A brand-new EA Original, Sea of Solitude, has been expanded upon at EA Play during E3 2018. Looking like a mix of Firewatch (on a boat), Limbo, and a whole host of other games that deal with, you guessed it, solitude, it promises to be one of the most intriguing titles of the next 12 months. Sea of Solitude is out ‘early 2019’
“A young woman named Kay suffering from strong loneliness,” reveals the developer, Cornelia Geppert (who did a terrific job battling nerves) on-stage at EA Play, with the premise drawing from unfortunate real-life inspirations, as well as what looks like a grab bag of melancholy and mayhem, judging by the gameplay trailer.
While the likes of RIME proved there’s plenty of life in the old dog that is saccharine single-player adventures, Sea of Solitude aims to be on a whole ‘nother level. Its sunken city aesthetic is one rarely seen in terms of gameplay, merely as a background slate, so it’ll be interesting to see how the developers Jo-Mei get on with such a unique premise.
Sea of Solitude is also the second title announced under the EA Originals banner, which aims to support smaller developers. Honestly? Great pick from EA. I’m already hyped as hell for this title, and it might be one of the sleeper titles of the weekend.
You can see the minute-long trailer for it below. My highlight? The Firewatch-esque washed out look being at odds with the darker, nefarious tone of the game. Kay is clearly struggling with some inner (and very literal) demons. With the successes of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, it’s clear that the conversation regarding mental illness in the industry has done a complete 180 in the past few years. This is another string to the bow of an extremely important conversation.
Are you looking forward to it? Let us know in the comments!
