I have one job here on c.s.i.p.g.action... one thing for which I am
responsible. One thing that earns me the amazingly high salary that I
then waste entirely on games. And that thing is to unnecessarily alert
everybody about the free games Epic gives away every Thursday. Sure,
some people say it's a waste of money to hire somebody like me, but I
say, 'shut up and give me my money!' Also, I say 'here's the free game
on Epic this week' because otherwise I don't get a check. Which is why
I'm going to end this introduction by saying: 'Here's the free game on
Epic this week!'

* Call of the Sea
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/call-of-the-sea
Of course, this high-paying job doesn't require me to proselytize for
the games; if I really want, I can announce them and then lambaste
them to my heart's desire. But I won't be doing that with this one
because it doesn't deserve that. It's a first-person adventure game
with a focus on logic puzzles set in a lost-world style 1930s pulp
adventure setting. It feels incredibly niche but well done for what it
is, as - while it is not quite a 'walking simulator', it is more
focused on environmental storytelling than presenting a real
challenge. It's sort of like "Firewatch" crossed with "Riven" except
with all the really hard puzzles removed. If that sounds like fun,
give it a try. If not, well, nobody will blame you for giving this one
a pass.

Well, that's me earning my pay again. Whew! People shouldn't have to
work this hard just to eat. Well, I got seven days to recover before I
have to do it again, and you have seven days to claim the game.

On Thu, 09 Mar 2023 11:00:41 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

>* Call of the Sea
>https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/call-of-the-sea
>Of course, this high-paying job doesn't require me to proselytize for
>the games; if I really want, I can announce them and then lambaste
>them to my heart's desire. But I won't be doing that with this one
>because it doesn't deserve that. It's a first-person adventure game
>with a focus on logic puzzles set in a lost-world style 1930s pulp
>adventure setting. It feels incredibly niche but well done for what it
>is, as - while it is not quite a 'walking simulator', it is more
>focused on environmental storytelling than presenting a real
>challenge. It's sort of like "Firewatch" crossed with "Riven" except
>with all the really hard puzzles removed. If that sounds like fun,
>give it a try. If not, well, nobody will blame you for giving this one
>a pass.

The only logic puzzle adventure game I ever played was The 7th Guest.
I did not like it. That fact is not going to stop me from adding this
game to my library however.

Thank you Spalls.

Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com> wrote:
> On Thu, 09 Mar 2023 11:00:41 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson
> <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

> >* Call of the Sea
> >https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/call-of-the-sea
> >Of course, this high-paying job doesn't require me to proselytize for
> >the games; if I really want, I can announce them and then lambaste
> >them to my heart's desire. But I won't be doing that with this one
> >because it doesn't deserve that. It's a first-person adventure game
> >with a focus on logic puzzles set in a lost-world style 1930s pulp
> >adventure setting. It feels incredibly niche but well done for what it
> >is, as - while it is not quite a 'walking simulator', it is more
> >focused on environmental storytelling than presenting a real
> >challenge. It's sort of like "Firewatch" crossed with "Riven" except
> >with all the really hard puzzles removed. If that sounds like fun,
> >give it a try. If not, well, nobody will blame you for giving this one
> >a pass.

> The only logic puzzle adventure game I ever played was The 7th Guest.
> I did not like it. That fact is not going to stop me from adding this
> game to my library however.

I didn't like it too after playing its demo in my local CompUSA store.
It was pretty, but boring. A funny story of my video game life as a
callow: A small crowd watched me play, and I had no idea how to solve
its puzzles. And then, my queen was found me and told me to leave. LOL!
:)

Anyways, pass.
--
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On 09/03/2023 16:00, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>
> I have one job here on c.s.i.p.g.action... one thing for which I am
> responsible. One thing that earns me the amazingly high salary that I
> then waste entirely on games. And that thing is to unnecessarily alert
> everybody about the free games Epic gives away every Thursday. Sure,
> some people say it's a waste of money to hire somebody like me, but I
> say, 'shut up and give me my money!' Also, I say 'here's the free game
> on Epic this week' because otherwise I don't get a check. Which is why
> I'm going to end this introduction by saying: 'Here's the free game on
> Epic this week!'
>
>
> * Call of the Sea
> https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/call-of-the-sea
> Of course, this high-paying job doesn't require me to proselytize for
> the games; if I really want, I can announce them and then lambaste
> them to my heart's desire. But I won't be doing that with this one
> because it doesn't deserve that. It's a first-person adventure game
> with a focus on logic puzzles set in a lost-world style 1930s pulp
> adventure setting. It feels incredibly niche but well done for what it
> is, as - while it is not quite a 'walking simulator', it is more
> focused on environmental storytelling than presenting a real
> challenge. It's sort of like "Firewatch" crossed with "Riven" except
> with all the really hard puzzles removed. If that sounds like fun,
> give it a try. If not, well, nobody will blame you for giving this one
> a pass.
>
>
> Well, that's me earning my pay again. Whew! People shouldn't have to
> work this hard just to eat. Well, I got seven days to recover before I
> have to do it again, and you have seven days to claim the game.
>

Call of Sea I though might be interesting until I read the reviews and
it seemed to be something that I'm not keen on in games in that they
can't decide what sort of game they are.

On Thu, 09 Mar 2023 13:56:54 -0500, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com>
wrote:

>On Thu, 09 Mar 2023 11:00:41 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson
><spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>* Call of the Sea
>>https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/call-of-the-sea

>The only logic puzzle adventure game I ever played was The 7th Guest.
>I did not like it. That fact is not going to stop me from adding this
>game to my library however.

I never really liked "The 7th Guest" (or its sequel, "The 11th Hour",
for that matter). Partly it was its design and setting; even for the
90s, it was cheesy horror tropes, and the gameplay was too reliant on
showcasing its full-screen video than creating entertaining gameplay
mechanics. Its puzzles were fairly bog-standard (if often cruelly
difficult) logic-puzzles too. Those have never been my forte.

Add to that, games like "The 7th Guest" and "Myst" were a big reason
for the 'death of the adventure game' (or, at least, the traditional
adventure game), as every developer and their dog tried to create the
next Myst-clone. Gone were the games with vivid, interactive worlds,
lots of inventory items, and interesting characters. All of a sudden,
the games were set in worlds devoid of inhabitants (or just a few
people who only had one or two things to say because FMV took so much
disk space) and all the puzzles were 'Tower of Hanoi or 'sliding box'
challenges. It soured me on the originators of the trend.

I'm not familiar enough with "Call of the Sea" to make any definitive
conclusions, but its puzzles seem of lighter fare, and it benefits
from being able to move around its 3D world more freely. The lock-step
square-by-square movement of Myst-clones really added to the feeling
of claustrophia and being entrapped in a mechanical puzzle-world. It's
amazing how much just being able to move around in any direction at
will makes a world seem so much more free and realistic.

Plus "Call of the Sea"'s walking-sim genetics means it is as (if not
more) focussed on having you absorb its setting through environmental
storytelling as it is about offering up devilish mental challenges.
Nothing kills the latter more than staring at a stupid puzzle for
half-an-hour trying to figure out what the hell to do.

Games like "Call of the Sea" are definitely an acquired taste that
won't appeal to everyone. I don't even think its the best of the
genre. But it's a nice diversion between more intense games. I mean,
we can't /always/ be playing "Elden Ring", can we?