If you’ve spent any time looking for a puzzle game that doesn't just feel like a series of disconnected logic gates, you’ve probably stumbled across Call of the Sea. It’s gorgeous. Honestly, the first thing that hits you isn't the mystery or the voice acting, but the colors. Out of the Blue, the Spanish studio behind this, clearly decided that the South Pacific shouldn't be drab, even if there’s a cosmic horror lurking in the damp corners of the island.
You play as Norah Everhart. It’s 1934. She’s got this mysterious skin malady—spots on her hands, constant fatigue—and her husband, Harry, has vanished while looking for a cure. So, she follows him. Alone. To a nameless island 74 miles east of Otaheite (Tahiti). It's a classic setup, but the game pivots away from the expected tropes almost immediately. While most Lovecraftian stories lean into the "going insane" mechanic, Norah feels a strange, pull toward the island. It’s not a descent into madness; it’s more like a homecoming that she doesn't quite understand yet.
Why Call of the Sea Hits Differently Than Other Puzzle Games
Most "walking sims" or first-person puzzle games struggle with narrative pacing. Either the puzzles are too hard and you forget why you're there, or they're too easy and the story feels thin. Call of the Sea manages to bridge that gap by making the puzzles feel like part of the archaeology. You aren't just sliding tiles because a door is locked; you're deciphering a lost civilization's ritual calendar or figuring out how a massive stone organ works to communicate with something underwater.
Norah’s journal is your best friend. Seriously. Without it, you'd be lost. She doodles. She takes notes. If you find a series of symbols on a cave wall, she’ll jot them down. It removes that annoying "back-and-forth" travel that kills the momentum in games like The Witness. You have the data. Now you just have to use your brain to connect the dots.
The Cissy Jones Factor
We have to talk about the voice acting. Norah is voiced by Cissy Jones. You might know her as Delilah from Firewatch. She carries the entire emotional weight of the game. Since Norah is often the only person on screen, the game relies on her monologue to keep you grounded. Her relationship with Harry—whom she calls "Old Pal"—is revealed through discarded letters and photos. It feels lived-in. When she finds his camp abandoned, you feel her anxiety, not because the music tells you to, but because Jones sells the heartbreak of a woman who is slowly realizing her husband might have lost his mind.
Harry is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal. Yeah, Spider-Man himself. He’s mostly heard through recordings and letters, providing a frantic contrast to Norah’s more methodical, albeit increasingly surreal, journey.
Dealing With the "Lovecraft" Problem
Lovecraftian horror usually means tentacles, cults, and people screaming about things being "indescribable." It’s become a bit of a cliché. Call of the Sea takes the lore—specifically the "Shadow Over Innsmouth" vibes—and flips the perspective. Instead of fearing the transformation, the game asks: what if the transformation is what you were always meant for?
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It’s bright. The sun is shining. The water is a brilliant turquoise.
This isn't Amnesia. There are no monsters chasing you through hallways. The tension comes from the environment and the realization that the expedition Harry led went horribly, specifically wrong. You find their camps. You see the remains of their specialized equipment. You see how the island started to get under their skin—literally and figuratively.
The Puzzle Difficulty Curve
If you're coming into this expecting a breeze, Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 might give you a headache. The "Sunken Ship" puzzle and the "Stone Organ" are notorious. They require a lot of spatial reasoning.
- You have to track power levels across a shipwreck.
- You need to understand frequency and pitch for the musical puzzles.
- Some puzzles require you to observe the environment from high vantage points before you even touch a lever.
One thing the game does well is the "Checklist" feel. You know when you have all the clues. Norah will literally say something like, "I think I have everything I need for this." It prevents that "pixel hunting" frustration where you're just clicking on every rock hoping for a prompt.
The Narrative Structure: A 1930s Mystery
The game is divided into six chapters plus a prologue. Each one feels like a distinct layer of the island. You start on the beach, move into the jungle, then up into the mountains, and eventually... well, down.
The pacing is deliberate. It’s a short game—maybe six to eight hours depending on how fast you solve things—but it doesn't feel rushed. It feels like a novella. The 1930s setting isn't just window dressing, either. The technology of the time—early photography, telegraphs, heavy diving suits—plays a massive role in how you interact with the world. There’s a tactile feel to the levers and buttons that makes the world feel solid, even when the physics start to defy logic in the later acts.
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Artistic Direction and Technical Performance
Developed on Unreal Engine 4, the game uses a stylized, almost "painterly" art style. It’s not trying for hyper-realism. This was a smart move. It allows the supernatural elements to blend seamlessly with the natural ones. On a technical level, the game runs smoothly on most modern hardware, though some of the water effects in the later chapters can be demanding.
If you're playing on a console, the controls are intuitive, but this is a game that feels very at home with a mouse and keyboard, especially when you're flipping through the journal and trying to align symbols.
What People Get Wrong About the Ending
There are two endings. Without spoiling them, it’s worth noting that neither is "wrong." Many players feel like one is the "good" ending and one is "bad," but the game’s themes suggest it’s more about acceptance versus denial. The island offers Norah a truth about herself that contradicts everything she knew in her life in London.
The choice you make at the end isn't about saving the world; it’s a personal decision about Norah’s identity. It’s rare for a puzzle game to stick the landing emotionally, but Call of the Sea manages it because it stays focused on the marriage between Norah and Harry. Everything else—the ancient civilizations, the black ooze, the fish-people—is secondary to that relationship.
Actionable Steps for New Players
If you're just starting your journey to the island, keep these things in mind to avoid frustration and get the most out of the story:
Don't ignore the photos. Every photograph Norah finds adds a layer to her journal. Sometimes the clue isn't in the text Harry wrote, but in what’s visible in the background of the image.
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Turn up the volume.
Sound cues are huge in this game. Whether it's the hum of a machine or the way the wind blows through a specific cave, the audio design often points you toward the solution of a puzzle before you even see the physical components.
Read the letters in order.
It sounds obvious, but the narrative is non-linear in how you find clues. If a camp has three tents, check them all. The story of the expedition members—Frank, Roy, and the others—is a tragic B-plot that explains why the island looks the way it does when you arrive.
Check your journal for "Incomplete" notes. If Norah draws a diagram but leaves a blank space, you’ve missed a physical object in the world. Don't try to brute-force a puzzle if the journal entry isn't finished. You’re likely missing a symbol or a key piece of lore hidden behind a crate or under a desk.
Embrace the slow burn.
This isn't an action game. If you try to rush through the environments, you’ll miss the subtle environmental storytelling that makes the final chapters so impactful. Take the time to look at the murals. They tell the history of the islanders and give context to the "ichor" that seems to be everywhere.
Call of the Sea is a rare example of a "smart" game that doesn't feel pretentious. It respects your intelligence while giving you a lush, vibrant world to lose yourself in. It's a must-play for anyone who misses the era of Myst but wants a story that feels modern and deeply human.
To get the most out of your experience, play this in a single weekend. The narrative threads are tight, and keeping the clues fresh in your mind makes the final revelations hit much harder than they would if you spaced it out over a month. Once you finish, go back and look at the murals in Chapter 2—you’ll realize the ending was staring you in the face the entire time.