Electronic Arts (EA) plans to publish the next title in the EA Originals lineup this year. Sea of Solitude is a puzzle-style adventure game developed by Jo-Mei, a video game company based in Berlin, Germany. The studio was founded by Cornelia Geppert and Boris Munser, who have been developing games for over 10 years. The team began collaborating with EA in 2016 and agreed to publish the game under the EA Original program. The team later showcased a teaser for the game during its E3 2018 presentation. Now, about three years later, the studio is nearly ready for launch.
Sea of Solitude touches on the subject of loneliness, and the fears one expresses when coping with internal and external isolation. Geppert, the writer as well as creative director at Jo-Mei, mentions that partial inspiration for the game came from experiences in her own past. In her E3 2018 presentation, she expresses her wish to create something relatable to people. She hopes that players will allow themselves to become fully immersed in the sights, sounds, and emotions of the characters while playing.
Sea of Solitude is by far the most artistic and personal project I’ve ever created. At times is very challenging to dig that deep into your own feelings like core fears, longing and anger, but at the same time, it is the most fulfilling thing to express those very feelings by putting it to people through art.
After a long silence surrounding the game’s progress, Geppert recently announced some encouraging news to eagerly awaiting fans. According to her Twitter page, the team has finally completed voice recordings for Sea of Solitude. While the news may not seem like a lot, it allows some peace of mind for excited fans. If recordings have been finished, then the game is still on track for a 2019 release, and will hopefully see its full completion soon. Though fans eagerly await further news of the game’s progress, the team is working hard to produce quality content. Regardless of the wait, fans will continue to encourage and show support for the Jo-Mei team.
Sea of Solitude follows the adventures of a young woman, Kay, as she explores an abandoned, and partially submerged, city in the hopes of discovering a way to restore her humanity. She soon finds she has transformed into a dark, scaly, red-eyed creature. But how?
In an interview with Geppert, hosted by Anthony Carboni, she reveals a bit about what players can expect from the gameplay and storyline. “The core is to find out, through buried memories which are laying on the water and ground of the ocean, to find out what happened to these monsters and how they are somehow connected to you.” Only by interacting with these creatures, and learning about their past will you come closer to the truth surrounding Kay’s fate, and perhaps a cure.
Sea of Solitude is set to be available for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Windows PC. As of right now, no release dates have made official yet. However, according to the game’s official EA Originals page, Sea of Solitude is expected to launch sometime this year. For more updates on the game’s status and progress, be sure to check out Geppert’s twitter page.