Developer: Acrobatic Chirimenjako
Publisher: SHUEISHA GAMES
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Schrödinger’s Call – Review
Schrödinger’s Call is a visual novel in which you’ll answer the calls of the dead, lost souls who need closure before they can let go of their existence and the person they were. It’s an intense and emotional game featuring different stories, beautiful graphics and music. This game is developed by Acrobatic Chirimenjako and published by SHUEISHA GAMES.
Story
The world has ended, and humanity has been eradicated. That’s where the story of Schrödinger’s Call begins. In the split-second before total eradication, lost souls who can’t let go of their sorrow are reaching out for help. They do that via telephone, and you are there to answer their calls. You play as Mary, a girl who lost her memories but needs to be the last confidant of humanity. You’ll be guided by a cat named Hamlet, who can disappear at will and sometimes speaks in riddles. You are led to a dark room with a telephone, and this is where you’ll answer all these calls. As you work to help the lost souls who phone in to be at peace with their lives and death, you’ll slowly encounter hints about your own life and who you used to be.
There are several chapters featuring different characters, each with their own story. The stories and dialogues are very deep and intense, describing grief and sorrow in such a way that you really feel for the characters. The story of who Mary is is woven into these stories. During dialogues, you’ll have different dialogue options to choose from, but these don’t seem to significantly affect the story and often loop back to the other options, which is good if you want to know where all options lead, but it diminishes replay value.
The setting of Schrödinger’s Call is really unique and is a perfect frame for intense emotional character stories since you know for sure everyone will die, and nothing will be left to remember them. The stories told in this game are really touching, and you’ll easily lose track of time while being absorbed in these stories.
Graphics
The graphics of Schrödinger’s Call are absolutely gorgeous and extraordinary. The game is drawn in a sketch-like hand-drawn style, mostly black and white with a splash of color here and there. The lost souls you’ll talk to are imagined as anthropomorphized animals, hinting at their personality. You’ll mostly see the characters who are talking, but sometimes you’ll see the scenes the characters are talking about. If there’s something intense happening, the graphics get really chaotic and abstract. The style of the graphics is really fitting for the moody atmosphere of the game, and the intense abstract graphics really pull you into the story and the whirlwind of emotions the characters feel.
Sound
The music is beautifully moody and ethereal, fitting the game’s atmosphere. Each character you speak to has music which fits the character, and the music gets more intense whenever the characters get emotional, and can get super intense when a character gets really stressed. Combined with the graphics, this really pulls you into the state of mind of the characters. The music is a really prominent part of the game, which lifts the experience to another level!
The voices of the characters have all been narrated, but it’s in a strange, distorted language, so you’ll need the subtitles to understand what they are saying. Subtitles are displayed often in creative ways that fit the story, and the placement of the dialogue you can choose fits the visual style for that scene. The choice of voices fits the characters well.
Gameplay
Schrödinger’s Call is a visual novel game, so most of the gameplay is reading through the stories and clicking through dialogue.
The main ‘hub’ of the gameplay is Mary, sitting in a room with the telephone and the cat Hamlet by her side. Mary also has a notebook where she can write down and draw important details of the stories of the characters she talks with. During the talks, you’ll often be confronted by choices, and this is where the notebooks come in handy. Whenever recalling details is important in a conversation, the dialogue will suggest getting the notebook, and relevant words will be underlined. Often you’ll have many choices, but luckily, if you choose wrong, you’ll eventually get back to the other options until you choose the correct one. If a character gets into emotional turmoil, you’ll need to show empathy for them and choose correct dialogue options to calm them down. These scenes can get really intense!
Generally, the spirits in distress will call you first, and if you’ve found one spirit to talk to, they’ll appear in your notebook with their phone number. At that point, you can choose to call them when you’ll need to. Next to the telephone, you can also talk to Hamlet the cat if he’s available, trying to make sense of what’s happening. Additionally, Mary also has moments where she reflects upon herself and has flashbacks of who she used to be.
The telephone and the fixed location in a single room are a really nice game mechanic because they’ll limit interaction to just talking without knowing what characters actually look like or where they are, so Mary’s imagination becomes her reality. It really fits the atmosphere and the strange ‘eternal moment frozen in time’ setting of the game and works well for a visual novel.
Conclusion
Schrödinger’s Call is a beautiful and intense game featuring emotional stories, beautiful graphics and a great musical score. You can really lose yourself in this game, and the music and graphics make the experience even more intense! This is a brilliant game for anyone who loves story-rich experiences and visual novels.
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