Forgetfulness is at the heart of Schrödinger’s Call. Something I can relate to the older I get, with my old grey matter struggling more and more to remember everything I need to in day-to-day life. This is not such a concern for the characters you meet here, though, as their forgetfulness has come from their deaths and being left in a limbo state shackled with a burden that needs to be broken before they can finally move on.
Mary has been chosen to be The Last Confidant, a role that talks to these lost souls to help them regain their memories and face whichever burden is weighing on their shoulders, which all occurs through telephone calls that are held 21 nanoseconds before the world is destroyed. Yes, you read that right – an apocalyptic event happens that wipes life as we know it, all thanks to the moon falling and crashing into the planet. These calls you intercept are from conversations that were happening when the moon fell, caught fractions of time just before this terrible tragedy. Mary has the power to experience this last unfinished call before talking with the soul to gather information to help deduce what the specific burden is, hopefully resolve it, and finish that last call so the lost soul can move on in peace.
It’s a truly original concept brought to you by Japan-based developers Acrobatic Chirimenjako. Through this visual novel, they have brought one of the most unique and interesting narratives I’ve experienced in some time. What makes this all the more impressive is the way this is all tied to well-recognised issues that many face, told through a more exaggerated and bombastic way.
Through the five episodes, I found myself completely engrossed in the stories being told, absolutely needing to know what happened next; there were times I stayed up far too late! Although the writing and translation hold strong, I did find they dipped in quality in places, mostly down to stretching out these scenarios as much as they could, which felt unnecessary at times.
Experiencing a section of a conversation you just had is one example that happens a multitude of times, which became tedious. Sometimes this happened further along from the original discussion, which actually was helpful, jogging my own memory on facts I had forgotten, but for the most part it just led to slight frustration. This stretching out lands in the end section of the game too, as I felt it could have resolved Mary’s story much sooner than it did.
I mention Mary’s story because you will be trying to piece together her story, too. Having also forgotten her memories, she has no idea what’s going on, and it’s throughout the game that things start to come together, unravelling in a fascinating but slightly predictable way. This can be said for the other narratives throughout the game, as although they mostly hooked me in, I did see some parts coming from a mile away.
I want to stress that these are niggles, a small irk in what are otherwise really memorable scenes I won’t forget in a hurry. The game has a passion for telling tales that match its anime roots, and such is the exploration of love, death, fear and many other human emotions that you won’t be able to stop yourself from becoming attached to some of the characters; such are the details in their backstories, personalities and their unique burdens.
It makes it all a little stranger that Mary seems to be the only human with all other characters being anthropomorphic animals, which does lead to unanswered questions. Are these representations of human spirits? Is this just what Mary wants to see, or are these the actual beings that were alive? It’s not outright stated that it was Earth that was destroyed either, so it feels like it’s left up to your own interpretation. This open-endedness actually helped make the stories feel more rooted in reality; to not have the shackles of our assumptions chained to it gave the game the freedom it needed to breathe and go that extra mile.
The gameplay elements are light, even for a visual novel, and comprise two main elements. The first is the notebook that Mary uses to jot down important information she gathers. These are complemented by lovely pencil drawings of the situations being described at the time, which really helped me to connect with what was being spoken about. The notebook is referred to many times during conversations, when Mary is trying to figure things out, or near the end of solving a particular burden.
This is done by simply flicking through the notes and choosing the right word to move the story along. These are usually underlined in red, indicating that these are important words. This isn’t as challenging as you may think; the game gives you so much information that, for the most part, the word I was looking for jumped out at me. There were only a couple of times I was lost on which was the correct choice, but with no punishment for choosing the wrong option, there was no real threat of getting it wrong, with the game just asking you to choose again until you got the right word.
The second gameplay element is through the telephone itself. Every soul has their own number, which is automatically logged in the notebook. This happens for third-party members too (other spirits that were close to the main spirit, who will help give you more information). It’s up to you to decide who’s the right person to call at the right time by dialling the number and seeing what happens. This plays out similarly to the conversations, as it’s usually clear who you need to speak to, so it was never a challenge. It also irked me a little that third-party numbers were just collected by your cat companion, Hamlet. I would have enjoyed finding them out for myself.
Speaking of Hamlet, he is the one who inducts you to your role, helps you to get to grips with how to be The Last Confidant, and is also a sort of guide for Mary to talk with when things don’t add up. He’s a fun character to have around, though he is represented by being a straight-up normal cat that can speak, which feeds into my earlier thoughts that maybe the anthropomorphic animals are more a representation of the lost souls than actual physical beings. That or I’m just reading into things way too much!
Of course visuals and music are all important factors in games, but it’s all the more important here. The visuals are deliciously gorgeous affairs, displaying their anime inspirations through Mary and the other characters. Using what looks like pencil drawings, it really gave the game a unique flavour that I never tired of looking at. Its impeccable desire to make everything lived in was also appreciated and made it all the more immersive.
During certain sections the visuals can go off in a completely different direction, though, showing random images, a screen full of white lines cast against a black screen, shapes and other nonsensical patterns. Sometimes you’ll see a flash of Mary’s past, or it’s just heightening the reveal scenes when burdens are finally revealed.
The music and sound design raise these emotions even more, bringing tones that really carry over the impactful scene you’re experiencing or just sit in the background during more quiet times. There are some great pieces of tunes included, with many catchy and memorable tracks that set the scene perfectly. When the soundtrack combines with the visuals, it’s a sensory feast, bringing out the emotion through the screen, and it truly raised my own empathy towards these characters and excitement at solving these burdens, thanks to the amazing way the developers have intertwined these elements to create such memorable and powerful moments in the game.
