Schrödinger’s Call Review — A Phonecall Between Life and Death

What would you do if the world were ending? If you were trapped in the moment between life and death, being neither yourself nor separated from the billions of voices simultaneously silenced and about to be silenced, living and dead, except by a phone? Would you recoil into yourself, scared of what comes next and knowing exactly what it is, or would you selflessly lend an ear to the echoes of human misery, helping these lost souls find closure in lives that will never be, cut tragically short by an inescapable fate?

Schrödinger’s Call presents that question. You play as Mary, an amnesiac who finds herself in precisely that situation, bound to a moment between life and death, neither alive any longer nor yet dead. She is chosen to be the “World’s Last Confidant,” a task that involves answering the unfinished calls of lost souls at the end of their lives, helping them to define who they are through their misery, recover their lost memories, and make peace with their tragedies. In doing so, Mary recovers lost bits of her own memory and helps these souls move on from purgatory, all with a mere 21 nanoseconds left before tragedy.

There are a few things you need to understand to truly appreciate Schrödinger’s Call.

The first is that the game is a visual novel. Mechanically speaking, it is incredibly uncomplicated, with some very light detective work at play that is mostly just a menu navigation tool and a reward for paying attention to the narrative. Said narrative is pretty outstanding, but it can also be very esoteric and weird at times, not always making the most sense; however, it doesn’t need to for it to be good. It is also an incredibly emotional story, one that, frankly, will tug at the heartstrings of even the most jaded players, due in no small part to the game’s excellent writing and its gorgeous soundtrack. All three of these things are important to know before you go in because, if you’re expecting it to be something else for whatever reason, you’re not going to have a good time.

Chances are, though, if you’re looking into Schrödinger’s Call, you’re already a fan of visual novels. If you are, I can say that this is perhaps the best one I’ve personally experienced in years. The story is great, carried by an incredible concept that allows for some unapologetically depressing material, yet it also isn’t afraid to include brief light moments of brevity and humor throughout, done in such ways that don’t break the immersion or the tension. The visuals are incredible, using wonderful art and solid editing to create a visual novel that is as gorgeous to look at as it is metaphorically significant in what it shows you. Of course, as I have mentioned, the soundtrack is also excellent, helping these moments to feel all the more impactful and heavy. It is, in my opinion, the perfect visual novel and one that fans of the genre would be mistaken to ignore.

That is, of course, specifying that it is a visual novel. Again, do not go into Schrödinger’s Call expecting a lot of gameplay or interactive mechanics. While there are choices to be made and you direct the conversations, your role in this game is that of a listener. This is, of course, befitting Mary’s character as the World’s Last Confidant: Your job is to sit and hear the final words of these lost souls, and to occasionally guide the conversation in such a way that helps them recover their memories. You are not judge, jury, or executioner, but more like an attentive ear for a voice that desperately needs to be heard.

If I were to give the game one, and I do mean one, legitimate criticism, it would be that there might be a little too much to the narrative. That is to say, Schrödinger’s Call, across its roughly six hours of playtime, has you interacting with many stories of those who have passed and those who are about to pass. When engaging with those stories, I believe the game gives you a little too much information. In an ideal world, Schrödinger’s Call would leave some ambiguity with each case you have to solve, leaving your imagination to fill in the blanks and to make judgments on the souls that you are helping move on.

Instead, the game gives you so much information and so much time with each case that there really isn’t much left in that regard. If less is more, there is simply a bit too much to the many stories in Schrödinger’s Call, which prevented me from enjoying them quite as much as I could have.

It should say a lot, however, that my only criticism is that the game’s many stories are too involved. Everything else about Schrödinger’s Call was nothing but impressive to me: Its score, its visuals, its incredible concept, and its narrative. Perhaps if it had another pass at editing, some of the fat from these stories could have been trimmed in such a way that left the reader purposefully vague about the true natures of every story.

Regardless, however, Schrödinger’s Call remains the best visual novel I have experienced in years and will likely, at the very least, be the best one of 2026. Fans of the genre need to give this game a try, lest missing it becomes one of life’s many regrets.

Try Hard Guides was provided with a Steam code for this PC review of Schrödinger’s Call. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on our Game Reviews page! Schrödinger’s Call is available on Steam and Nintendo Switch.