Sea of Solitude is anadventure video game developed by Jo-Mei Games and published byElectronic Arts. The game was released forWindows,PlayStation 4 andXbox One in July 2019. A director's cut version of the game was announced atThe Game Awards 2020, unlike the original version, the game is published byQuantic Dream and was released exclusively forNintendo Switch in March 2021.

Sea of Solitude
Developer(s)	Jo-Mei Games
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts Quantic Dream (Director's Cut)
Director(s)	Cornelia Geppert
Engine	Unity[1]
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows,PlayStation 4,Xbox One,Nintendo Switch (Director's Cut)
Release	Original Version: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One WW: July 5, 2019 Director's Cut: Nintendo Switch WW: March 4, 2021
Genre(s)	Adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

The player controls a young woman named Kay who suffers from such strong loneliness that her inner feelings of hopelessness, anger and worthlessness turn to the outside and she becomes a monster. As Kay, the player explores a seemingly empty flooded city and interacts with its scaly red-eyed creatures to reveal why she turned into a monster. Her emotions manifest into giant monsters standing in her way, trying to help but also destroy her. She needs to interact with and understand their underlying intentions to overcome the negative effects of those emotions. The game is an inner dialogue of a person trying to reconcile her own shortcomings.^[2]

As the game progresses, it's revealed that Kay's parents Adam and Vivienne had her at a very young age, followed by a brother named Sonny 12 years later. Sonny was bullied often at school, but Kay was oblivious to his pleas for help because she was distracted by her growing relationship with her boyfriend Jack. Adam regretted Vivienne having Kay as early as she did because family obligations held him back in his career, and tensions over it led them to get a divorce. Sometime later, Jack went through a bout of depression and steadily isolated himself from his friends, breaking up with Kay in the process. Kay had her own bout of depression as a result, until she sorts through the events of her past over the course of the game.

The game's city setting is based onBerlin. The developers announced the game online in February 2015. Its creative director, Cornelia Geppert, described the project as her most personal and artistic, in how it led her to probe her own fears and emotions following an emotionally abusive relationship from 2014 to 2017. However, she noted that several parts of the game are not from her own past.^[3]

Electronic Arts published the game under its indie game program EA Originals.^[2][4][5][6] The game's release was postponed within 2019^[7] before having a set release date of July 5, 2019.^[8]

A director's cut was announced atThe Game Awards 2020. Unlike the original, this is published byQuantic Dream and was released exclusively forNintendo Switch on March 4, 2021.^[9]

Sea of Solitude received "mixed or average reviews", according toreview aggregatorMetacritic.^{[10][11][12][13]}

Destructoid wrote that "Sea of Solitude stands out as heartfelt, almost painfully sincere, so much so that I hesitated to actually put a score on this review at all. It felt almost crass to do so, like being allowed to read a relative's diary, only to give it a thumbs-up or -down."^[14]Game Informer said that "Sea of Solitude" provides an insightful look at how mental illness devastates the lives of not just those it affects, but also loved ones on the outside. Kay learns a lot about herself by understanding the value of listening, coming to term with her flaws, and not just empathizing with family but also accepting that a simple fix isn't always possible."^[15]The Guardian describes the game "a dazzling and cathartic exploration of mental health" and " a rare and audacious game that tackles depression and its causes head-on".

Other reviews were more mixed.IGN summarised that "Sea of Solitude gives you a beautiful world and an intriguing story but the gameplay fails to evolve enough to make this a compelling adventure".^[18]Game Revolution wrote "In essence, it’s a boat that looks nice from the outside until you jump inside and notice all the holes actively trying to sink the whole thing."^[16]

The game was nominated for "Games for Impact" atThe Game Awards 2019,^[19] for "Game, Special Class" at the NAVGTR Awards,^[20] and for the Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award at theSXSW Gaming Awards.^[21] In March 2019,The New York Times highlighted the game as part of a growing trend in thevideo game industry towards tacklingmental health issues.^[3]

The game won theUnity Award for Best 3D Visuals in 2019.^[22]

• Official website