Call of the Elder Gods Review (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, & PC)

You won’t have to have played 2020’s Call of the Sea to enjoy Call of the Elder Gods. Though you might want to fish it out of the respective store for your console. It’s one of those quick games whose story eases your mind off adulting worries. The kind that will engage you in its neat balance of investigative deduction and puzzle-solving. You won’t have enemies or any combat to worry about. Just tagging along on an engaging story that occasionally has you racking your brain at welcome intervals. 

Given how Call of the Sea was an absolute thrill, it wasn’t any surprise that the sequel followed suit. It sticks to what worked in the first game, continuing with the easygoing Lovecraftian adventure you’ll enjoy. Let’s get right into what works and what doesn’t in our Call of the Elder Gods review.

Dreamscape

Haunting dreams are often a burden you have to carry alone. But in protagonist Evangeline Drayton’s case, the haunting dreams she experiences are like her professor’s, Harry Everhart. There’s more than unites these two souls. They both see recurring vivid images of a mystical, otherworldly city. Plus, an ancient artifact, which Evangeline finds broken at Harry’s feet. More concerning, she finds the professor unconscious. 

Call of the Elder Gods masters the art of foreboding mystery. Its premise intrigues right off the bat, with lots of questions you want to find the answers to. And it’s even more compelling when you track down the answers yourself through exploration. 

Plus, you have the motivation of stopping the nightmares. Not to mention that it gets worse for Evangeline when she begins to lose track of time. She’s gone for months without any memory of the things she’s done or people she’s talked to. Combined with finding the professor unconscious, it sets the stage for a time-sensitive mystery that needs solving as soon as possible. 

Not Quite Horror

Even though Call of the Sea was Lovecraftian themed, and Call of the Elder Gods follows suit, you won’t necessarily play through a horror-themed game. Sure, you do discover some creepy themes that border on violence. But the gameplay centers more around exploration and puzzle-solving. 

It’s a bigger world, with more rooms that you’ll be combing through. In fact, you’ll globe-trot around the world, chasing mystery, much like an Indiana Jones adventure. Beyond different countries, you enter cosmic realms with dinosaurs and whatnot. Yet, even with the vastness in scale and scope, the puzzles remain complex and contained. 

Stepping into a room, your eyes immediately scan around, taking mental notes on the objects and possible clues. You have a journal to keep track of clues, and that alone should tell you that Call of the Elder Gods is a game about observation and memory. 

Puzzle-Solving

The puzzles in Call of the Elder Gods are varied. You have your usual searching for keys, recognizing patterns, and interacting with objects to align them. Some require logical thinking to solve, with instances of recollecting clues you’ve already encountered. In fact, lots of puzzles rely on keen observation and memory.

The notes that you collect during exploration will likely inform how to solve future puzzles. You may spot photos or symbols that help with deciphering ancient text. And it’s all a fantastic brain exercise that constantly surprises you with its creativity and cunning. Some will be hurdles that take you a minute to figure out. But when you do, they feel rewarding to have solved.

If you love escape rooms, then you should enjoy the complexity of the puzzles in Call of the Elder Gods. Even when they test your patience, flipping through your journal, and walking back to search for clues you might have missed still feels worth the time.

Stuck on You

But in the cases when you hit a stumbling block, you can rely on the hint system. It downright gives you step-by-step solutions to puzzles. Although it’s entirely optional, it’s still a bummer to have all the solutions available to you. The slow, steady pace of puzzle-solving isn’t always rosy, and any slight frustration can easily have you give up and look up the solution. 

What other games have done is have a limited hint system, where you can only look up a certain number of hints. And thus, it helps keep you conscious of how many hints you have left, and whether it’s wise to waste them on a puzzle you could potentially solve with a little more patience. 

Painterly Aesthetic

From Call of the Sea, Call of the Elder Gods has only gotten better in visuals. It looks more polished, with higher fidelity and more intricate details in the environment. Given the move from Unreal Engine 4 to 5, it makes sense that the graphics will be more stunning. 

Meanwhile, the underlying painterly 1950s aesthetic of the series remains a strong tool for immersion. You’re instantly pulled into the game’s world of vibrant colors. Even when the details dance between realism and fantasy elements, it still looks inviting to explore every nook and cranny. 

The dual protagonists are also brought to life by strong writing and voice acting. Professor Harry has been through a lot after losing his wife in Call of the Sea. And you can feel his guilt and grief in his writing and acting. He’s a complex character you relate to, especially with his wife doing the narration. 

Meanwhile, Evangeline holds up her end of the deal, with just as believable writing and voice acting. Their performances are capped by moody music in places whose melodies perfectly complement the haunting, otherworldly atmosphere. 

Cozy Horror

In six hours or so, you’ll have completed its six chapters. Short and sweet, without overstaying its welcome. 

If you missed out on the first game, Call of the Elder Gods is courteous enough to catch you up to speed. But it doesn’t do so in a rushed-through recap. Instead, you select that you’re a newcomer on the menu. And the story will seamlessly integrate the character backstories and lore you need to know from the first game. 

Being a direct sequel that takes place six years after the events in the first game, it’s nice that you’re made aware of the crossovers that are deemed important.

Downsides

Call of the Elder Gods is certainly imperfect. It has no combat at all, for starters. But I can’t fault it for lacking combat when it never claimed to be an action game. The focus is primarily on enjoying a captivating story and intricate puzzle-solving. So, anything beyond that will definitely leave you wanting more.

While the pacing is fantastic, giving you enough time to carefully examine objects and the environment for clues, it can feel like it grinds to a halt when you’re stuck on a tough puzzle. And there’s the hint system, sure. But that’s not always a route every gamer wants to take. 

I was also a bit disappointed at some of the environments, especially given that Call of the Sea focused on one location, and it sure was one hell of a stormy island to explore. This time, we travel to Australia, New England, and cosmic worlds. And yet, some of those areas barely leave a lasting impression. 

But this is me nitpicking. If you’re genuinely someone who’s looking to enjoy a cozy cosmic horror story with intricate puzzles, then I don’t see how you can go wrong with the few hours it takes to beat Call of the Elder Gods.

Verdict

Call of the Elder Gods has been clear about what it is. A point-and-click narrative puzzle adventure. And in that regard, it succeeds in delivering exactly what it promises. You jump right into a captivating hook full of questions you crave to figure out the answers to. It feels like a build-up of mysteries that keep taking you to unexpected places around the world, and beyond. 

Settling into the cosmic horror, you find yourself fully taken by the Lovecraftian-themed events that spring up. And as you piece the story together, drawing to a satisfying end, it feels like a six-hour or so well spent. 

Much of that time is spent exploring the world, searching for clues. And the level of keen observation that Call of the Elder Gods demands is remarkable. Every detail seems to matter in the back of your mind. And so, you pay attention to the objects you see, examining them closely for possible solutions to puzzles. 

It’s a neat balance of exploration and captivating story, where you’re engaged not just in intrigue but in thought processing. The puzzles pull you in, enticing you to figure them out, and will reward you with a burst of pleasure when you finally do. Besides a few downsides that are of no consequence to your playthrough, this right here is a sweet and cozy cosmic horror ride.