Game Review: Call of the Elder Gods

I have always been a fan of Lovecraftian-style horror video games. The mystery, suspense, and dive into madness always make for a great time. But sometimes a Lovecraftian-style video game doesn’t need to terrify you to be good.

Years ago, before I fell off the video game wagon, I had played Out of the Blue Games’ Call of the Sea. It focused more on a narrative story with puzzles centered around Lovecraftian lore. I really enjoyed my time with the game.

So imagine my surprise when I found the sequel, Call of the Elder Gods, released back in May and was on the Steam sale. This was the first time in months I clicked buy and downloaded a video game without a second thought.

The story follows Professor Harry Everheart from Call of the Sea years after losing his wife. He is joined by Evangeline Drayton, the daughter of Frank Drayton, who is seeing visions of an otherworldly place and wants an explanation for her amnesia.

Call of the Elder Gods draws heavy inspiration from Lovecraft’s short story The Shadow Out of Time and explores themes of time and space travel, including Lovecraft’s Great Race of Yith. It also features themes surrounding loss and good versus evil.

I found the story just as charming as the first. The team does an incredible job blending the Lovecraftian feel with a story that feels heartfelt and hopeful. I will say, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Norah returning to narrate the entire story, but about an hour in, I got used to it.

No spoilers here, but I wasn’t overly satisfied with the ending. It felt very left open, and all the hype and excitement leading through the final chapter fell flat for me. I’m hopeful that Out of the Blue Games might have another game up their sleeve that would tie into this ending.

As far as gameplay goes, I really enjoyed myself. The controls never felt clunky, and interacting with the world was easy. I played on normal mode, so I had the help of the notebook to remember clues. Exploring to find clues helped me feel more immersed in the world and the story.

The puzzles themselves were great too. As long as I took time to uncover everything and use a little bit of brain power, I was good. They were hard without being impossible, but never hard enough that I felt like giving up.

I also had access to hints throughout the game. While I didn’t use these often, there were times I took a quick peek to make sure I wasn’t missing something. It’s a great resource to have so you don’t get overly frustrated and can enjoy the story as you go.

At the end of the day, binging Call of the Elder Gods on a quiet Sunday afternoon was exactly what I needed. It took me about nine hours to complete it, which included quite a few stretch breaks. There is a lot for a gamer to love in this game. You don’t need to have read any of Lovecraft’s stories, but I highly suggest checking out Call of the Sea first.

You can play Call of the Elder Gods on PC via Steam.