Close search results
Close search results
×
Play YouTube video
×
Please enter a valid email address
Please choose a platform
How young was your child when they first played this?
:
 
How does your child play this? Alone, with friends, with family? How did they discover it and what kept them coming back for more?
:   :
 
To verify your input please enter your email to create an account.
Email:

Play OverviewPlay Overview

Sea of Solitude (2019) is an adventure where you play a young woman, Kay, with such strong loneliness that her feelings turn her into a monster. As you explore a flooded city you discover dark creatures that you must deal with -- by uncovering their underlying emotional disorder -- to progress and, as you do, slowly unpick what happened to Kay.

While you do this, you encounter the audible inner dialogue of your character that tells a story of quarrelling parents, the emotional isolation of a friend and the terrible experiences of her brother being bullied.

The game world mirrors each of these traumas with metaphorical creatures and obstacles to overcome. "All you care about is yourself, that's why you will fail," states the trailer, clearly signposting that this is how you don't fail. While the game can be overly literal at times and resolve longstanding issues relatively quickly, the deft combination of interaction, emotion and challenge creates a unique space to step inside these challenges and character failings. Through this you can, to some extent, share the experience of what it feels like to be affected by loneliness, bullying, toxic relationships, depression and a troubling past.

Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Sea of Solitude 3 years ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 7 weeks ago.
Kids not old enough for this yet? There are lots of games similar to Sea of Solitude. Here are some similar younger-rated games:

Play StylePlay Style

This is a Narrative and Platform game with Action, Adventure, Fighting and Traversal elements. This is a single-player game.

DurationDuration

Play Time: This game will take between 3 hours and 4 hours to complete.

Age RatingsAge Ratings

Content Rating

Rated PEGI 12 for frequent moderate violence and use of offensive language. If your character steps into the sea, a giant swimming monster will come and attack, it will throw your character into the air, catch you in its teeth and eat you. You don’t see any detail, just the body disappearing into the monster’s mouth as you scream and the screen goes dark as it brings you back to the last checkpoint. There are also lots of hands that can drag you under the water as the screen goes dark. You can also be shoved backwards by some human-shaped monsters. The only sign of injury is the screen which changes colour and gets darker with each hit. Eventually, the human-shaped monsters can overwhelm you and the screen will go dark as the game resets to the last checkpoint. The game features the use of the word “*!@?*”.

The game focuses on the loneliness and self-destructiveness of the character and her family members. The monsters can insult your character throughout the game. One particular chapter focuses on her brother and how he has had to deal with bullies. You can hear some of the insults they use against him, such as “Hah! Being ugly really does run in your family. Hahaha…”. There is also a scene where a male monster and female monster (representing the character’s parents) are arguing about how they had children too early and it ruined their careers. These themes may be distressing to some people.

CostsCosts

Sea of Solitude usually costs £15.99 to £19.99. 

Sea Of Solitude: The Director's Cut

Switch Store Switch £17.99

Sea of Solitude

XBox Store Xbox One £19.99 Free

EA Play

PlayStation StoreSALE PS4 £15.99 £3.99 at the moment Free

EA Play

Steam StoreSALE PC £17.99 £4.49 until 21/03/2024
Origin Store PC Free Free

EA Play

There are no additional in-game purchases, loot boxes, adverts or subscription costs.

DetailsGame Details

Release Date: 05/07/2019

Price: 75% off

Out Now: PC, PS4, Switch and Xbox One

Players: 1

Genres: Narrative, Platform (Action, Adventure, Fighting and Traversal)

Accessibility: 11 features

Components: 3D Third-Person and Cartoon

Developer: Cornelia Geppert (@CorneliaGeppert)


Taming Gaming Book Written by parents for parents, the database complements the in-depth discussion about video game addiction, violence, spending and online safety in the Taming Gaming book. We are an editorially independent, free resource without adverts that is supported by partnerships.

Subscribe to our free newsletter

Subscribe
Carina Initiatives
PlayStation
HSBC
GameOpedia
Xbox
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Discord
Contact Us
About