and limited mechanics, such as the inability to jump or crouch. While the puzzles are generally easy and the story engaging, many players found the gameplay tedious due to long distances between objectives and clunky movement mechanics. Overall, the game offers beautiful visuals and a captivating atmosphere, but the gameplay experience is marred by frustration and a lack of depth.

    • “The gameplay is mostly a walking sim, having to interact with your surroundings to find all the pieces of the puzzle and then putting them together.”
    • “The gameplay itself is fine, but I do wish Norah would move a little faster; I did feel like she was a bit too slow at times.”
    • “If you’re looking for a short, intriguing story with great puzzles and incredible visuals, this is a great experience that blends storytelling and gameplay in a relaxing but interactive way.”
    • “Horrible pacing, walking sim with awful movement and next to no mechanics.”
    • “Looks pretty but the gameplay, puzzles, story, and voice acting are bland, generic, and monotone to the point of being sleep-inducing.”
    • “The gameplay is a bit clunky (long walking distances, awkward ladder climbing, cursor blending into surroundings, lack of clarity in what you're meant to achieve).”
  • atmosphere146 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its beauty, immersive design, and strong emotional impact, with many reviewers highlighting the stunning visuals, engaging soundtracks, and the effective blend of wonder and existential dread. While some found the atmosphere to be a standout feature that enhances the overall experience, others noted that certain elements, like excessive exposition or a cartoonish art style, detracted from the intended mood. Overall, the game successfully creates a captivating environment that draws players into its narrative and puzzles, making it a recommended experience for fans of atmospheric adventure games.

    • “The atmosphere in the game is incredible, it's worth the price of admission as a walking simulator alone.”
    • “Beautifully crafted walking sim/puzzle adventure with remarkable atmosphere and voice acting.”
    • “The atmosphere created by the sounds and music makes you enter this world and stay in it along the incredible adventure of Norah.”
    • “The bright colors and art style do not make for much of a Lovecraftian atmosphere in my mind, so I wouldn't call this any kind of real horror.”
    • “The cartoonish, over-the-top colorful graphic style does not fit at all with the story or atmosphere of the game.”
    • “The game lacks all the heavy and tormenting atmosphere that made famous the works of the American author.”
  • emotional99 mentions

    The emotional aspect of "Call of the Sea" is widely praised for its compelling and heartwarming narrative, which resonates deeply with players, often leaving them in tears. Many reviews highlight the game's ability to intertwine Lovecraftian themes with a touching love story, creating a unique emotional journey that is both beautiful and heartbreaking. While some players noted minor plot issues, the overall emotional payoff, especially in the endings, is described as profoundly impactful and memorable.

    • “A very good game with an extremely compelling and frankly heartbreaking story.”
    • “And the way it all ties up together in the end is simply beautiful and heartbreaking that it just brought me to tears.”
    • “Call of the Sea is an emotional and visually stunning game that leans a little bit more into the realm of narrative walking sim than full on puzzle game.”
    • “The story is the most predictable, obnoxious, and boring experience I've ever encountered.”
    • “Bland gameplay, a boring story, and easy puzzles.”
  • grinding47 mentions

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, primarily due to slow movement speeds and excessive backtracking required to complete puzzles. While some puzzles are engaging, many are described as repetitive and frustrating, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the story and gameplay. The combination of laborious traversal and poorly designed puzzle mechanics leads to a generally negative perception of the grinding experience.

    • “But they're not really tedious either.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “Unfortunately, the puzzles were somewhat repetitive and tedious, making sticking around for the interesting story not worth it.”
    • “However, traversal in the game was ridiculously slow and tedious; every ladder climb was a complete chore, and having to trek back and forth between clues was frustrating.”
    • “But later the game essentially switches all puzzles to horribly tedious busywork tasks, where you see the puzzle, understand the puzzle solution, but have to run around for 15 minutes and collect the puzzle pieces so you could finally move on.”
  • optimization45 mentions

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues such as lag spikes, stuttering, and high resource usage, particularly on PC. While some users with high-end systems experienced smooth gameplay, others noted that the game is poorly optimized overall, leading to inconsistent performance across different hardware configurations. Despite its visual appeal and engaging narrative, the lack of polish and optimization detracts from the overall experience for many players.

    • “I have a 3-year-old desktop PC (Dell) and the game never crashed once, or lagged, and the optimization was great for me, too.”
    • “The game is extremely pretty and runs smoothly and the puzzles are actually quite clever.”
    • “[An amazing twist to the Lovecraftian horror genre, fantastic puzzle design that is challenging and highly rewarding, an engrossing experience that will keep you interested all the way through, fully optimized and glitchless].”
    • “To top that off, it also has performance issues, including lag spikes, stuttering, and high resource usage.”
    • “I have an RTX 3090, and this game is so badly optimized that even my spec'd up PC barely was able to run with full throttle fans. Also, the gameplay is very much like a walking simulator, not puzzly at all.”
    • “This seems to be a fine game; however, I cannot recommend it as of now because it is really very poorly optimized.”
  • replayability21 mentions

    The game's replayability is mixed; while it offers some alternate endings and secrets to discover, many players find it lacks substantial replay value after the initial playthrough. Completionists may enjoy revisiting the game for achievements, but overall, its short length and linear narrative limit its long-term appeal. Players are advised to consider purchasing it on sale due to its limited replay potential.

    • “There are secrets to find and a couple of endings, so it has a bit of replayability as well; not too many linear story games can say that.”
    • “Of course there is replayability, whether that be for achievements or for the alternate ending.”
    • “Some replayability if you're a completionist with the achievements.”
    • “It sadly does not have much replay value though, apart from getting all the little secrets and finding every achievement.”
    • “There isn't much in the way of replay value once you've experienced the story, but the story is well told and doesn't overstay its welcome.”
    • “Overall the game is also rather short and does not really provide any replay value apart from revisiting chapters to search for a few hidden items and journal entries.”
  • stability17 mentions

    Overall, the game's stability received mixed reviews, with some players reporting a generally smooth experience free of significant bugs or crashes, while others encountered various glitches, including graphical issues and collision problems that detracted from gameplay. While many appreciated the game's visuals and story, the presence of occasional bugs and performance hiccups was noted as a common frustration. Players recommended ensuring optimal system performance, such as using an SSD, to minimize potential issues.

    • “Overall, I had a positive, bug-free experience, although a couple of the puzzles were a little too obscure.”
    • “For the most part, my game was bug-free, but I did get caught on geometry once or twice and had to reload a chapter when both my save and auto-save had me plunging infinitely downwards.”
    • “Technically, it's very polished - looks great, sounds great, and runs great.”
    • “The game is great... just as long as you don't get any bugs or glitches that prevent you from playing the rest of it.”
    • “Game can be a bit buggy at times, like not being able to walk up a step and getting stuck at what feels like an invisible wall for 20 minutes; looking up a walkthrough kind of broke the experience a bit.”
    • “Mouse input is broken, graphical glitches, animation alignments, objects clipping, very imprecise collision geometry...”
  • character development4 mentions

    Character development in the game is praised for its engaging designs and storytelling, particularly highlighting the character Norah. However, some users express disappointment that many characters lack depth, as they are not fully explored within the gameplay. Overall, while the aesthetic and narrative elements are appreciated, the development of certain characters feels incomplete.

    • “I love the character designs and the little pictures, and the whole island is just so pretty.”
    • “I adored Norah and her character design.”
    • “Good story and character development.”
    • “My second gripe is that as much as I adored Norah and her character design, the development felt lacking.”
    • “Character development for all of these people that you don't ever meet in the game.”
  • humor3 mentions

    The humor in the game is characterized by its absurdity and dark themes, often eliciting laughter through its over-the-top scenarios and dialogue. Players find the combination of tragic backstories and ridiculous situations, such as a quest for a music box to cure a disease, to be unintentionally hilarious. While the graphics are generally well-received, some awkward 2D models add to the comedic effect without detracting from the overall atmosphere.

    • “It's so bad it's actually funny.”
    • “I've been having dreams like that since my mother died and left me her music box in her will. Oh my, I better put these gloves on to hide my terrible illness. I miss my husband who ventured out to a random island because he believed the music box my mother left me would cure my disease. This all happened in the first minute of the game and it literally made me laugh out loud with how bad it sounded.”
    • “The graphics look nice, but at some points, when you get too close to some 2D models, it looks funny. However, it doesn't take away from the great atmosphere.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

76% average critic score

Buy Call of the Sea

Play time

6hMedian play time
6hAverage play time
6hMain story
8hCompletionist
5-8hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 20 analyzed playthroughs

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