Call of the Elder Gods Review – Eldritch Adventures

Call of the Elder Gods Review

I mostly play games to soak up the mechanical mastery on display. A well-crafted gameplay loop is a thing of true beauty, while the plot is often set by the wayside, forgotten and neglected. So a story-heavy game like Call of the Elder Gods is an unusual excursion for me. But it turns out that when I’m more or less commanded to focus on the narrative, I have a pretty excellent time. So long as the story in question is a good one. Which is absolutely the case here. I’m less enamored with the puzzle-solving sections, but those were always gonna be a hard sell for me.

Call of the Elder Gods is a Lovecraftian tale about hapless mortals caught in the tidal pull of forces they can’t comprehend. So, a pretty typical Lovecraft-style story. Which honestly rules. It turns out I can’t get enough of curious morons meddling with ancient powers guaranteed to drive them insane and/or end their lives. The game’s narrator is immediately outed as very dead, which is either clever or darkly foreboding. Another early lesson is that every tiny piece of raw data is potentially useful, which forced me to slow down and pay attention to what I encountered. The overall pace is slow but steady, unless you’re stuck on an especially difficult puzzle.

Spooky Sets and Dreadful Vibes

Obviously, I’m not going to discuss any major story beats since Elder Gods is so plot-focused. But I will say that this game feels more like a thrilling adventure than a tale of unsettling horror. Which is totally fine! The Lovecraft setting is a rich one that can potentially encompass many vibes, so to speak. But maybe the mechanical focus (puzzles) just makes more sense with adventure than it does with horror. My experience with the two genres is equally limited.

Elder Gods’ setting is richly realized. You’ve got vibrant colors everywhere, plus there are loads of historical touches that feel like the fabulous 50s. At the same time, the world you explore never feels mundane or ordinary. Every room is full of incredible relics and exotic designs. The lighting is lonely, sinister, and surreal. Somehow, the stages you explore are both grounded in plausibility and utterly impossible. It’s quite fascinating.

An Unfamiliar 1950s

The writing is solid, simple, and pretty seamless. That sounds derogatory, and yet! It’s a real accomplishment to produce a script that sucks you into the setting but steps aside when needed. Nothing stood out, but I was emotionally invested in no time at all. Character dialogue is neither anachronistic nor dated. You want to know more about these people and their hidden tragedies. And in time, your wish is granted. I was pleased with the pacing, except when the puzzles ground things to a screeching halt.

To be fair and also balanced, this is the norm for any puzzle-centric game. The devs can’t control the pace at which your feeble (or mighty) brain untangles these thorny little problems. I’m squarely in the lower middle when it comes to puzzle prowess. If things get too tough, I stall out like an engine full of sugar water. So you’ll either breeze through these sections or bash your head against them. If you’re in the second camp, might I recommend keeping a notepad at the ready? The game’s built-in system for recording key details is sometimes insufficient.

Couple of Real Headscratchers

Also, there is a hint system if you’ve been utterly defeated. It’s a comprehensive step-by-step guide to every single puzzle in every chapter. I needed to lean on this gracious system only once. There’s a specific puzzle in Chapter 3 that laid me out. I can’t speak to its design, whether it was crafted well or poorly. Instead, I was taught a harsh lesson on neural processing types and limits. It turns out there is a hard limit on how many disparate pieces of key info I can hold in my head at once. It felt like my brain was turning to chocolate pudding in real time. Again, consider keeping a notebook around.

While this might not be my usual type of game, I had a great time with it nonetheless. Elder Gods is crammed with gorgeous set pieces, clever puzzles, and engrossing writing. I got stuck more than I would have liked, which threw off the pacing. Between that and the adventurous tone, this game wasn’t quite what I was expecting. Even so, Call of the Elder Gods was a delightful time. If you’re in the mood for an eerie eldritch adventure, this game would be a great choice.

***A PS5 code was provided by the publisher***