Sea of Solitude Review – Life is sometimes like treading water

Have you ever heard of a face threading water? The idiom means that you have made so much effort yet no progress is made. It leaves you falling to the bottom of the pit, well in this case, the ocean. Leaving you to fight with your demons and this game really captures that. The developers of the game tries to capture the story behind what mental illness is in a media where people could understands easier. This game is made from the Jo-Mei Games, an indie company in Germany and published as one of EA’s original.

In this journey, you will be following the story of Kay trying to remembering her past traumatic events. In the game, the world is shaped by his own reinterpretation of her memories and the game is progressed as the story is slowly unfolded itself. The visuals of the game is easily beautiful but whenever the character speaks, it just ruin the moment of the game. The game starts as Kay is in her boat approaching in the city where there is nobody in sight following a voice. The city at first started as dark to represent a bad memory but you can clear the darkness by using your ability.

This game is devoted to Kay looking for a glowing ball to open Kay’s memories. Kay can run and jump, and she also has a small wooden boat to navigate the vast ocean around her. The gameplay for the game is a mixture of platforming, stealth, and environmental puzzle-solving. At the beginning of the game, the player will attempt to navigate the environment while avoiding the leviathan, and then the player must sneak through a building filled with children ghosts.

The game is not so challenging, but everything is designed well. I’m never getting lost or confused while playing the Sea of Solitude. What makes this video game works so well is the way it uses a simple formula to understand to tell the tale. Players will experience a flashback in the life of Kay as her parents quarrel, or her brother wants the attention when exploring, as well as the mind itself.

But the most interesting feature is how her life experience can bring impact into the real world. Mental Illness is not wonderful and it should not be romanticized in the real world. There is one scene in which Kay felt very lonely, and players have to grope in the dark to find what to do next. At other times, Kay remembers his parents quarrel, and transformed into two giant monsters that fight each other. Kay own appearance in the form of a monster, showing what she really felt about herself. The design of the game is indeed brilliant, and managed to create a visual to represent multiple trauma.

Sea of Solitude tells a story from a traumatic experience of a person. The game can be easily finished in 3 to 4 hours. I would definitely recommend this game if you want to play a deep enriching story. Experience the story in Kay’s vision in stylized cell shaded world.

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On Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, PS4 & Steam

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