Info about Call of the Elder Gods:

Official game description:
All is not well at Miskatonic University. Professor Harry Everhart tries to ignore the shadows flitting at the corners of his vision, while student Evangeline Drayton is haunted with impossible dreams of an artifact uncovered a decade ago. In their search for answers, the pair will uncover revelations more ancient than anyone could have imagined.
Shocking Secrets
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Call of the Sea’s object and observation-based puzzles return with new depth. Scour richly-rendered environments for clues. Swap between Harry and Evangeline to solve complex, multi-part problems across time and space. Choose your own difficulty level with toggle-able hints, icons, and journal entries
Dizzying Marvels
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Harry and Evangeline’s journey takes them from the firelit libraries of a New England mansion to the red sands of the Australian outback, through frozen wastelands and otherworldly cities out of time, all stunningly rendered in Unreal Engine 5 and featuring a soundtrack by multi-award-winning returning composer Eduardo De La Iglesia.
A Shadow Out of Time
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Follow Harry Everhart and Evangeline Drayton as they search for the truth about their missing loved ones and come face-to-face with beings beyond their understanding. Inspired by H P Lovecraft's 'The Shadow out of Time', Call of the Elder Gods features a fully voice-acted story of grief, family, and sanity, starring returning talents Yuri Lowenthal (Spider-Man, Arcane, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth) and Cissy Jones (Firewatch, Starfield, Baldur’s Gate III).

Release date: May 12, 2026

Categories: Puzzle Solving, Environmental Storytelling, First-Person Perspective, Walking Simulator, Exploration, Narrative Adventure, Lovecraftian Horror, Story-driven Gameplay


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 4.0h
  - Story completion: 6.0h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: 10.0h
  - Reasoning: The evidence provides direct and indirect indications of playtime metrics. The first quote suggests that completing 100% of the achievements takes approximately 4 hours, which can be interpreted as the time for full game completion. The second quote indicates that reaching an ending takes about 6 hours, which aligns with the story completion time. The third quote mentions over 10 hours of playtime due to exploration, which can be considered as endgame content. The fourth quote reiterates a 6-hour playtime, supporting the story completion metric.
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes:
  - Lovecraftian Puzzle Enthusiast (buy)
    - Motivation: Continuation of the story and similar gameplay mechanics.
    - Playstyle: Enjoys puzzle-solving and immersive storytelling.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: Lovecraftian fan; Puzzle game enthusiast
    - Reference games: Call of the Sea
  - Achievement Hunter (sale)
    - Motivation: Completing all in-game achievements.
    - Playstyle: Focuses on completing all achievements and fully experiencing the game content.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: Achievement hunter
    - Reference games: N/A


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Challenging and enjoyable puzzles (weight 0.97): The game features a variety of puzzles that are both challenging and enjoyable. Players appreciate the logical and thoughtful design of the puzzles, which are well-integrated and offer a balanced level of difficulty.
- High-quality visuals and performance (weight 0.74): The game is praised for its good performance and well-optimized visuals. Players enjoy the beautiful graphics and art style, which contribute to an immersive gaming experience.
- Engaging and exciting story (weight 0.47): The game features a beautiful and exciting story full of suspense. Players are drawn in by the engaging narrative and the emotional storytelling.
- Unique Lovecraftian themes (weight 0.45): The game offers a unique take on Lovecraftian themes, providing a niche experience within the genre. Players appreciate the strong Lovecraftian elements and the cosmic horror vibe.
- Worthy sequel to Call of the Sea (weight 0.28): The game is considered a good sequel to Call of the Sea, continuing the storyline and maintaining the high-quality production values and art direction of the first game.
- Great characters and voice acting (weight 0.28): Players appreciate the well-developed characters and the high-quality voice acting, which enhance the overall gaming experience.
- Made with care and passion (weight 0.15): Players recognize that the game is made with a lot of care and passion, which is reflected in its high-quality production values and attention to detail.

Common complaints:
- Narration and writing issues (weight 0.28): The narration and overall writing direction were criticized for needing improvement. Players also grew tired of the narrator's quips.
- Difficult puzzles requiring external clues (weight 0.24): Some puzzles were considered too difficult and required players to seek external clues or help.
- Slow movement speed (weight 0.17): Players found the movement speed to be slow, even when using the Shift key to run.
- Performance issues in new areas (weight 0.1): Some players experienced frame drops when exploring new areas of the game.
- Short game length (weight 0.1): Players felt that the game was shorter than expected.
- Desire for more content (weight 0.1): Players expressed a desire for more content in the game.
- Lack of surprise compared to predecessor (weight 0.09): The game was less surprising and innovative than its predecessor, leading to some disappointment.
- Dialogue lacks context (weight 0.09): The dialogue has branching trees but lacks sufficient context, making conversations feel disjointed.
- Finnicky object interaction (weight 0.09): Players found the interaction with objects to be finnicky and sometimes unresponsive.
- Boring sections with excessive talking (weight 0.09): There were sections of the game where players felt there was too much sitting and talking, leading to boredom.
- No key remapping (weight 0.09): Players were frustrated by the lack of key remapping options in the game.
- Excessive puzzle details (weight 0.08): A puzzle in chapter 3 was criticized for being overly detailed and complex.
- Unpopular location (weight 0.08): There was a specific location in the game that players did not particularly enjoy.
- Fade animations in chapter intros (weight 0.08): The animated cinematics at the beginning of chapters were criticized for being fade and uninteresting.

Gameplay feedback:
- Puzzle-based and story-driven gameplay (weight 0.63): The game features a strong emphasis on puzzle-solving mechanics that are seamlessly integrated into the story, creating a cohesive and engaging experience.
- Dual protagonist narrative (weight 0.24): The game includes a narrative structure that alternates gameplay between two protagonists, providing a unique perspective and enriching the story.
- Environmental storytelling (weight 0.1): The game uses environmental storytelling to convey parts of the narrative, allowing players to piece together the story through exploration.
- Exploration-based puzzles (weight 0.1): Many puzzles in the game require exploration to find clues and solutions, encouraging players to thoroughly investigate their surroundings.
- First-person perspective (weight 0.09): The game is played from a first-person perspective, immersing the player directly into the game world and enhancing the sense of presence.
- Cooperative mechanics (weight 0.09): The game features cooperative mechanics, enabling players to work together to solve puzzles and progress through the story.
- Branching dialogue trees (weight 0.09): The game includes dialogue with branching trees, allowing players to influence conversations and potentially the story outcome.
- Narrator providing context (weight 0.09): A narrator provides context and comments throughout the game, enhancing the storytelling and guiding the player.
- Escape room-like mechanics (weight 0.09): The game incorporates escape room-like mechanics, challenging players to solve puzzles and find ways to progress within confined spaces.
- Walking simulator elements (weight 0.08): The game includes elements of a walking simulator, focusing on exploration and narrative rather than action or combat.
- Linear narrative structure (weight 0.08): The game follows a linear narrative structure, guiding the player through a well-defined story path.
- Notebook mechanics for tracking (weight 0.08): Players can use a notebook to keep track of clues, puzzles, and story elements, aiding in the puzzle-solving process.
- Continuation of storyline (weight 0.08): The game continues a storyline from a previous installment, building on established narrative elements and characters.
- Tropical island exploration (weight 0.08): The game is set on a tropical island, which players can explore to uncover secrets and progress through the story.
- Progressive hints system (weight 0.08): The game features a system of progressive hints, providing players with additional clues and guidance as needed to solve puzzles.

Performance notes:
- Good performance overall (weight 0.31): Many players reported that the game runs smoothly with well-optimized performance. Some players experienced flawless performance, and others achieved perfect performance at high settings.
- Steam Deck mention (weight 0.06): A player mentioned Steam Deck, but no context or details were provided regarding performance or any other aspect of the game.

Recommendations:
- Play first game for best experience (weight 0.37): Many players recommend starting with the first game in the series for an optimal experience, particularly for fans of the genre and the original game.
- Lovecraftian fans will enjoy (weight 0.18): The game is highly recommended for fans of the original game and Lovecraftian tales. Players also wish for more support for Lovecraftian universes in games.
- Great for narrative and puzzle fans (weight 0.17): This game is recommended for those who enjoy quiet adventures, emotional storytelling, and narrative-driven games with puzzles.
- Ideal for achievement hunters (weight 0.09): The game is suggested for players who enjoy hunting for achievements.
- Highly recommended game (weight 0.08): The game comes with a general high recommendation from players.

Other player notes:
- Gratitude for free game keys (weight 0.14): Several reviewers expressed thanks to the publisher or developers for providing them with free game keys or review copies.

Emotions:
- Satisfaction (weight 0.21): Players feel satisfied with the game's story, puzzles, and overall improvements. The well-structured narrative, engaging puzzles, and atmospheric graphics contribute significantly to this feeling.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.18): The game's atmosphere, puzzles, and story generate a high level of enthusiasm among players. The continuity, narrative, and overall quality of the game are also major contributors to this excitement.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.09): Players enjoy the game's narrative, puzzles, and unique visuals. Completing the game and its achievements, along with the engaging story, adds to the overall enjoyment.
- Excitement (weight 0.09): The game's story, puzzles, and beautiful graphics create a sense of excitement. The engaging gameplay, atmospheric design, and adventurous locations further enhance this feeling.
- Positive (weight 0.09): Players feel positive about the game due to its enjoyable story and gameplay. The puzzles and atmosphere also contribute to this positive sentiment.
- Frustration (weight 0.03): Movement issues and interaction problems in the game lead to frustration among players.
- Disappointment (weight 0.03): Players feel disappointed because the game's visuals do not fit the expected theme.
- Boredom (weight 0.03): Long sections of sitting and talking in the game lead to boredom among players.
- Love (weight 0.03): Players express love for the game's puzzles, characters, and locations, finding these elements particularly engaging and well-crafted.
- Admiration (weight 0.03): The game's art style and overall quality are highly admired by players, contributing to a strong sense of admiration.}