Solving Puzzles in a Lovecraftian Adventure
Call of the Sea is a captivating first-person adventure game, developed by Out of the Blue and published by Raw Fury, released in 2020. Players step into the role of Norah Everhart in the 1930s South Pacific. She arrives on a lush, enigmatic island to search for her missing husband and his expedition. The game focus remains firmly on discovery, atmosphere, and clever problem-solving, mixing elements of Lovecraft to the narrative.
The Story of "Call of The Sea"
Prologue – A Family Heirloom
The game begins with Norah Everhart swimming through a cavern whilst voices call out to her. Upon discovering a music box, Norah awakens in her quarters aboard a boat. This music box appears to be a family heirloom connected to a peculiar hereditary illness. The disease manifests as strange marks upon Norah’s skin, which she conceals beneath gloves. Without answers regarding this affliction, Norah’s husband Harry ventured forth seeking solutions, yet vanished thereafter. She received a package containing a photograph of her missing husband, Harry; the image accompanied coordinates leading to an island east of Otaheite (Tahiti).
Gathering her belongings, including a ritualistic dagger, Norah sets course for the island where she believes her husband might be found.
Chapter 1 – 74 Miles East of Otaheite
The island reveals itself before Norah as she approaches in a small boat. This very island haunts her dreams and supposedly holds Harry. Once ashore, Norah begins exploring its mysteries—strange symbols and a series of structures indicating an indigenous community once thrived here. Furthermore, numerous signs suggest someone anticipated Norah’s arrival, leaving various indications for her.
At an abandoned campsite, Norah discovers evidence of Harry’s expedition; which included Harry, journalist Cassandra Ward, mechanic Frank Dayton, dermatologist Ernest De Witt, stuntman Roy Granger, and their Tahitian guide Teaharoa.
The island teems with intricate mechanisms and puzzles that challenge Norah before she can proceed. To make matters worse, her boat has vanished and she finds herself trapped on the island.
Chapter 2 – The Everhart Expedition
Norah arrives at a village belonging to the local natives. Evidence of Harry’s presence emerges through photographs she finds within the huts. In one hut, Norah discovers a secret passage. This hidden chamber conceals a mysterious stone bearing a dark substance. The stone fits into a rock structure demonstrating technology far beyond anything familiar. Operating as a lift, the structure carries her upwards where she finds a tent and documents about the “Black ooze” alongside images matching the disease Norah carries. She learns that the team had stumbled upon a sacred well utilised by the islanders for a mysterious ritual involving a peculiar black substance. Acting on impulse, Roy had triggered an explosion with dynamite, leading to tragic consequences and the onset of a bizarre affliction for De Witt, similar to Norah’s own symptoms.
At the well, Norah encounters eyes carved into the rock with the dark substance seeping from their orifices. After interacting with a highly elaborate machine, Norah manages to craft a lens and employ it in a telescope that produces a signal. She uses this signal to solve an enigma within the well, yet becomes trapped as the dark substance floods the chamber.
Chapter 3 – The Vanishing of Lady Shannon
Norah finds herself in a dreamlike vision of the island, following a path that allows her to glimpse, far on the horizon, a gigantic and monstrous creature, though obscured by the atmosphere. Walking into the water, Norah swims until she spots monstrous eyes in the depths. She cannot help but feel curious about approaching the creature whilst her arms transform into something fish-like.
Awakening from her episode, Norah stands before a ship run aground on a beach—the Lady Shannon. The paradisiacal island gives way to a storm and the darkness of night. Entering the ship, Norah finds it utterly ravaged. Something appears to have breached the vessel, generating the chaos that doomed it to shipwreck. Near the ship lies an encampment. The rocky slopes follow that pattern of precise and “alien” cuts, being impossible to have formed naturally.
After solving an enigmatic mechanism at an altar, a pathway of rocks emerges from the sea, forming a bridge for Norah leading to a small outcrop. There she finds a letter from Harry. In it, Harry explains how close he came to understanding Norah’s family disease, yet at the cost of his sanity. Harry’s expedition suffered from the insanity of its members. Through the rocks, Norah manages to open a passage.
Chapter 4 – Quite a Show
Reaching the summit of a mountain, Norah observes rain falling upon the scenery, which presents itself as mysterious and shrouded in mist. Radio towers stand here alongside the tomb of more members of Harry’s expedition. Enormous carved rock formations dominate the mountain. Restoring the power, Norah climbs to the top of the tower, yet receives a shock that hurls her down from above.
Another hallucination overtakes Norah where she finds herself in a desolate corner revealed to be the ocean floor, scattered with bones of giant creatures. She also experiences flashes of past moments with Harry and her own disease. In this feverish dream, Norah returns to her house, now covered with water. She finds a postcard from Yhanthlei from a certain cousin Robert whom she does not know. Moreover, the music box rests there, with a mermaid spinning whilst it plays.
Regaining lucidity, Norah activates the mountain through a melody, and it opens its passage to the interior. Within the cavern she reads a series of pictorial images demonstrating a bath in the Black Ooze and the being’s body transforming from human to something fish-like, bearing the same marks Norah possesses. Yet another letter from Harry awaits her. This time he admits there exists no cure for Norah’s disease; what flows in Norah’s blood transforms her, though Harry failed to finish this letter. At last, Norah places her hand upon a pedestal and her arm transforms into something fish-like.
Chapter 5 – Sunken
By placing her hand upon different magical pedestals, Norah can transform and revert to normal. This ability allows her to enter the water without difficulty and even breathe beneath it. The architecture in the cavern follows a format mixing a dreamscape with carved and worked stones. Before her lies a sunken city. Whilst interacting within the cavern, Norah glimpses the island’s past. A meteor appears to have fallen in that place, awakening a God of black blood. The well served as the location for “baptisms,” submerging people in the Black blood to transform them into slaves and fish-creatures. These slaves, however, rebelled against their masters.
Travelling through the cavern, Norah swims between its openings and passages, and everything seems magical until she encounters a gigantic eye. Indeed, some monstrous creature dwells there as well. She finds another letter from Harry, this time explaining that only he and a colleague called Cassandra remain alive. Considering the possibility of becoming the same thing as Norah, Harry elucidates that the island’s original inhabitants took their slaves to a sanctuary and performed a ritual, which he intends to attempt himself.
A river runs down a current through the cavern. Following it, Norah descends the river towards Harry.
Chapter 6 – Fhalgof’n
The river leads to an almost dreamlike place where the monster’s tentacles appear. At a sanctuary entrance with the aurora borealis shining brilliantly above it, the river terminates. At the entrance she finds a syringe containing the Black ooze, an unloaded weapon, and blood. Using the dagger to cut her hand and spill her blood, Norah opens the sanctuary entrance. After completing a complex mechanism, she reaches her destination and at last finds what appears to be Harry seated upon a throne, covered by a shell produced by the Black ooze and holding the music box. The black liquid begins to flood the chamber.
Yet another hallucination grips Norah; she comes to believe that in truth, the dead person was not Harry but rather Cassandra. Harry fought against Cass to prevent her from completing the ritual, explaining the weapon; Cassandra shot Harry. Following these events, Harry sent Norah the dagger that opened the sanctuary. He planted the bait to bring Norah to the island. Harry did this so that Norah would understand her true place as an inhabitant of that species.
Here Norah must choose: accept her destiny and that place as her home, or reject her destiny and return home to live as long as possible before her “disease” consumes her.
Should she accept her destiny, Norah follows a path and connects with the thousands of minds linked to the Elder God. Transforming into a fish-creature, Norah swims to an underwater world where she shall live eternally whilst an older Harry laments all that has occurred.
Should she reject it, Norah returns home and lives the remainder of her days with Harry, yet with her terrible disease ravaging her.
In both endings, Harry finishes alone, going to work as a Dean of Archaeology at Miskatonic University.
Mythos
The game contains several references to the Cthulhu Mythos. I highlight the most relevant ones here. Call of the Sea draws heavy inspiration from the Deep Ones – fish-like humanoids or something very close to them. These beings receive greater exploration in The Shadow over Innsmouth, and Norah’s transformation mirrors that of the novella’s protagonist.
The Deep Ones inhabit an underwater city also mentioned in the game: Y’ha-nthlei. This submerged settlement lies near Devil Reef, off the coast of Innsmouth. Residents of Innsmouth usually move there once their transformation reaches completion.
Meanwhile, the island’s architecture resembles the expected dwellings of the Old Ones and thus evokes R’lyeh. The island itself appears to sit in the South Pacific, precisely where Lovecraft placed the home of the gods. In addition, the creature that Norah encounters likely serves as a reference to Dagon himself.
Visual Style and Atmosphere
Call of The Sea stands out right away with its distinctive visuals and style. The game blends Lovecraftian horror with the adventurous spirit of Jules Verne tales. Sometimes a mysterious atmosphere appears with touches of horror, yet the overall experience keeps an adventurous tone the whole time. In addition, the title carries that melancholic feel typical of walking simulators. Cartoonish in design, the world uses cel-shading to define volumes and keeps vibrant colours alive in every scene.
The Lovecraftian elements add considerable appeal. From the very start, they create an eerie sense of mystery. Players feel eager the whole time to learn more about the island, its hidden secrets, and the creatures that may dwell there. Therefore, interaction with the bizarre architecture and absurd mechanisms grows more and more captivating and draws one deeper into that world.
This impression stems partly from the story, which reveals itself step by step. Although the narrative stays simple, it proves intriguing enough to keep players wanting more. The developers rely on a common storytelling technique found in similar games: the protagonist arrives after all major events have already taken place. As a result, players spend most of their time retracing other characters’ steps, piecing together events, and understanding how they connect. I seldom enjoy walking simulators. However, one aspect of this game pleases me a great deal. The chapters remain short. As a result, the environments never become collections of pointless rooms and corridors. Instead, each new area helps advance the plot.
Puzzle-Based Progression
Call of The Sea functions as a walking simulator in which players progress exclusively through puzzles. The experience includes no combat, chase sequences or stealth sections. Players never face any genuine risk of failure that requires reloading a checkpoint. Documents, environmental storytelling and the protagonist’s inner monologues convey the story. Heavy flashback sequences also appear at several points.
This structure mirrors that of many other titles in the genre. Since only one character exists and arrives long after the key events, the team needed a way to communicate what happened. I do not like this approach much. Even so, the mystery still manages to captivate like an engaging detective story.
The puzzles impress because most of them drive the story forward and feel completely integrated into the world. They avoid any feeling of artificial barriers created merely to waste time or add forced challenge. Many narrative-driven games make this mistake and turn puzzles into frustrating roadblocks rather than organic parts of the narrative. In this title, the puzzles align smoothly with story progression. Difficulty varies between simple challenges and some quite demanding ones, although the game offers plenty of clues. Another strength lies in how well the hints make sense within the fiction. They come from the previous expedition and the protagonist’s own notebook entries.
Although certain puzzles can prove difficult and hold players back for a time, I cannot view this as a problem. The system works well when all necessary clues exist in the game and solutions rely on logic. As a result, the title appeals more to dedicated puzzle solvers than to other types of players.