The single-player adventure video game Sea of Solitude is now available to play. A launch trailer on publisher Electronic Arts' official YouTube channel has released along with the game.
Coming from relatively unknown German-based developer Jo-mei Games, Sea of Solitude aims to immerse players on a personal and emotional journey about a young woman’s loneliness. You play as Kay, a lonely woman who has turned into a monster. Set in an ever-evolving world based on Berlin, you must travel through this water-filled wasteland to learn why you have been transformed into the monster that you are now.
In Sea of Solitude’s constantly changing world, you will meet the most fantastical creatures and monsters, each burdened with their own tribulations and challenges. You can explore the flooded city either by boat, on foot, or by swimming through the water itself. If you are to ever find out the reason you have been turned into a monster, you must look through and beyond the seascape that surround you and learn all over again what it means to be human.
The video-game industry has slowly been tackling much more sensitive issues in the past few years. Case in point is Sea of Solitude’s approach in giving mental health and depression a face that we can look at. Cornelia Geppert, who is the CEO and creative head for Sea of Solitude says that most of the themes that the game tackles came from her own personal experiences with loneliness and depression. It truly shows through the metaphorical usage of monsters to signify the monsters in Kay’s closet: the collapse of her parents’ marriage, the untimely death of her brother and the conclusion of a toxic relationship she once had.
The gameplay is a miasma of stealth, puzzle-solving, and platforming. With only your trusty flare on hand to guide you where to go, the game offers nothing in terms of user interface and gives you only its breathtaking sea world to bask in. It reminds me of PlayStation 4 exclusive The Last Guardian in the way the world feels and moves around you.
Sea of Solitude is definitely a breath of fresh air from publishing giant EA's indie initiative Originals program. It is currently available for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC via Origin.
