While the Switch eShop has loads of classic adventure titles in the old point-and-click narrative vein, some have taken their own paths with new approaches as well. First-person puzzlers, which have generally relied on more environmentally-oriented conundrums, absolutely have a different flavor to them, and most of the well-made ones have been quite challenging. While The Talos Principle and the more recent Botany Manor are fine examples that push the puzzle side of the equation more, Call of the Sea was one of the first I recall that still had some great problems to solve, but also managed to tell a compelling story to boot. As the follow-up to that effort, Call of the Elder Gods delivers much of the same, but with a key new twist that steps up the challenge.

In part playing as Professor Harry Everhart, the husband of the character from the original title, this time around this gets to be a two-person adventure. Pairing up with the young Evangeline Drayton, who has been plagued by strange dreams of worlds beyond our own, they’ll be challenged by a series of puzzles that will take them both around the world and away from it as well, into the surreal unknown. Adding this additional layer of complexity adds to the challenge, and sometimes to frustrations as well though. You’ll need to complete key steps in the shoes of each character at some points, allowing the other to proceed, and while that can be very rewarding once you work through each challenge, the road to get there isn’t always an easy one.

Much like the original title, the puzzles here are more on the elaborate end, and that can sometimes make them difficult to understand or decipher at times. Aside from being able to get some hints from the game that will try to help nudge you along (and that don’t always turn out to be the help you need, but that’s not an uncommon issue for these titles), the real key to helping understand what’s in front of you is your journal, which will tend to arrange all of the details you’ve found for each puzzle in an organized manner. More than once, while unable to understand what the proper process was, using what information I had in the journal I was able to come to a solution. In general, if you find yourself stuck, the best plan is to keep searching, as any clue that hasn’t been discovered could be the key to working things out. While this system isn’t always perfect, I still appreciate the construction of many of these elaborate puzzles, and the fact that these mysteries are paired with more of a story than normal, and it features serious Lovecraft-ian vibes is also a compelling plus.