It also managed to hold a stable frame rate most of the time, with some rare stutters in the larger areas. There are further concessions, such as a very short draw distance and details popping in around you, but they don't detract from the experience much. It takes a hit in sharpness with some aggressive sharpening, which can be controlled in the settings, but the large and open stages look and run well on the handheld considering the hardware limitations. The biggest surprise wasn't related to the gameplay or story, but how well the title ran on the Switch. Stronger gameplay mechanics with a fun or interesting twist could've gone a long way to elevate the entire experience. It's a great experience during cut scenes and mild exposition when out in the world, but once gameplay is the focus, it quickly gets bland and boring. Controls are floaty and imprecise, and all you do is avoid some annoying creatures that push you around. The issue isn't necessarily the repetition but that the gameplay mechanics are lackluster. Go with your boat to a point in the world, traverse some rooftops without falling in the water so you aren't swallowed by monsters, cleanse and activate some memories, and eventually dissolve a monster. Sea of Solitude is firmly rooted in a genre where gameplay is usually an afterthought, but it feels pushed to the extreme in this case since the same gameplay loop with slight variations is essentially repeated throughout the entire experience. They don't necessarily add a ton to the experience, but they don't work against it, either, which had been the case at launch. ![]() ![]() Again, I'm not able to make direct comparisons, but to me, the voice work and writing sounded quite serviceable. The voice acting was a point of contention when it was first released, but the voice acting and some of the writing have been overhauled for the director's cut. The visuals and storytelling work incredibly well together, and I enjoyed the experience no matter how dark things got, even though there are a couple of missteps in the game's short three-hour runtime. There is a sense of scale, overwhelming heights and depths, light and darkness, and monsters below the surface that will punish every misstep. Exploring linear parts of a sunken city where water may rise or fall depending on the stage is quite an exciting setting. What eventually pushes us through the experience are the visuals and engaging story. The game switches between dark and illuminated moments throughout, most likely to not be completely depressing since it can sometimes feel that way. ![]() We're either exploring by boat and following our guiding flare to the next objective, or we get out of the boat to make our way across the building rooftops or empty city streets. It's essentially a walking (boating) simulator that goes back and forth between a few simple gameplay loops. The setting is often dark and unwelcoming, with the boat light being the only illumination as we search for our family members. The title values its story above all else, which is what ultimately prevents it from being the touching and engaging adventure that it wants to be.Īs Kay, we traverse a surreal, flooded cityscape with a boat and a faint light to lead the way. Many people dismiss mental health issues and don't discuss them in the open, so I welcomed the game's frankness. It's a polarizing story that doesn't portray issues in a subtle way, and some may feel that it's too simple and sad. For 12 chapters, we take a close look at Kay's family history and the relationships with her brother, parents, and boyfriend, and how her altruistic behavior slows her down to a crawl as she faces monsters throughout the game. Throughout the story, Kay tries to unravel her feelings by going back through her memories to understand how to overcome her sense of anger, anxiety, neglect and sadness. The game focuses on Kay, a girl who's haunted by her demons.
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