At the Xbox Series X showcase earlier this year, there was a game that really made me jump up, jumping out like a big fish. That is the call of the sea. I have never heard of it, nor have I heard of developers. But even in all other blockbusters, it stands out. Once I saw it, I couldn’t stop thinking.
Its background part is: an old-fashioned expedition mission in the 1930s, to a dazzling tropical island, where the colors are brighter than life. The red sunlight of the text shines on the beach, and the green of the text shines from the pool. This is a cartoon exaggeration of heaven.
But this is also the tone. This is a non-violent and creepy game about a lonely woman looking for her husband on a journey, and her expedition did not return from the island. An island that seems to be calling her. Who is she, Norah Everhart, what happened to her husband? Then what is waiting for her there?
The outlook seems magical. I now know that I have played “Call of the Sea”: Yes.
To my surprise, “Underwater World” is an adventure game. The game is divided into multiple chapters, and each chapter is played in an independent area of the island. Unless you solve some of the main problems there, you will not be able to leave. Since this is a game, these puzzles usually focus on opening some kind of door, but not always.
Solving puzzles involves combing through areas to find clues until you have everything you need to solve the puzzle at hand. Clues can take many forms, but usually only a small part is collected from the debris left by your husband’s expedition. You always seem to be one step behind him. Therefore, you can browse any content in photos, letters, notes and drawings, which can tell you how his team is proceeding.
You have a vital tool that can help you do all of this: diary. This is both where Norah records events and a quick reference dump of clues. Very convenient. Norah will not only automatically record the important clues you find, but she will also often elaborate on them to provide you with the sparks you need to solve problems.
The problem itself usually revolves around a device, usually a device invented by your husband to overcome obstacles on the island. Therefore, solving problems requires not only understanding how the husband’s conflicts work, but also understanding the problems he wants to solve. May increase workload. There is always enough room for your brain to jump between prompts and answers.
Sometimes the answer is obvious, other times it is more vague. I am a little embarrassed to say that it took me about four hours to solve the two problems, and even more time. Both are in the same chapter, although the content is different. I have everything I need to solve the problem, but no matter how I look at it, I can’t see the answer. It’s a bit like doing a magic eye puzzle: you stare and stare, hoping that something will magically come true. When it appears, it seems obvious, but when it does not appear, it is just an impenetrable noise. In one problem, understanding is indeed achieved magically, but in another problem it is not. I still don’t know why that lucky turn of the dial opened the door, but I am very happy about it.
There may be frustration at that time-although I should point out that these two particular problems are outliers, none of the other problems make me feel sad. But when you get through the difficulties, you will get a fluffy elation from depression. To be honest, in a game that is completely determined by puzzles, I prefer this approach. Yes, it will cause you to wander around the area, wondering if you missed something, but I can’t think of a better area to walk in. With a thorough understanding, you can spend some time telling the story and have a deeper understanding of the surrounding environment.
The template eventually becomes thinner. No matter how the environment seems to change, and the confusion that seems to exist in it, they all boil down to placing things in the correct order in order to open some kind of door. I believe that “unexpected” games can already be done with all the systems in their games, but there are not too many elements here, so the result is a kind of tiredness and longing for what is about to happen-because you are pretty sure you will What is it. Especially when you spend a lot of time solving problems in advance.
This is a game like Uncharted (a very similar game), which is solved by mixing combat and traversal together. In this way, “Uncharted” can go from jigsaw puzzles to gun battles to pranks, and give each component time to refresh and breathe. It’s different here.
However, despite this pressure on the core, I am very happy that Call of the Sea did not do these other things. No battle will calm everything down, and it will make more sense to relate to your identity in The Call of the Sea. Similarly, traverse. This lady used a cane and has been suffering from a mysterious disease throughout her life. Why does she swing like a monkey?
“Tsunami” can’t be like “Uncharted Seas”, spend a lot of money and work time to dazzle people, nor can it dazzle people like before. And, you don’t have to look too closely to find a compromise or hear a compromise (I know it’s trivial, but I hope the beautiful sheet music is played by live musicians rather than music shows), although I should say Sisi Jones (Cissy Jones) voices Norah Everhart. By the way, this is not to say that it is not pretty. This is a kaleidoscope of colors and vibrancy, and seeing islands opening in more and more magical ways in front of you will almost certainly arouse your awe.
But on the contrary, “The Call of the Ocean” is different. Bigger games will never be so weird. The bigger game will never tell the story of love and self-discovery in this way, and do it without resorting to violence, although it makes me intolerable, it still tells a woman. It is this independence that makes “Call of the Sea” stand out in the Xbox Series X showcase and make it stand out.