A quiet voyage away from home
Soul Searching is a narrative survival game about leaving your homeland and sailing a small primitive boat into a world of islands, dragons, and magic. You visit islands to hear the stories of the people living there, catch fish to feed yourself, customize your boat, cast magic spells, and find ghosts. The world is open and there is no tutorial beyond the button prompts, so you set your own direction. There is no single correct path, and you might get lost for a while, but it will not take long to find your way to the end. The game is not about fighting: the most violent thing you can do is catch fish to survive. The rest is humble survival and peaceful travel across endless seas.
Playing together
Beyond the single player story mode, Soul Searching offers a randomly generated mode for 1 to 4 local players. The map is generated fresh each time, and players have to work together to survive. More players means more demand for resources, which raises the challenge, but also brings more skills to the table for staying alive at sea. The game supports 4 players on Xbox gamepads, 2 players on keyboard, and 1 player on mouse. Remote Play Together is also available, so friends can join in over a network.
What to expect before starting
The main story mode runs around 3 hours, but unlocking every achievement will take getting lost in the world for longer. The game deals with themes like isolation, searching for meaning and direction, and can lead into darker territory including depression and suicidal thoughts. The seas are not safe: dragons, killer whales, and other creatures share the water with you, and a day-night cycle affects gameplay in subtle ways. You can customize your player's appearance, including gender and sexual interest. The game is made entirely by one person over 3 years, covering all code, art, and music, which gives it a strong personal voice. It supports English and Turkish, and offers selectable control schemes.