Call of the Sea is the first game from new studio Out of the Blue Games (a studio made up of veteran developers). It’s a stylish, otherworldy, first-person “walking sim” at the most basic level, however, unlike so many of its peers, it has a clear narrative arc and a strong focus on complex puzzles with minimal hand-holding. To get the most out of the story and narrow down potential puzzle solutions, you need to explore, observe, document clues, and be ready for some mental gymnastics.

Call of the Sea takes place in 1934, on a mysterious island off Tahiti in the South Pacific, shunned by local fishermen. You take the role of Norah Everhart, a young woman on the hunt for her husband's missing expedition, exploring a lush island that seems to host the ruins of a lost civilization that predates the Polynesians.

Despite the promise of otherworldly elements and several ominous locations, Call of the Sea is not a horror game…

It’s the perfect setup for a relaxed 6-7 hour gaming experience, which has you moving between self-contained chapters as you push deeper and deeper onto the island, picking up the trail of the doomed expedition. Norah’s husband Harry is pushing relentlessly forward, driven by a desire to cure Norah’s debilitating condition, an ailment that – mysteriously – improves while she is on the island. To delve further into Call of the Sea’s story risks spoilers but fans of Lovecraftian stories, even those who only know of his most famous stories in passing, will know the direction it's going well before the finale.

…I found myself pushing forward regardless, thanks to the excellent writing, characterisation, and Norah’s constant commentary and reminiscing.

Unexpectedly, I found myself pushing forward regardless, thanks to the excellent writing, characterisation, and Norah’s constant commentary and reminiscing. Voiced by the immensely-experienced Cissy Jones, Norah manages to both sound sincere when describing her love for her hubby (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal), but also express her frustrations at her role in society. She’s more than capable – sleuthing her way past multiple puzzles that left the expedition using brute-force – but being both sickly and female has stifled her ambitions in a patriarchal world. This ties into the binary ending choice, with both feeling equally viable, rather than a throwaway effort to give the player a sense of agency.


…but it can get fairly trippy in places. It’s up to the player to decide if what they’re seeing is real or not.

When it comes to the gameplay, thorough exploration of each self-contained region while looking for interaction icons is the key to progression. Norah notes down everything she sees in her diary, with one section reserved for her interpretation of past events, the other dedicated to recording important puzzle clues. Not only does exploration reveal more of her character in her commentary and monologues, but it also fills out a list of important clues for tackling each regions major puzzles.

… most puzzles require you to observe visual designs and patterns, taking note of their position or order.

The diary can be opened at any time – an essential feature as most puzzles require you to observe visual designs and patterns, taking note of their position or order. Call of the Sea’s one immersion-breaking concession is how Norah leaves gaps in her journal, an absence that lets you know you’ve missed something vital. Thankfully, you typically tackle one major puzzle at a time and the vast majority – despite being complex or multi-stage – are easily solvable once your brain has found the connection between several sets of clues.


Norah’s journal entries start fairly simple and informative, but later entries can be packed with fine details (some of them more misleading than helpful)

That said, backtracking for clues and struggling with obtuse puzzle solutions can slow the pacing. One easy-to-fix problem is just how slow Norah jogs (or the lack of an always-run toggle now that I think about it), which makes searching for missed clues tedious. The second issue was a handful of puzzles in the 3rd and 4th chapter that a) come with diary entries that are effectively red herrings, and b) require toggling switches to positions that made zero sense, even after I brute-forced my way to a solution. Anytime the pace slows, it's to the detriment of the strong narrative hook.

Call of the Sea is not some technical next-gen marvel but it often looks incredible…

On the upside, backtracking to find a missed clue also provides an opportunity to soak in the beautiful environments, listen to the multi-layered ambient sounds, and enjoy the atmospheric soundtrack that ranges from uplifting to ominous, complementing every scene. There are also several secret interactions and clues to find (some of which shamelessly tease later events), and plenty of environmental storytelling that you might only piece together during later encounters.


Call of the Sea is not some technical next-gen marvel but it looks incredible, regardless of whether you’re walking through a lush jungle, along cliffside path, or swimming through submerged ruins.

On the Xbox Series X, Call of the Sea targets 4K/60, whereas my Series S held a locked framerate but produced a very soft image at times, suggesting a much lower resolution. Thankfully, this was never much of an issue given the game relies on stylised artwork and lighting, rather than complex geometry and high-resolution textures for visual impact, but there were some rough spots.

Despite the short length, inherent limitations on replayability in this genre, and some visual oddities, Call of the Sea is easy to recommend as an indie title at the $20-equivalent price-point. If you have an active Xbox Game Pass subscription, it’s part of the subscription and a must-play if you enjoy the genre. The stylised visuals, lighting, ambient sounds, and music work together to create a captivating location; tough puzzles keep you engaged and provide a real sense of achievement when you finally piece the solution together; while the writing and voice work convey a predictable but intriguing story.