Sea of Solitude is an adventure game, developed by Germany-based independent studio Jo-Mei Games, and published by Electronic Arts. It is the second game released under the auspices of EA Games, a part of its EA Originals program. The program gives small development studios a chance to leave a mark in the gamers’ consciousness, something which they could not achieve on their own. In SoS, the player controls Kay, a young woman, who has gone through a lot in recent time. Emotionally separated from her friends, surrounded by the noise of her parents’ arguments and the torment of her bullied brother, she finds herself traveling through a sea, facing all those difficult emotions, manifested as terrifying monsters.
Origin of Solitude
SoS began as an idea in the head of Cornelia Geppert. The director of the game chose to express her own fears and emotions through the electronic medium. Geppert was quoted saying that Sea of Solitude is her most personal project, one that she wrote while feeling all the emotions that the main protagonist Kay faces in her journey.
The idea for the Sea of Solitude was quickly picked up by the EA Originals. The program, operating under the label of Electronic Arts, grants inexperienced and small-time developers access to the funds and other resources to follow through with their project. While Jo-Mei Games revealed SoS in 2015, EA Originals announced their cooperation with the studio on the production of SoS in late 2016.
Emotional Journey
Sea of Solitude puts the player in control of Kay. She’s a young woman, whose life had been nothing but a series of emotional lows. Her parents, a controlling mother and a father who struggles to please everybody, constantly argue. Her younger brother, Sunny, is viciously bullied at school. Kay can find no relief with her friends, from whom she is emotionally detached. All that emotional anguish builds up inside her, causing her to retreat into the world made of dreams. There she will have to face the fears that torment her in the real world. Hunted by mysterious shadows and monstrous manifestations of her own emotions, Kay travels farther and farther into the mysterious reality, with no other choice but to face all that she had been running from for so long.
Kay and her demons
On her journey through the Sea of Solitude, Kay will face monsters. These demons are the manifestations of Kay’s tormented psyche, the embodiments of her fears, depression, and loneliness. The monsters represent all that Kay has left behind in the real world, everything that drove her into the state she finds herself now. There are the shadows, always pursuing and taunting her with threats or speeding under the surface – the representation of her brother’s bullies and Kay’s fear of the unknown. There is a gigantic, monstrous chameleon, a manifestation of her well-meaning father, who struggles to please those around him. There is also an octopus, Kay’s dominant mother, whose tentacles are both restricting and supporting, representing the conflicted feelings of the protagonist. Kay herself is also changed. In the dream world, she takes a demonic form as a manifestation of her depression and anxiety.
The world under the surface
Together with Kay, the player travels through a submerged world, based on the real-world Berlin. The core gameplay mechanics of Sea of Solitude follow Kay, as she traverses the dream-like world using a speedboat. The protagonist is guided by a mysterious light which leads her to different parts of the city. Kay has to solve puzzles and face monsters to drop the water levels, unlocking new areas. Kay will also have to defend herself from pursuing shadows by igniting lights to drive them away. Other parts of gameplay will have the protagonist avoiding the gusts of wind while climbing.
Reception
Sea of Solitude received many favorable reviews from the critics. Reviews of the game were full of praise for how deftly the developers tackled the subject of emotional and mental struggles. The metaphor of the submerged world, which the protagonist must travel through landed perfectly in the opinion of the reviewers, as did the monstrous manifestations of the character’s fears and anxieties.
Key features:
- Enter the world filled with emotions and anxiety
- Follow Kay as she faces her depression in a dream-like scenery
- Travel through the sea of solitude, solve puzzles and face monsters that haunt you
- Unity engine graphics bring the ephemeral nature of Kay’s world to life
- Experience a story of dealing with one’s worst fears and healing that awaits at the end
