More recently, The Sea Will Claim Everything was another example of a good game that began poorly. This point-and-click adventure starts with you trapped in a house filled with locked doors and verbose but unhelpful characters. (One of them is a guy named "The." Seriously.) There are tons of objects in the scenery (especially books and mushrooms) with witty descriptions but no utility. The quest log and inventory overflow with vaguely described items, adding to the stress and confusion.
The game felt like it was being quirky just for the heck of it, with no consideration for the player's sanity and time. The list of things I had to do to fix the house kept growing, and it seemed I would never be allowed to leave. I struggled to stay interested, or even awake. Ready to call it quits, I looked up reviews to confirm that others didn't like the game, either. But all I found were positive reviews.
So I stuck with it. I finally got to leave the house and could explore the island, though I still felt restricted and burdened. I eventually got to leave the island to explore the rest of the world. At some point, the game took on a different rhythm. My inventory items started getting used up, and I was completing quests in rapid succession. I started caring about the characters, enjoying the weirdness, and looking forward to what I'd discover next. Instead of feeling trapped and helpless, I felt powerful and useful. And towards the end of the game, instead of heading straight for the finish line, I visited every character just to see their reactions to the things I'd accomplished.
So I can recommend this game. But what's it actually about? It takes place in the "Lands of Dream," a setting conceived by the husband and wife team of Jonas and Verena Kyratzes (the former was a writer for the Talos Principle). They've already made games in the Lands of Dream, but the Sea Will Claim Everything is their first commercial release. The characters range from human to animal to biotechnological, and are drawn like pages from a children's storybook. Their lore often breaks the fourth wall. For example, when you ask this character about "Bands," his answer is a mix of real-life figures, mythology, and the game designers' own worldbuilding.
You'll learn right off the bat that the characters are being squeezed by a government that kowtows to the wealthy and powerful. It's an overtly political game that examines laissez-faire capitalism, rational thought, and transgenderism. I ultimately found it uplifting, and the experience was enhanced by the art style, good music, and zippy nagivation system. And while I didn't need a walkthrough to complete the game's story, I used one to find the game's many cool easter eggs.
If you like the idea of a point-and-click adveture game that's off-kilter and left-of-center, check this out.
