Video Game Review: Sea of Solitude

Sea of Solitude

Jo-Mei Games

Adventure

Playstation 4

I’ll say this about Sea of Solitude just to get it out of the way: while I liked it and I think it’s a well-made game, I can’t help but be somewhat disappointed by it. The premise the game sold itself on when it was revealed at E3 2018 hooked me instantly. For those who’ve never heard of Sea of Solitude, it is a game set in a flooded world where loneliness causes humans to undergo a physical metamorphosis into enormous monsters, a process which the protagonist Kay seems to be in the early stages of based on the reveal trailer; she doesn’t look fully human, but she’s still human-sized. The reveal trailer is wonderfully spooky and gives off the impression of an adventure game with a horror bent.

To an extent, this impression is what we got, but while the trailer leans more towards the fantastical the game itself leans more towards the metaphorical.  From the trailer, I got the sense that the game would be post-apocalyptic in scale, which I was here for, but the game itself is more of a “reflection of the protagonist’s troubled mind” situation. In most cases, I wouldn’t mind the difference between expectation and reality, but it really does feel like the trailer was going for a certain vibe that the final product didn’t fulfill.

All that said, the game’s content is well done for what it is, and if it hadn’t been for my own preconceived notions I wouldn’t have taken issue with it. The story is a sensitive treatment of mental health issues that never stigmatizes having a mental illness despite what its premise of monstrosity might lead one to believe. In the interest of not giving away too much about the game, that’s as much as I’m going to discuss the story.

But all games are more than their story, no matter how much focus might be placed on the narrative. To that end, Sea of Solitude is adequate. The gameplay is nothing especially original – fairly standard adventure game fare involving running, jumping, swimming and exploring – but there’s nothing wrong with it (aside from the boat controls being ever so slightly clunky) and the level design is good enough that exploring kept my attention long enough to get through everything. The game’s short runtime helps to this end, and despite my earlier grousing about the story, I did enjoy that as well. My desire to find out what would happen next kept me engaged the whole time.

While the gameplay may not be groundbreaking, I did very much enjoy the game’s mood. As paradoxical as it may seem the overall mood is equal parts tense and serene. Never at the same time, mind you; it fluctuates between the two in a way that feels natural and makes sense to the progression of the story and is never jarring. At times the titular sea is calm and a frankly stunning shade of blue, leaving the player to explore at their leisure; at others it is turbulent and stormy, aiding in the sense of danger that is created by the game’s recurring monster who relentlessly circles Kay and tries to devour her. Entering the water while the monster is around prompts her to swim towards Kay’s location, giving a feeling like the player is swimming with sharks. Even the audio cues that play when the monster is chasing you are evocative of the Jaws theme, but not in a way that feels corny or cliché because of how earnestly it’s being played. In these segments, Sea of Solitude is properly spooky.

There are other small details that really help make the game scattered throughout. Kay very much feels like a living creature in the way she reacts to the environment around her. When lightning flashes she will flinch at the ensuing thunder, and when she is cold or scared she will tremble slightly if she’s standing still. When she’s walking around she leaves little footprints behind her. Objects beneath the waterline will look distorted. Little things, certainly, but enriching things.

The larger aspects of the game’s visual design are even better than the small ones. In this day and age, when detailed graphics are easier than ever to achieve due to the processing power of modern hardware, games must rely on aesthetic choices to stand out from the crowd. In this area, Sea of Solitude excels. The monster/character design (for all of the characters are monsters) is phenomenal, and the graphical style is extremely pleasing. I noted before that the water is at times a stunning shade of blue, but I feel I can’t stress that enough: Sea of Solitude really is gorgeous. Even the composition of visual elements is something to be admired because there were many shots that wowed me in the way they were framed, something that I think most games don’t put enough thought into.

I do have three more small criticisms to make about the game: The first is that there’s a plot point that gets mentioned very briefly at one point and then never brought up again. It’s a minor thing, and ultimately the lack of follow-through isn’t too big of a deal, but it did still strike me as odd. Secondly, there is one segment where a flashback shows a younger version of Kay speaking, but for some reason, her accent at that moment doesn’t match up with her accent throughout the rest of the game. Finally, there is a type of collectible in the game that doesn’t really seem to have any purpose beyond unlocking achievements, and as a result, they seem out of place given the overall subject of the game.

At the very beginning of Sea of Solitude, the game gives you a disclaimer that it is a personal project inspired by the writer and creative director’s own experiences. Bearing this in mind, it feels very well realized, flaws and all. I’m glad the people who made this game got the chance to do so, and I’m glad I got the chance to play it.