Although there is a linear story to be told, in each chapter there will be areas and environments that the player can explore as they want to. When we design games we have players’ emotions in mind. In terms of the pacing and gameplay progression, we have divided the game into chapters to allow us to tune the environments and weather, and make the setting evolve as the story does. We have crafted very detailed environments for the players to explore at their own pace. What can you tell us about the island where the game is set, and what players can expect from it in terms of size and variety? Therefore puzzles serve the narrative and advance the story as a reward for solving them. To achieve that, we did a lot of internal playtesting to tune the difficulty as much as possible.Īlthough Call of the Sea is a puzzle game, I would also say it is the narrative that drives it. We wanted to make puzzles a bit easier than the ones you could find in the Myst series games, to make the game more accessible for a wider audience, while also keeping it challenging enough to be a strong puzzle game. What’s your approach been to puzzle design in the game, especially when it comes to striking a balance between challenge and accessibility?

We put a lot of effort into environmental storytelling, and the player will have to find clues and put all of them together to figure out what happened to the expedition… On the other hand, when we design puzzles, we want them to be integrated into the world as part of the environment. We are inspired by games like Myst or Riven, where you need to explore and gather as much information as possible to understand how the world and the mechanisms that you find work. How much of an emphasis does Call of the Sea place on exploration? What kind of a balance does it strike between that and puzzle solving?Įxploration is strongly tied with puzzle solving. We wanted to create a beautiful place where people want to stay and enjoy spending hours solving puzzles and exploring every corner.

We were inspired by the strong visuals of games like Firewatch, The Witness, and Sea of Thieves. We wanted to stand out, particularly alongside the next-gen games that tend to be hyper realistic. Can you talk us through the process of how you landed on this aesthetic for the game?Īs a small indie studio, we wanted to create a game that would be visually striking and unique. We wanted to create a beautiful place where people want to stay and enjoy spending hours solving puzzles and exploring every corner.'Ĭall of the Sea sports a striking art style that makes a very strong first impression. 'We were inspired by the strong visuals of games like Firewatch, The Witness, and Sea of Thieves. NOTE: This interview was conducted prior to the game’s launch.

You can read our interview with director and Out of the Blue co-founder Tatiana Delgado below. Shortly before it released, we had the opportunity to shoot some of our questions about it to its developers, and learned quite a bit in the process. With its debut release, indie developer Out of the Blue has tried its hand at the narrative adventure style of games made popular by the likes of Firewatch in recent years, and Call of the Sea has certainly generated quite a lot of interest from players since its launch. With its unique setting, an interesting narrative premise and a focus on character-driven storytelling, and a beautiful aesthetic, Call of the Sea makes a strong first impression.

Call of the sea review