“Sea of Solitude” is a difficult game to classify. Technically, it’s an adventure game. You spend most of your time exploring the world, solving simple puzzles and progressing the story. However, the narrative deviates from the typical storytelling of this genre. Instead of a mighty warrior who fights monsters, you play as a young woman named Kay. Kay transforms into a monster and finds herself floating in a boat through a partially submerged city. As you progress through the game, it becomes clear that the monsters you encounter are metaphors for difficult topics such as bullying, struggling marriages and depression.

Kay begins in a beautiful city that is flooded and plagued by patches of darkness and numerous monsters that possess various powers and abilities. One hurls cruel insults at Kay, reminding her of her failures, while another swims around waiting to eat her if she falls in the water. The only weapons she can use are flares of magical light that guide her way forward and push back against the darkness.

As a video game, “Sea of Solitude” is unexcitingly average. The visual and audio designs are good, but not exceptional in any way. The gameplay is smooth, and the levels are generally enjoyable, but similar to many other games. The game mechanics of “Sea of Solitude” are extremely commonplace. The narrative is by far its strongest asset.

A deeply personal story, it provides an intimate look at a young woman and her community as they struggle to deal with the difficult issues of life. Each of the issues addressed in the game is treated with a seriousness that allows players to empathize and learn from the characters’ experiences. I was struck by the honest portrayal of depression and its impacts, not only on the person struggling with depression, but those around them as well. This is a challenging topic to discuss in any medium, so it was very impressive to see it handled so well in a video game.

“I was struck by the honest portrayal of depression and its impacts, not only on the person struggling with depression, but those around them as well.”

If you’re looking for a fun adventure game to help blow off some steam, then this probably isn’t for you. However, I deeply appreciated the intersection of gaming, faith and mental illness found in this story. If you are interested in experiencing a sincere look at the struggles of depression and social isolation told through the uniquely immersive lens of gaming, I suggest you give “Sea of Solitude” a try.

Peer Rating: 3.5/5