Schrödinger’s Call Review

Schrödinger’s Call shows why visual novels matter. It draws players into a gripping story set just 21 nanoseconds from its end, and is packaged in dark, psychedelic, gothic visuals and music that create a twisted dreamscape reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland.

If there was one thing one could do before the end of the world, what would it be? One thing to resolve, one final phone call? This is the question Schrödinger’s Call sets out to answer as players follow Mary, a young girl living during the final 21 nanoseconds before the moon falls down on the world, ending it all.

Mary has been given the role as the world’s last confidant. Her job is to make phone calls through a mystical telephone to a wide variety of people who have one thing in common: one final grievance to resolve before their souls can move on, forever stuck in one moment in time, slowly forgetting everything they were and held dear.

Schrödinger’s Call exudes a melancholic, apocalyptic aura. It is difficult not to feel that the world is ending as time itself stands still yet flows in all directions at once. This makes it feel like every single moment is happening right now.

What truly captures this mood is not just the phenomenal writing, but also the surreal visuals the player is bombarded with, which can best be described as a gothic kaleidoscope. It is a unique visual design that fits the story perfectly and truly enhances powerful moments through clever visual cues, making great use of the visual novel medium’s storytelling possibilities.

There is one aspect where Schrödinger’s Call sometimes feels a little weak: the choices players are supposed to make to progress the story feel unclear or forced. There are times when it feels like multiple choices should move the story forward. It sadly undermines the player’s sense of experiencing a story in real time, instead revealing that this is indeed a scripted game. It is very rare, but those moments can slightly break the dreamlike weave the rest of the story so beautifully creates.

What makes Schrödinger’s Call stand out is that it never feels predictable, yet it maintains a thread that can be followed. This is a hard, yet important balance to strike. If what happens next is too obvious, the player loses attention; if it feels too random and disconnected, it becomes difficult to feel like it is a believable story. The game also carries a wonderful message to take away after the reading: acceptance.

At the very core, Schrödinger’s Call is a story about acceptance. Accepting the end of the world, and accepting reality. It is a very strong message that runs through all the calls, where Mary helps the lost souls move on beyond the 21 nanoseconds they are stuck in. It catches the familiar themes of the memento mori art movement. It does so by being a story that, rather than just scaring players away from making mistakes, from failure, from the end, instead displays them all as part of the human experience. It is a beautiful message that truly needs to get out there, that people need to enjoy the moment, even if it’s just 21 nanoseconds.

This message is hard to capture, but Schrödinger’s Call has done it well. It is a beautifully tragic story that will leave players crying and feeling melancholic. However, it will also leave them with hope and gratitude for their existence.