Sea of Solitude Reviews
Sea of Solitude: The Director’s Cut is difficult to quantify the efforts of. I can appreciate the premise of the scope of negativity it attempts to convey, and the voice actors were clearly invested in their roles. However, nothing it says manages to stick and leave a semblance of meaningful impact when it comes down to it. The writing is too direct, showing a lack of needed subtly for the darkest elements of the character-driven narrative to hit home.
With Sea of Solitude we still discover today, two years after its release, an incredibly mature work from every point of view, graphic, thematic and also in terms of gameplay. The experience touches the perfection of the genre with an evocative glance, a soundtrack practically without defects and an atmosphere that is sewn onto the player making him breathe deeply all the air of a sea that is perceived so much calm and vast, as much as inhabited by creatures that perhaps we should let sleep. In Sea of Solitude there is everything: introspection, the focus on the character and on us, the openness and pleasure of travel. If during our journey we are then called to face our own monsters we will have the courage to do so: in this experience we are Light, Darkness, Sea and the same monsters. We have everything we need and on this tour we have all been kindly offered through one of the best video games of the genre, to be suggested instead of a book.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Sea of Solitude is a little too short for its own good. However, with the combined effect of EA's status and the creativity of Jo-Mei Games, it stands out for its breathtaking narrative regardless of its somewhat lacking gameplay.
While Sea of Solitude manages to be distinctive, it certainly isn't the only game to explore mental health in the past few years. And like many that attempt to tackle the topics and themes that come with this, Sea of Solitude struggles at times. When it gets things right, it's a touching experience with a lot to say, but too often what it has to say is drowned out by heavy-handed writing, poor line delivery, and unimaginative gameplay that juxtaposes a fantastical and metaphorical world.
Looking through my review notes felt like I was reading the journal of an increasingly depressed individual. There's amazing praise at first but that quickly turns to frustration, irritation, and even anger at times. With that said, I'd recommend Sea of Solitude for the school chapter alone. The entire adventure is also only a few hours long so thankfully, it won't overstay its welcome.
Taking only three or four hours to complete, Sea of Solitude is a lovely, thought-provoking adventure game with a compelling narrative and smooth gameplay. It’s a worthy addition to anyone’s game library.
The audia visual presentation in Sea of Solitude is fantastic, it is an artistic experience that was put together beautifully.The storytelling is weak though, it should have been more subtle to go along with the artistic direction. also, the voice acting couldn't express the character's feelings very well.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Sea of Solitude is a deeply personal experience, but it carries the nervousness of a studio desperate not to be misunderstood, delivering this allegory via spoon-feeding.
Unusual, but short story about human relations and inner demons.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Sea of Solitude, which can be completed in about five or six hours, depending on the emphasis you put on finding all collectibles, does not risk the playable, but is also solid in this section and, therefore, becomes an essential work for lovers of good stories
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Sea of Solitude dives into a broad range of mental issues and treats them carefully enough to be both educational and emotional. It's just a pity that the bland gameplay drowns out some of its best parts.
A beautiful adventure without cryptic metaphors, but it suffers from mediocre gameplay and poor voice acting.
Review in Russian | Read full review
While it might not offer you the diversity in gameplay to keep you entertained till the end, the game will successfully get you attached to Kay and her emotional journey.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
The events that play out are often powerfully voice acted and complemented with incredible art. It wears its influences on its sleeve and is profoundly direct with its ,but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Even though the gameplay is flawed with clumsy and inaccurate platforming, it's not enough to capsize a strong overall presentation.
If it isn’t obvious already, SOS may not have the challenges of wide open worlds like the Witcher series, but it does everything it set out to do and it did it with flying colors.
Sea of Solitude tackles a very sensitive subject matter and handles it beautifully. What it fails at is presenting it all in a package that offers satisfying gameplay.
The simplistic gameplay could have carried the sloppy story if it was more polished. Animation breaks and the bugginess of the collision happen far too frequently in such a short game. If Sea of Solitude: The Director’s Cut was marketed as a satire of pretentious, arty, non-engagement style indie games, it would probably fool everyone.
Sea of Solitude tells a compelling story about depression, bullying and family problems. Nonetheless the game is too easy, guided and brief
Review in Italian | Read full review
Loneliness is a complex and difficult phenomenon to capture in any media, but Sea of Solitude does a commendable job despite some unfortunate shortcomings
For those that have argued that videos games are not art, I would hold Sea of Solitude up as a shining example to the contrary. There is no easy way to summarize my experience with SOS, it was incredible, challenging, insightful and memorable. Instead, I leave you with the words of Henry Miller, an American author of the twentieth century, "One's destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things."