Call of the Sea, announced during May 7th’s Inside Xbox event, is not a horror game.
It’s a beautiful, colorful adventure game about a woman exploring an island, and while the official announcement does mention that “not everything on the island is as it seems,” it was still quite a surprise to see H.P. Lovecraft cited as an inspiration.
According to the director, who described the game in a post on Xbox Wire, Lovecraft’s storytelling style is what they’re drawing on for Call of the Sea.
“To be clear, Call of the Sea is not a horror game. Far from it. But you might say that we are inspired by the way Lovecraft tells some of his stories. We want you to solve the mystery we have created, slowly realizing that there is more to the world than meets the eye and piecing together what has taken place before you arrived on the island. We’re after the sensation that comes when the mind tries to grasp a solution that lingers, tantalizingly, almost within reach.”
The way Lovecraft’s stories slowly unfold is one of the main things I enjoy about them, so I love it when a game adopts that storytelling style. She goes on to say that the mysteries involve a lost civilization and occult secrets, and that there are points where reality becomes distorted.
Call of the Sea will be out for Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC in late 2020.