Call of the Elder Gods: The Surprise Sequel That Just Might Outdo Its Indie Hit Predecessor
TL;DR: Out of the Blue Games, the acclaimed studio behind Call of the Sea, launches its even more ambitious sequel, Call of the Elder Gods, on May 12, 2026. Available across PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2, this Lovecraft-inspired puzzle adventure brings back composer Eduardo de la Iglesia and adds voice heavyweights Yuri Lowenthal and Cissy Jones. Early reviews are calling it a stronger entry with globe-trotting locations and refined puzzles. A free Steam demo is live now.
Remember Call of the Sea? It landed in December 2020 — seemingly out of nowhere, honestly — and quickly became an indie darling, wowing critics and players with its unique blend of Lovecraftian mystery and elegant puzzle design. Six years later, developer Out of the Blue Games is back, and their sequel, Call of the Elder Gods, isn't just looking to build on that success. It's aiming higher.
Should You Play Call of the Elder Gods? What Previews Are Saying
Yes, you probably should. If you enjoyed Call of the Sea or other narrative puzzle games like Pentiment or Myst, this sequel is tailor-made for you.
According to a Video Chums preview, the game's multi-part puzzles are fair, the writing is sharp, and the performances are notably strong. They particularly highlight the dynamic between Yuri Lowenthal's Professor Harry Everhart and Cissy Jones' Evangeline Drayton, whose characters don't exactly get along immediately. That tension? It's part of the fun, apparently.
Screen Rant's Chris Carter, reviewing the PC version ahead of release, gave it an 8 out of 10. He called it "another hit for Out of the Blue Games" and praised the pacing, though he did note occasional slowdowns and wished for more granular difficulty settings. The game does offer a "hard mode" (no journal, fewer hints), but it's a binary choice. Sometimes you just want something in the middle.
Honestly, a puzzle game that's too easy is forgettable, and one that's too cryptic becomes a chore. Most reviews suggest Elder Gods lands very close to that sweet spot.
Release Date, Platforms & How to Get Started
You can play Call of the Elder Gods right now, as it launched on May 12, 2026.
It's got a broad platform release:
- PC: Via Steam
- PlayStation 5
- Xbox Series X/S
- Nintendo Switch 2 (Yes, the new one!)
The developer is Out of the Blue Games; Kwalee is the publisher. For specific regional availability and pricing, especially if you're tracking where to play across different markets, Movie OTT has platform availability mapped out for major markets.
Still on the fence? There's a free demo chapter that dropped on February 16, 2026. On Steam, it's already garnered a "Very Positive" rating, with 94% approval from recent users. That's a strong sign.
Key specs at a glance:
- Release date: May 12, 2026
- Platforms: PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2
- Genre: Puzzle / Adventure / Walking Simulator
- ESRB rating: Teen (Language, Use of Tobacco)
- Developer: Out of the Blue Games
- Publisher: Kwalee
- Voice cast: Yuri Lowenthal (Harry Everhart), Cissy Jones (Evangeline Drayton)
- Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Why This Sequel Feels So Much Bigger
Call of the Sea was special because it arrived quietly, then exploded via word-of-mouth and a day-one Xbox Game Pass launch. Its Lovecraftian vibe and smart puzzles truly punched above the studio's weight class.
Call of the Elder Gods builds on that, but Out of the Blue is clearly thinking bigger. While the original was largely confined to a single, mysterious island, this sequel sends players across multiple globe-spanning locations. Think New England mansions, the dusty Australian outback, and — what early previews describe as — distinctly otherworldly, eldritch cityscapes. The visual upgrade is significant, with Unreal Engine 5 doing heavy lifting for lighting and environmental detail. It looks fantastic.
The puzzle structure leans into an escape-room format: self-contained challenges you work through to unlock the next story beat. It’s like Myst, but with more narrative momentum and considerably fewer moments of staring at a screen, wondering if your game is broken. The journal system, which automatically logs symbols, clues, and observations, is a smart quality-of-life addition. It stops short of spoiling solutions — you still have to do the thinking — but it means you don't have to sprint across three rooms just to compare notes. A true player-first design choice.
The game is a direct sequel to Call of the Sea (2020), though the story shifts focus to two new protagonists: Professor Harry Everhart — husband of Norah, the original game's lead — and Evangeline Drayton, a student at the fictional Miskatonic University. Their investigation into shadows, fractured timelines, and missing persons draws inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft's novella The Shadow Out of Time. Good news: you don't need to have read a single page of Lovecraft to follow along.
The Studio Behind the Game — And Why They Matter
Out of the Blue Games is a Madrid-based indie studio, founded in 2018. They're a small team with a focused output. Call of the Sea was their debut, and it was a genuinely impressive first swing, earning critical recognition and building a dedicated fanbase through word-of-mouth and Game Pass exposure.
The studio's creative approach is distinctive. They aren't trying to replicate the outright horror of something like Amnesia or Bloodborne. Their work sits closer to the contemplative end of the spectrum — atmospheric, puzzle-forward, narratively grounded. Cosmic dread as a backdrop, not a weapon.
For Elder Gods, they've brought in some serious talent:
- Yuri Lowenthal — One of the most prolific voice actors working today, best known as Peter Parker in Marvel's Spider-Man series. His range from earnest to troubled is exactly what a character like Harry Everhart needs.
- Cissy Jones — Known for her incredible work in Firewatch (as Delilah), The Walking Dead, and Hades II. Jones has a particular gift for making characters feel lived-in from the very first line.
- Eduardo de la Iglesia — The returning composer whose score for Call of the Sea drew consistent praise for its atmospheric restraint. His work here is equally vital.
The publisher, Kwalee, is a UK-based games company that has been expanding its portfolio of narrative and indie titles. Their involvement suggests Elder Gods has more marketing muscle behind it than the original did, which is great for visibility.
Regional Availability and What's Next
India's gaming audience has grown dramatically, and puzzle-narrative titles have found a particularly engaged niche among PC and console players in cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Hyderabad. Call of the Sea built a quiet cult following in India, partly through Xbox Game Pass.
Call of the Elder Gods is available on Steam globally, meaning Indian players can purchase it directly through the Steam store at regional pricing. At the time of writing, no India-specific Game Pass day-one confirmation has been announced, though Kwalee has publishing relationships that make a future Game Pass addition plausible.
There's no regional language dubbing confirmed — the game ships in English with Lowenthal and Jones' performances intact — but subtitle support should be accessible. Movie OTT will continue tracking any regional language or platform updates as they emerge. For Indian players who found this franchise through Game Pass or indie-friendly storefronts, the Steam demo (released February 16) is the cleanest way to sample the game before committing. It's free!
Now that Call of the Elder Gods is out, reviews are starting to flood in. The Metacritic page for Call of the Elder Gods is aggregating scores as they come in, and the early trajectory looks strong. Whether Out of the Blue follows this with a third entry — or pivots to something entirely new — is genuinely hard to say. But if Elder Gods performs, the case for a continuing franchise gets considerably easier to make.
