As a fan of Call of the Sea, I had high expectations for Call of the Elder Gods, and it absolutely delivers as a brilliant direct continuation.

The sequel expands into a thrilling adventure where you switch between Professor Harry and his student Evangeline to solve fantastic, logic-based puzzles across its atmospheric locations.
The game channels a pure Indiana Jones adventure style that also perfectly captures the alien cosmic horror vibe deeply tied to the story.
I easily clocked in over 10 hours because I simply had to explore every single corner of it.

If you loved the first game, answering this call is an absolute must!

For full transparency: I played this on normal mode and on stream[www.twitch.tv], which stretched the runtime a lot. I’d estimate a solo playthrough closer to 4 hours. And if you're stuck, you're more than welcome to use the stream to help yourself as I know guides are rare as I write these lines. Also worth saying upfront: I didn't play Call of the Sea myself, so this is me judging Call of the Elder Gods as a standalone game, even if I already knew the broad story of the first.

I’m a huge fan of good puzzles and an easy target for anything even vaguely Cthulhu-adjacent. This definitely delivered on the puzzle side, but not so much on the cosmic horror side. If you’re here for unsettling dread, turn back now because this is not it at all.

The first couple chapters are honestly pretty mild. The puzzles are fine, but the ones that really woke me up didn’t show up until chapter 3-4. Once you're there though, some of them are excellent and extremely satisfying. It also nails the adventure vibe through old ruins, mysterious relics, a bit of Indiana Jones energy, and yes, even Nazis because apparently ancient temples come with a package deal. Voice acting is strong all around, music works well, and the journal on normal mode is extremely helpful for keeping clues straight. There’s also a hint system in the menu (didn’t test it), plus chapter select, which is nice for cleaning up achievements and revisiting endings.

Now the bad news: the story did absolutely nothing for me. It’s cliché, super predictable and constantly acts like I should care deeply about people who have the emotional depth of decorative rocks. Dialogues drag, every revelation feels announced 5 minutes early, and some dramatic moments land with all the impact of reading meeting notes. Norah is the only exception (she actually feels like a person, sometimes), but she’s not around enough as an actual character to carry the rest. The narrator also comments on every single thought in existence, which started feeling like someone reading the game over my shoulder.

It also says you can play without knowing the first game, but that’s... technically true in the same way you can start a TV series at season 2. It keeps referencing Call of the Sea so often that it feels like being left out of an inside joke. Even after selecting that I hadn’t played it, the game still assumes a lot. That made several moments way less interesting than they were probably meant to be. Difficulty is another odd one. Early puzzles are simple enough that puzzle veterans may start checking the walls for hidden exits out of boredom, then suddenly the late game expects you to turn into Sherlock. So beginners may hit a brick wall exactly where veterans finally start having fun. It’s weird pacing, but I’ll admit some of those later puzzle chains were extremely satisfying to crack.

The price, though? That’s the real eldritch horror. A few standout puzzles and good voice acting are not enough to justify that tag unless you’re part of a very specific target demographic. Add in bugs (I got trapped in movement 3 times, and one area straight-up forgot to load the whole environment at around 2h25 in stream), plus some clipping issues, and it’s hard to recommend broadly.

Overall, if you love escape rooms and puzzle boxes, there’s a lot to like here. But if you're seeking cosmic terror, or memorable writing / rich characters, this one is mostly a very expensive set of riddles as of now.

For more reviews like this one, please check out Ele's Little Recommendation Corner!
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100% Recommended

It feels like an escape room, but more pretty and with strange stuff.

You walk, look at symbols, feel smart for 5 seconds, then get stuck at one door.

If you are an escape room lover, don't miss this game.