Soul Searching (2017)

A surprisingly melancholic and atmospheric survival game about sailing a tiny raft across an endless ocean. Managing food and stamina while navigating the minimalist seas feels genuinely lonely and rewarding, even if the repetition wears thin after a while.

zorlayıcı olmayan basit ama keyifli mekaniklere sahip, özellikle Yerdeniz kitaplarının atmosferi ve hikayesiyle kurduğu paralellik sayesinde çok hoşuma giden bir oyun. ayrı bir kafa olan mini oyunlarından basketbol olanı favorim. 5-6 yıl önce offline oynamıştım galiba akşam akşam aklıma geldi geri döndüm.

Neat little concept for this indie dev to start with, a no-frills island hopping survival adventure game. The graphics and controls are nothing revolutionary, but they’re satisfying. The obstacles on the open sea are intimidating enough to keep you on your toes. I like landing on each island, upgrading the boat, swimming around for gold and those cute little souls that follow you around. It gets a bit repetitive, especially when every island has the same water hole, food table, and boat part merchants, but the game isn’t too long, so it’s forgivable. Still, there are a handful of rookie inefficiencies and errors that brought the experience down. While the coins were fun to collect, it got irritating how difficult it was to spot them in time to get out of the boat without turning your hull around. Would have been nice if the binoculars extended your vision without having to stop the boat to use them. There are also mechanics that didn’t demand much attention, like the fishing also requires that you stop the boat completely, so I didn’t find a ton of use for it. I learned one magic spell, but never figured out how to use it (not that I tried or needed to). I guess you use th…

A beautiful piece of video game art, full of melancholia and a quiet sense of hope. The narrative and themes are weaved through the simple and forgiving survival mechanics quite brilliantly. The gameplay is most enjoyable: relaxing and contemplative. The minimalistic art is gorgeous — colour is used so well to create meaning — leaving plenty of space for the player-reader to use their imagination to fill in the visual gaps. The storytelling likewise leaves space for the reader to work, but without ever being wispy or vague. Even the wide overhead viewpoint ties in with the storytelling. It is a very writerly game. The music is very pretty, but sad, eliciting deep feelings. Indeed, it’s an emotional game, dealing sensitively with depression, existential dread and the complex relationship between art and life (is art merely an escape, or where we truly find ourselves?). It is also very good on the expat experience, on the push and pull of home, and how we are all — not just expats! — running away from something. But you can never outrun yourself.

wow glad i finally took the time to play this game. introspection about depression, the soundtrack is fantastic! thank you!

Does not have any sort of Trigger Warning for Suicide, self harm, overdosing or big mentions of alcohol... Has all of the above in it.