Sea of Solitude

Solid and definitely has an audience. There could be some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.

76%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

grinding, stability

80% User Score Based on 1,027 reviews

Critic Score 72%Based on 8 reviews

Platforms

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About

Sea of Solitude is a single player shooter game with fantasy and drama themes. It was developed by Jo-Mei Games and was released on June 4, 2020. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

"Sea of Solitude" is a poignant action-adventure game that follows a young woman named Kay as she navigates through her emotional turmoil and loneliness. Players explore a beautifully designed, flooded city and encounter various creatures, each with their own stories, while solving challenges that delve into deeper themes of humanity. The game's evolving world serves as a metaphor for Kay's emotional state, providing a unique and intimate journey of self-discovery.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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80%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,027 reviews

story249 positive mentions

grinding13 negative mentions

The game features stunning visuals and a beautiful art style that enhances the emotional experience.
The story tackles heavy themes such as loneliness, depression, and family issues in a relatable and impactful way.
The game provides a unique and introspective journey, encouraging players to reflect on their own emotions and relationships.

The voice acting is often criticized for being subpar, which detracts from the overall immersion and emotional weight of the story.
Gameplay can feel repetitive and simplistic, lacking depth and challenge, which may not appeal to all players.
The narrative is sometimes seen as heavy-handed and lacking subtlety, making it feel predictable and cliché.

story
674 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
58%
5%
The story of "Sea of Solitude" is a deeply emotional exploration of loneliness, depression, and family dynamics, conveyed through a visually stunning world and metaphorical gameplay. While some players found the narrative impactful and relatable, others criticized it for being clichéd, poorly executed, or lacking depth, particularly in character development and voice acting. Overall, the game is recommended for those seeking a poignant story experience, despite its gameplay shortcomings.
- “I think that everybody should play this game because of the brilliant story.”
- “The main part of this game, the story, is perfectly handled with excellent use of music and sound effects that create an amazing and immersive atmosphere.”
- “The story brought me to tears a few times; it was so well done.”
- “The game attempts to cover multiple themes but only skims the surface, reducing complex emotions to simplistic moral messages like 'this is good' and 'this is bad.' This lack of depth makes it difficult to connect with the story or its characters, leading to an experience that feels more hollow than heartfelt.”
- “The writing and the quality of voice acting both were quite bad, and considering this is a story-driven game, this is a huge hit against it.”
- “The story is bland, there isn't much character growth, the voice acting is 'meh' at best, the controls are wonky, and the gameplay feels like it's just there to make it more than a walking simulator.”
gameplay
313 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
57%
17%
The gameplay of the game is generally described as simplistic and repetitive, often resembling a walking simulator with minimal mechanics and challenges. While some players appreciate the beautiful visuals and emotional storytelling, many criticize the lack of engaging gameplay elements, noting that it feels more like a chore than an enjoyable experience. Overall, the game is recommended primarily for its narrative rather than its gameplay, which is often seen as a secondary aspect.
- “The gameplay is simple yet engaging with its focus being primarily on the story.”
- “A beautiful art style and simple yet absorbing gameplay kept me invested until the end.”
- “The gameplay is mostly exploration with some lite platforming challenges.”
- “Overall, it's a very simple game with no special gameplay to offer.”
- “The gameplay is simplistic, even a bit repetitive, and the story is obscure and not well explained.”
- “The gameplay feels redundant the second the tutorial ends; every task feels more like a chore than an adventure.”
graphics
253 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
34%
2%
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their stunning art style and beautiful visuals, often described as captivating and emotionally resonant. While many reviewers praised the artistic design and atmospheric elements, some noted that the repetitive environments and technical issues detracted from the overall experience. Overall, the visuals are considered the standout feature, effectively conveying the game's themes despite criticisms of gameplay and narrative depth.
- “A wonderfully artistic game with beautiful visuals and great gameplay and story.”
- “The graphics are stunning, people need to get over the voice acting thing, it really didn't bother me in the slightest, I'd say the tone was maybe what people didn't like.”
- “The graphics, as well as the art style, are very well done and nice to look at.”
- “But all of this time you are in one area with the same graphics for the whole game.”
- “The graphics, while not realistic like some other games out there, are still pretty beautiful and amazing.”
- “While the story is interesting and the basic premise is sound, the game suffers from clunky graphics, mediocre visual effects, disappointing sound and music, cliched, but abundant dialogue, unconvincing voice acting, and very, very, very unpleasant gameplay.”
emotional
181 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
99%
2%
The emotional aspect of the game has garnered mixed responses, with many players praising its ability to evoke deep feelings related to loneliness, mental health, and personal growth, often leading to tears and reflection. However, some critiques highlight a lack of depth in emotional delivery and character development, suggesting that the game sometimes resorts to simplistic moral messages rather than fostering genuine connections. Overall, while the game is celebrated for its touching narrative and stunning visuals, opinions vary on its effectiveness in truly engaging players on an emotional level.
- “This game made me feel so many emotions in the span of 3 hours; I cried so much I sometimes had to pause.”
- “The story is emotionally touching and well written.”
- “A beautiful ride accompanied with an emotional journey is the great combination that gets me fascinated from the beginning to the end, let alone the lessons to be learned from our protagonist.”
- “The controls are broken, the camera is frustrating, and the story feels like a boring walking simulator.”
- “I expected an emotional journey, but instead, I was met with a lackluster narrative and clunky gameplay.”
- “The game promised deep emotional experiences, but it fell flat with its uninspired story and poor mechanics.”
music
100 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
30%
3%
The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty and ability to enhance the atmosphere, with many reviewers noting its emotional impact and seamless integration with the visuals. While some found the soundtrack to be forgettable or lacking in emotional depth at times, the overall consensus is that the music significantly contributes to the immersive experience and complements the storytelling effectively. Overall, the combination of music and art is highlighted as a standout feature, making it a memorable aspect of the game.
- “The music is beautiful and hits at the right moments to create the perfect atmosphere.”
- “The main part of this game, the story, is perfectly handled with excellent use of music and sound effects that create an amazing and immersive atmosphere.”
- “Beautiful art, story, and music.”
- “Music and soundtracks are there just to be there.”
- “The soundtrack is serviceable but forgettable, doing little to elevate the overall experience.”
- “The soundtrack was ok, not something that stuck to memory, and I have no intention of relistening to any tracks from the OST.”
atmosphere
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
32%
10%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its beautiful music, stunning visuals, and immersive storytelling, creating a poignant and emotional experience. Many reviewers highlight the effective use of sound design and art style in enhancing the game's mood, although some note that certain dialogue can detract from the overall ambiance. Overall, the game is recommended for those who appreciate atmospheric and psychological experiences.
- “The main part of this game, the story, is perfectly handled with excellent use of music and sound effects that create an amazing and immersive atmosphere.”
- “Sea of Solitude offers a unique and moving experience that explores complex emotions through an atmospheric, beautifully crafted world.”
- “I really love the art style and the overall atmosphere of the game.”
- “There are moments when it becomes necessary to step away, as the game's somber atmosphere can, paradoxically, sap your energy.”
- “The strong German accent in the English version spoiled the atmosphere significantly.”
- “The dialogue is just offsetting and destroys every bit of mystical atmosphere.”
grinding
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
6%
87%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, with many noting that it detracts from the overall experience. While some enjoy the creative character designs and puzzles, the frequent need for grinding and the monotony of certain tasks, such as fetch quests and repetitive dialogue, lead to frustration. Despite these issues, some players still appreciate the game, suggesting that the grinding may reflect the janky nature of life itself.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “The game starts strong then gets increasingly tedious.”
- “Unfortunately, the gameplay is too tedious to enjoy the experience.”
- “Some of these can go on for a bit and the number of fetch quests can get a little tedious.”
character development
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
Character development in the game is a mixed bag; while the main character, Kay, is praised for being relatable and well-designed, overall character development is criticized for being shallow and lacking depth. The visuals and character design receive high marks, but the storytelling and character arcs do not meet the same standard, leaving players wanting more substance.
- “Kay is a very likable and relatable character in a lot of ways, and I love her character design as well!”
- “Not the best game in terms of gameplay, but the narrative and character development of Kay was very interesting and will feel relatable to a lot of people.”
- “It's beautiful, the level and character design is quite neat and Kay is a nice main character.”
- “With shallow storytelling, poor character development, uninspired gameplay, and lackluster voice acting, the game misses the mark on nearly every front.”
- “Compounded with very basic explanations of the story and character development.”
- “[h3]Lack of character development[/h3]”
stability
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
91%
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs, control issues, and visual glitches, particularly when using keyboard and mouse. While some players found the experience smoother with a controller, overall gameplay remains inconsistent, with occasional immersion-breaking graphical errors and unrefined mechanics. Despite these issues, some players still found the game enjoyable.
- “I must say I played this one with a controller, and it was all super intuitive with no glitches or struggles at all.”
- “The controls were awful and buggy (think Sims but you have to have fine motor controls).”
- “Warning, you kind of need a controller; the control is buggy and confusing with keyboard and mouse.”
- “Buggy and laggy overall.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The game has low replayability, rated around 2/10, primarily due to its short length and linear structure, which limits the incentive to replay. While the exploration and character backstories are engaging, the lack of diverse gameplay experiences means players may only return to collect items rather than for a fresh experience.
- “Game exploration is nice and it's interesting getting to know each character's backstory. The soundtrack is also very nice and blends well with the gameplay, but the game has nearly 0 replayability since it's kind of linear. However, the first time playing is really nice.”
- “It's not the longest game out there, and there isn't really a replay value... however, it is very much worth it.”
- “It's a short experience, with little replayability unless you want to find all the collectibles.”
- “Game exploration is nice and it's interesting getting to know each character's backstory. The soundtrack is also very nice and blends well with gameplay, but the game has nearly 0 replayability since it's kind of linear. However, the first time playing it is really nice.”
- “Eh... I'd say no despite all its positives because it's short and I don't feel like it has much replay value.”
optimization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
20%
40%
The game's optimization is notably inconsistent; while some players report great performance and good graphics, others experience significant stuttering and poor controls, especially given the simplistic 3D graphics. Overall, the optimization appears to vary widely among users, impacting their overall enjoyment and engagement with the game.
- “The game looks fantastic, the monster designs are super clean, the story is gripping, and performance was great.”
- “Neat little platformer with good optimization and graphics.”
- “Still the game ran like a stuttering mess.”
- “It controls poorly, is terribly optimized, resulting in awful performance for a game with such simplistic 3D graphics, and provides almost no direction whatsoever.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is hit-or-miss, with some players finding the flat line delivery unintentionally funny. Additionally, the juxtaposition of a bullying theme with a quirky achievement, such as shooing seagulls, adds to the comedic elements that resonate with some players.
- “Not everyone sucked, but a lot of the time the line delivery was so flat it just made me laugh.”
- “Does anyone else find it funny that a game that focuses on bullying has an achievement for shooing seagulls?”
- “Made me laugh so hard when that happened.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
Reviews highlight that the game's monetization heavily relies on microtransactions, a common criticism associated with EA. The narrative suggests a focus on self-serving monetization rather than community support, reinforcing the notion that profit takes precedence over player experience.
- “EA is usually known for two things: microtransactions and more microtransactions.”
- “What this story tries to tell: do not try to help others (unless they ask and pay!) but instead care about your own monetization (in the form of creating a game - in the game represented by the boat).”