
While playing Slice of Sea, I couldn’t quite get a sense for the universe’s logic. The joy in Slice of Sea comes from exploration and experimentation, where progression is incremental - yet constant - but always fun. Feel like you’ve hit a dead end in one area after collecting a bunch of items? Start backtracking a few scenes (made easier by a plethora of fast travel points) and you’ll realize there’s an entire world you missed just by turning left instead of right. Every time Seaweed enters an area, there’s an obvious path followed by a few not so obvious ones, each with items to collect or place in their proper spot. Instead of putting items together to MacGyver some sort of inexplicable tool that only makes sense after it’s been created, Slice of Sea merely asks players to be observant and inquisitive. Paired with an ambient but expressive soundtrack that serves to heighten the entire experience, Slice of Sea looks and sounds spectacular.Īs for the puzzles, Slice of Sea has some of the best puzzles in the entire genre, hands down. There is so much excitement and detail going on in each scene that every environment feels new, no matter how many times you’ve walked through it. It’s hard to tell if the scenes are above ground or below the water’s surface at times, but I’d say that makes it all the more enchanting. The hand drawn animations are lively and constantly moving in a lifelike, mesmerizing fashion. Let’s talk aesthetics: Slice of Sea is subtly stunning. Can you help Seaweed uncover the mysteries of this world in an effort to return to their own? Of course, it’s not as simple as punching an address into a GPS and just following the directions instead, Seaweed will have to solve a slew of puzzles to make their journey home successful.

Using a sort of specialized mech suit, Seaweed is able to walk on land, traipsing through abandoned trains, dark tunnels, and sprawling cityscapes in an effort to be reunited with their kind. Slice of Sea opens up on Seaweed, an inquisitive little sea creature who has been somehow separated from his friends and family back home. Painstakingly hand drawn by Skutnk and featuring mystical music by Thumpmonks complete with a hauntingly beautiful theme song composed and performed by Cat Jahnke, Slice of Sea will pull players in with its captivating aesthetics and inviting gameplay. My only hope is that I can artfully articulate what exactly “it” is.ĭeveloped and self-published by solo indie dev Mateusz Skutnik, Slice of Sea is succinctly summed on its Steam page as a “peaceful adventure and puzzle game.” Available on Steam for $24.99, Slice of Sea has players taking on the role of a lonely little sea creature named Seaweed looking for their way home. Shocking, I know, but Slice of Sea managed to do it. But I’ll change it up a bit by saying something bold and unprecedented - I may have found a new yardstick by which to measure this genre. I am once again opening up a whimsical hand drawn point and click adventure article by restating my love for Machinarium. 18, 2021.Slice of Sea Review: If you’re looking for me, you better check under the sea Currently, the game is on sale for $22.49 until Nov. If you enjoy peaceful, beautifully hand-drawn games, make sure to check out Slice of Sea, which is now available on Steam for the regular price of $24.99. Some additional game features to mention are that the game supports keyboard and mouse controls and also has an original theme song written and performed by Cat Jahnke with an original soundtrack created by Thumpmonks. Then, he digitally colors the picture using watercolor textures to create the pleasant, vividly detailed scenic environments that we see throughout our journey in Slice of Sea.

In Skutnik’s Patreon trailer video shown below, he demonstrates his drawing process for creating the vivid world in Slice of Sea, where he starts by first drawing the game scene out manually on paper. According to Skutnik’s official website, Slice of Sea‘s development began in 2018 and took four years of development to complete, where Skutnik spent two of those years drawing the entire game by hand with pen and ink.

Slice of Sea is a unique game that incorporates hand-drawn aesthetics with video game animations. As the player, you join Seaweed on their journey home by exploring different areas, collecting items, and solving puzzles along the way. When Seaweed stumbles upon an unfamiliar world filled with caves, ruins, and run-down towns, it is your job to help them find their way back home to the sea.
