Call of the Sea - Preview of the adventure game with Lovecraftian tones

The last home conference Xbox has brought to light a large number of interesting projects that will arrive in the future on the next generation console Xbox Series X. Through the different trailers and gameplay we had the opportunity to discover more details of the previously announced games and some great news, such as the new horror shooter Scorn or the highly anticipated Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2. Among the titles presented there is also Call of the Sea, the first video game in the works at the fledgling development studio Out of the Blue formed by a group of veterans who have previously worked on the likes of Red Matter, Metroid: Samus Returns, Deadlight, Gylt, Celeste, Guacamelee 2 and Spacelords, and published by the Swedish independent development studio Raw fury, previously known for popular titles such as Night Call and Kingdom: Two Crowns. We don't have much information on the title yet, apart from the gameplay trailer and some images that were released over the course of theInside Xbox last May 7, but immediately aroused general interest in the community.

Call of the sea is a first-person puzzle-adventure game that puts players in the shoes of Norah, a woman who sets out on an incredible adventure in search of her husband Harry, who disappeared into thin air on a particular expedition. The journey in search of Harry will take her to a strange and mysterious island in the South Pacific, where even the last traces of her husband are suddenly interrupted. The title stands out considerably compared to those presented, thanks above all to its cartoon graphic style, full of bright and vibrant colors which are decidedly in contrast with the other titles presented at the conference, characterized mainly by dark and disturbing tones and settings. The first and short trailer, lasting about a minute, showed us a great variety of scenarios in which the player will have to move in search of clues. Between a waterfall, a lifeboat and the ruins of a mysterious civilization there will be many adventures to be faced to be able to get back on Harry's trail.

An adventure between mystery and the occult

We are in 1934. As previously mentioned, the title puts players in the shoes of Norah, a woman who will be forced to cross the ocean in search of her husband Harry, whose traces will lead her to a mysterious paradise island. Inspired by titles like Firewatch, Subnautica, Red Matter, Myst, Soma and Obduction, Call of the sea is a puzzle-adventure game that promises to be the perfect title for fans of the genre, as well as for people who want to approach this type of video game for the first time. As players explore the diverse and colorful environments, they will discover the remains of an ancient lost civilization, whose secrets remained hidden until our arrival. The discovery of this occult civilization will greatly change our way of seeing things, transforming the reality we know into something very different, distorted and surreal. The developers, passionate about everything that is supernatural and occult, have decided to focus a lot on this, inspired by the narrative style of the famous writer Howard Philips Lovecraft even if the game will keep far away from the classic horror canons. Especially the final part of the trailer, in which we can glimpse two webbed hands, seems to recall a lot of some of the stories of the writer, whose style has stood out over the years precisely because of some typical elements of his writing, able to make disturbing even the simplest and most common things.

The main goal of the development team is therefore also to encourage players to take an interest in Norah's personal story and her personal and emotional growth, as well as explore the colorful and mysterious settings, making players understand that things are not all. how they look. The story of her relationship with Harry will also be shown through the use of flashbacks, and the development team promises a calmer, deeper and more intelligent romance than what is usually shown in a video game. Besides, Norah will be voiced by the actress Cissy jones, which adventure game fans will surely remember for her wonderful portrayal of Delilah in Firewatch. The setting of the 30s and the presence of a strong female protagonist to the point of being willing to go on a long journey in order to save her husband seem to promise the arrival of a very well-kept and intelligent title in terms of narrative narratives, of which but unfortunately we haven't seen enough from the purely technical side yet.

The title therefore looks particularly promising, even if we don't have much information about it yet. The first work of the emerging development studio Out of the Blue it could actually be a little gem thanks above all to the incredible care that the developers have shown they want to use to perfectly intertwine the very particular atmospheres of the title and the narration with all those otherworldly and mysterious elements, typical of Lovecraft. The elements declared as sources of inspiration really give us hope for what the setting and the plot will be; the only real unknowns therefore remain the gameplay and the actual functionality of the puzzles, which should scatter the island to be explored, and which will inevitably further involve the player in his strange journey. But what happened to Harry? What will be the secrets scattered on the island? And above all, what will happen to Norah? These are just some of the questions we can ask ourselves in front of the short and suggestive official trailer of the game, so we just have to wait for more news that will arrive over the next few months.