Call of the Sea – Whispers of the Deep Ones

That was certainly, unexpected. You know what they say, or maybe this is just what I say. Video games have more hidden in the story than what they show you to a point where I was like, what in the name of Dagon is going on here? Oh wait, yes! Y’ ph’nglui ah wgah’nagl!

Anyway, I got a bit carried away there. I know I’ve been a bit quiet on here lately because I have some other things I want to focus on like my health and fanfics but I’m still going to have reviews when they come so why not start with Call of the Sea?

This game I saw on a Humble Bundle link someone shared and I wishlisted all the games that I didn’t already have. I’m pretty sure I got this game on sale with its OST. It’s a beautiful game and the story is about Norah Everhart who comes to a strange island searching for her husband, Harry, and his expedition. They originally came to the island looking for a cure for her unknown illness. As far as I know, the only thing the illness has displayed on her is the strange spots on her hands.

Norah is also experiencing strange dreams where she swims through a tunnel and hears a music box. Her dreams, and some hallucinations become more vivid as her journey progresses before ultimately revealing where her true fate lies.

The gameplay is pretty straightforward with exploring and solving puzzles. Norah can examine various items and notes which she will record in her journal as a story log or clues to solving a specific puzzle.

The puzzles in this game aren’t entirely difficult. Some I was able to figure out on my own with the notes I collected but there were some that were so vague I had to use a guide like the second last one of chapter 4. That one took me a while before I relented to look for help. All of those diamond symbols can be tricky to understand.

So, what can I say about Norah? I don’t think she has much of a personality but I do love how she is voiced by Cissy Jones who was also Fury in Darksiders. It’s so interesting to see her voice a character who is almost the complete opposite of Fury: calm and focused, until the latter does mature some more.

She does seem to speak to herself a lot and some players don’t enjoy that aspect of her, but if you were alone on an island searching for answers, wouldn’t you do the same thing?

Not much is said about the other characters, but her husband, Harry, was a determined person to find an answer for Norah’s illness. What you see of their relationship in flashbacks is really sweet like how they refer to one another as “dear old pals” it makes me wonder if they started off as friends before they fell in love.

Anyway, I clearly underestimated this game when it comes to the story because as it began, I started seeing Lovecraft references everywhere and they became more frequent until they overtook. I mean, hello? Those chants at the beginning? There’s only one universe that that comes from! I also found something in the third chapter, a vinyl which Norah notes is the artist was Erich Zann.

As I uncovered murals through my journey, the more amphibious in design they became depicting some kind of transformation. My first thought was of the Deep Ones and Dagon: the first creature that appeared in my Necronomicon. The most intense moment was when Norah was no longer dreaming and entered a mirror where she was underwater and something about her was different, like she had become one of those creatures.

Now, anyone would probably be terrified but I noticed right away that the more time she spent in that form, the more alive she felt. Like this wasn’t a disease but a new beginning. The problem however is that there is no origin of how she caught this. It was like her husband was eventually driven mad trying to save her, or at least find a way to be like her so that they could be together.

That is why, I had to make a choice at the end, either Norah accepts her fate and becomes one of these creatures, or returns home to Harry to spend whatever time she has left with him. So it’s either a short life with him or an eternity as part of the Deep Ones. Hell, I even found a secret object in the final chapter where Norah even mentioned Dagon! Lovecraftian story confirmed!

Well, I chose to have her accept her fate. This game wasn’t perfect in gameplay but its story had plenty of surprising twists. So I’d say it was pretty good.