Despite the fantastical, and largely metaphorical, setting and creatures, Sea of Solitude is filled with the mundane. Nevertheless I was intrigued, and throughout I wanted to know what had happened to Kay and her friends and family. Similarly some lines from the supporting cast are given real weight by their convincing delivery – those that centre on self-loathing particularly hit home – but then others, especially the raised, angry voices, don’t quite hit the mark. Kay, played by Lead Animator Miriam Jud, often sounds utterly believable, and there’s an innocence to her delivery that works well a lot of the time, but there are moments where she sounds like someone that’s a little lost in what they’re doing. It’s a shame then that the voice acting can be inconsistent in quality. The team have made the most of the Berlin-inspired setting, and while the limited platforming and exploration are how you engage with the world, it’s the near-constant dialogue from Kay and the supporting characters that weaves the narrative together. It is clearly, in aesthetics and mechanics, an indie game with a story to tell rather than one that’s going to hook you in through razor-edge combat or traversals. Other creatures perpetuate an array of further negative emotions, from loneliness and depression through to anger. Much of what occurs in Sea of Solitude brings a sense of menace with it and leaping from the tops of drowned buildings while a horrific creature circles you, all the while speaking of the worst aspects of yourself, manages to be meaningful from beginning to end. That’s not to say that there aren’t some thrills, or at least a few heart-in-your-mouth moments. She’s well animated, and has a unique look that’s likely to draw you right in, but this is a game that’s really all about the narrative. The challenges themselves are often clever and drive home the gut-punch of each level's tragedy, but they tend to linger too long.While you’re finding your way through the various landscapes, taking in sunken towns, snowy vistas and buildings that burn with pent up anger, you might have to leap from building to building, clamber up ladders or frantically swim across the unsafe seas, but Kay isn’t exactly Lara Croft, and she doesn’t really need to be. The controls are very simple - Kay can run, jump and shoot a flare that shows her where to go or light up dark areas - which is fine for getting around but is a very limited toolset for combat or puzzle-solving, which the game employs as challenges to back up its metaphors. While Sea of Solitude’s mental health allegories are engrossing and many of its set pieces as brilliant to look at as they are cathartic to complete, the game’s biggest issues are with its mechanics.
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The English narration is delivered with a heavy European accent that I suspect robs some moments of their full impact versus the developer's native German, but it gets the point across. There are some breathtaking moments, and a few heartbreaking ones too, as the game moves from exploration against orchestral music and pretty vocals to happy or horrible snippets of Kay's relationships with her family, represented variously as lonely monsters of their own. Sea of Solitude is an aural and visual treat with a lot to say, let down by some of its gameplay and narrative delivery.
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