Sea Of Solitude

''Sea of Solitude'' is an adventure video game developed by Jo-Mei Games and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released for Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in July 2019. A director's cut version of the game was announced at The Game Awards 2020, unlike the original version, the game is published by Quantic Dream and was released exclusively for Nintendo Switch in March 2021.

Story

The player controls a young woman named Kay who suffers from such strong loneliness that her inner feelings of hopelessness, anger and worthlessness turn to the outside and she becomes a monster. As Kay, the player explores a seemingly empty flooded city and interacts with its scaly red-eyed creatures to reveal why she turned into a monster. Her emotions manifest into giant monsters standing in her way, trying to help but also destroy her. She needs to interact with and understand their underlying intentions to overcome the negative effects of those emotions. The game is an inner dialogue of a person trying to reconcile her own shortcomings.

As the game progresses, it's revealed that Kay's parents Adam and Vivienne had her at a very young age, followed by a brother named Sonny 12 years later. Sonny was bullied often at school, but Kay was oblivious to his pleas for help because she was distracted by her growing relationship with her boyfriend Jack. Adam regretted Vivienne having Kay as early as she did because family obligations held him back in his career, and tensions over it led them to get a divorce. Sometime later, Jack went through a bout of depression and steadily isolated himself from his friends, breaking up with Kay in the process. Kay had her own bout of depression as a result, until she sorts through the events of her past over the course of the game.

Development

The game's city setting is based on Berlin. The developers announced the game online in February 2015. Its creative director, Cornelia Geppert, described the project as her most personal and artistic, in how it led her to probe her own fears and emotions following an emotionally abusive relationship from 2014 to 2017. However, she noted that several parts of the game are not from her own past.

Electronic Arts published the game under its indie game program EA Originals. The game's release was postponed within 2019 before having a set release date of July 5, 2019.

A director's cut was announced at The Game Awards 2020. Unlike the original, this is published by Quantic Dream and was released exclusively for Nintendo Switch on March 4, 2021.

Reception

''Sea of Solitude'' received "mixed or average reviews", according to review aggregator website Metacritic.

''Destructoid'' wrote that "''Sea of Solitude'' stands out as heartfelt, almost painfully sincere, so much so that I hesitated to actually put a score on this review at all. It felt almost crass to do so, like being allowed to read a relative's diary, only to give it a thumbs-up or -down." ''Game Informer'' said that "Sea of Solitude" provides an insightful look at how mental illness devastates the lives of not just those it affects, but also loved ones on the outside. Kay learns a lot about herself by understanding the value of listening, coming to term with her flaws, and not just empathizing with family but also accepting that a simple fix isn't always possible." ''The Guardian'' describes the game "a dazzling and cathartic exploration of mental health" and " a rare and audacious game that tackles depression and its causes head-on".

Other reviews were more mixed. ''IGN'' summarised that "''Sea of Solitude'' gives you a beautiful world and an intriguing story but the gameplay fails to evolve enough to make this a compelling adventure". ''Game Revolution'' wrote "In essence, it’s a boat that looks nice from the outside until you jump inside and notice all the holes actively trying to sink the whole thing."

The game was nominated for "Games for Impact" at The Game Awards 2019, for "Game, Special Class" at the NAVGTR Awards, and for the Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award at the SXSW Gaming Awards. In March 2019, ''The New York Times'' highlighted the game as part of a growing trend in the video game industry towards tackling mental health issues.

The game won the Unity Award for Best 3D Visuals in 2019.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://seaofsolitude.com/

2019 video games
Adventure games
Electronic Arts games
Indie games
Single-player video games
Video games about mental health
Video games developed in Germany
Video games featuring female protagonists
Windows games
PlayStation 4 games
Xbox One games
Nintendo Switch games
Quantic Dream