DestinyLeah
“When people get lonely, they turn into monsters.” This is the seed from which Sea of Solitude sprouted, putting down deep roots of despair. The trailer follows a young girl turned monstrous, floating through a drowning city. The graphics are somewhere between LIMBO and Miyazaki, a cute abandoned town filled with unsettling faces and forms. The music is haunting, the world so quiet that its solitude becomes desolation. It quickly becomes apparent that there are others here, and no one is truly alone, but their loneliness does not abate in the crowd and they remain monsters. The game is about that feeling of being always alone, of having to adjust one’s own response to unwanted solitude to remain human. It is about the monsters lying in wait within us all, and the battles we face to overcome them.
Creator and Creative Director of Jo-Mei games Cornelia Geppert says that she created it at one of the loneliest times in her life; that connection is evident throughout her presentation and latest teaser trailer. Her passion for the project and genuine personality make the idea behind Sea of Solitude more relatable. Everyone has had moments where they felt truly alone and bereft, as though some part of what makes them human was slowly rent from their very being. Describing the game she says, “I think that is why so many people can instantly connect with the game, because it is not a made-up story even though it takes place in a fantastic setting. In SOS, we try to show how people experience different kinds of loneliness, but also how outsiders, friends, and family also struggle. ” Given the news lately, I am not sure there has ever been a more timely concept for a game. Sea of Solitude will be available in early 2019.
