Why Am I Dead At Sea is an adventure game where you solve the mystery of your own murder. As a ghost, you will have to possess people and use them to investigate your surroundings. But in this place no one is who they seem...and everyone has a secret.
Very Positive
422 Steam reviews
| LANGUAGE | AUDIO | SUBTITLES | INTERFACE |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | — | Y | Y |
| Russian | — | Y | Y |
This game was… weird, in a lot of ways.
So on the gameplay front I actually quite liked it. This is exactly what I was hoping MURDERED SOUL SUSPECT TM would be — you’re a ghost who can possess people, read minds, get into locked rooms, manipulate objects, etc. The game seems to have been made in an RPGMaker/Wolfrpg/etc. engine (I spent way too much time trying to figure out which one and couldn’t) and has the clunkiness you’d expect from that, but aside from that I enjoyed floating around and talking to people and using different people to access different areas etc.
That said… well. There is a long-running meme in fandom culture known as the Eight Deadly Words, coined by SFF author Dorothy Jones Heydt: “I don’t care what happens to these people.” The idea is that a narrative has fundamentally failed when the reader stops caring about the characters.
I hated everyone in this game. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a cast populated by such terrible, unlikeable, whiny-ass people. While Xu and Marcurio were the worst, everyone sucked in their own way. The only person who was sympathetic was Gwen, but she spends large swaths of the game either refusing to or unable to communicate. Xu really was the worst, just insufferable. Walking around talking about how she objectively has the hardest life, ever, and it justifies her doing as many terrible things as she wants, all while the game acts like she’s a totally normal person — I have no idea how you end up writing a character like this without a hint of irony.
I initially thought the direction the game was going was that everyone was going to realize they were all so caught up in the idea that their problems were uniquely difficult only to realize that they were, literally, all in the same boat, and were better served by tackling hardship together instead of seeing each other as competition. Community as resistance etc etc. Like, this is so obviously the direction this should go that the “same boat” metaphor is right there, it literally takes place on a boat, but that just… never happens. In fact, not only do the characters never really open up to each other, they don’t grow or change or learn anything. We never even find out why Alton is so anxious and suddenly flunked school, why Donovan left the cops, why Marcurio feels like he can’t get a job anywhere else, why Paulo is psychic (???), what happened to the captain to make her take this job so suddenly, what happened to the old captain… the list goes on. And none of them learn anything from the experience — there are functionally only two endings here, and no matter how fully you solve the mystery it doesn’t change that everyone ends exactly where they started. And no one faces any consequences! Xu and Marcurio have been aiding and abetting a human trafficking operation, only technically not realizing when anyone with a functioning brainstem would have because they were sticking their fingers in their ears and going LA LA LA, and you expect me to believe they just get to walk away??
Huge swaths of the cast just repeat that they don’t care about anything that’s going on and just want to be left alone, a baffling decision, and no one seems concerned that there’s no one to drive the boat, it’s just bonkers. The only likeable person is actually the ghost, but the silent-protag thing means that we don’t really get to engage with them — the whole thing would have been better with, say, between-chapter cutscene flashbacks showing the captain investigating. She seemed cool, but her being dead before we get there means we can’t attach ourselves to her.
And the endings were so annoying. There’s no way to save right before the final confrontation, you have to go through a long, unskippable sequence each time, and infuriatingly, despite claiming there are five endings, there are only two — I was SO irritated to go through all the effort of seeing the best one only to find out it was exactly the same as the other 2 partially-good endings. Though that no one reacts differently no matter what happens does feel on brand for these terrible, terrible people.
More irritatingly, the game just… never follows up on Paolo and the captain, lol? In the bad ends, you see Paolo as like a vegetable or whatever, but in the good ones you don’t see him at all?? And in none of the endings do we find out what happened to the ghost. Is she still haunting the ship…? Did she just vanish after the denouement? Did she ascend into heaven? Is she with Paolo? Who the ♥♥♥♥ knows, she’s only the main character.
The plot here was decent. I found it to be predictable and it was clear who the culprit was early. I continue to not enjoy sexual abuse as a way to signal a story is serious without any examination of the culture that produces it; I find it both emotionally manipulative and dismissive. The game seemed to want to say something about mental health, and its portrayal of Gwen and Darryl were good and sensitive, but it couldn’t help but edge into “you can cure PTSD with ghosts” stuff which is always irritating.
But honestly the biggest problem is just how completely unlikable the characters were. The biggest disappointment for me was that in the worst ending some of them still survive, I wanted them all shot down.
It's broken. Characters can get randomly, permanently stuck in ways that block access to other parts of the map, and this will completely softlock you. There is no fix, and the dev likely never will resolve the issue.
Very underrated, loved all the characters and getting the endings.
Hidden gem; absolutely LOVED it
the story doesnt hold back; its a fantastic mystery with different endings
If you dont find all the clues you only get an ending with the limited knowledge you already had;
for the "true ending" you really need to search every corner and piece everything together;
This game is really well crafted and deserves way more attention!
Do NOT pass this game over! I was totally blown away by how compelling the characters and central mysteries were. Worth every penny and more.
10/10 СУПЕР уникальный нетривиальный детектив, где "в главной роли" все персонажи, отлично прописанные причем. И кот Солнышко. Пойди и разберись, в чем дело!
Я ожидал от этой игры всё, что получил: завораживающий сюжет, интересную детективную историю, раскрытие персонажей и отличную атмосферу с музыкой! Если вы ценитель сюжетных пиксельных игр, которые цепляют именно историей и исследованием, а не экшеном и боёвкой, как в RPG, то эта игра вам идеально подойдёт.
Думаю, если вам понравились игры вроде OneShot или Undertale, то стоит опробовать и эту. Очень советую.
big brain gamiong
Wonderful narrative, great dialogue. The mystery is surprisingly tense. Character interactions aren't cringe, they are almost organic at times, but sometimes are so overly aggressive and rude that it throws you off a bit. Short and sweet, great game.
Yeah, it's pretty good.
WOULD YOU,
COULD YOU,
ON A BOAT?
- Dr. Seuss
Great mystery game with an intricate story. It's like clue, but you're solving your own murder!
A really fun sequel! I adored the original game, and this was a great continuation.
Shockingly good and dark, probably my favorite mystery game I’ve played so far that really rewards you and puts forth a strong effort to both surprise but guide you to the correct answer. I can almost imagine this starting as an ‘Earthbound but for adults’ idea for how real it’s wiling to make moments, the sadness it’s willing to explore. For it’s cute aesthetic and art, a haunting isolation was quite to grip me as I played and wouldn’t let go until all was over. My only complaint being the lack of closure that came in most ending in regards to the main character. But don’t let that steer you away from excellent experience.
I really love the ghost possession mechanics and the mystery-solving in this game. I feel like it is a unique experience that I haven't gotten from other games. Lots of quirky characters! Definitely one I like to go back to!
Meritevolissimo anche giocato nel 2025. Bassissimo il prezzo per un prodotto di questa qualità.
Изначально недооценила эту игру, но она и в правду крутая и займет минимум несколько вечеров, очень приятно было погрузиться в маленькие истории, плывущих на корабле пассажиров, спустя пол года вспоминаю эту игру - для меня это хороший показатель)
Увлекательное и милое детективное приключение на один вечер. Интересный геймплей, в котором нужно расследовать тайну собственной смерти. Любимые пиксели, различные персонажи и необычные механики. В общем, попробуйте, финал вас удивит!
Убийца не садовник.
I played this 6 years ago and still think about it sometimes. A steal for $5.
Es cortito pero entrañable. Los personajes tienen mucho carisma y no son fáciles de olvidar. Es de estos juegos que agradeces meterte a ciegas, aunque solo si te gusta el tema detectivesco y eres hábil uniendo pistas. No es que tenga una dificultad muy elevada pero a veces te puedes llegar a atascar y tener que ir probando a hablar con todos. Lo recomendaría completamente si te llama la atención.
Jeu d’enquête super, avec des personnages bien écrits et touchants.
Dommage que ça ne soit pas plus connu !
i'm speechless. the entire char cast and the story they make up is heavily reminiscent of one of my own short stories to me actually but this goes far deeper adding in the mystery element to spice things up
i am prolly dumb and some stuff might've been obvious tbh but to me it just wasn't. so the intrigue kinda stuck with me till the end.
magnificent
awful
Why Am I Dead At Sea is the most unique game I've played as of late. The game is a bit rough around the edges, needing some polish to fix bugs here and there (minus the fact the game is almost 10 years old), but its personality and cleverness stands out above its faults.
The game does have a lot of reading, but it's worth sticking through for the excellent cast of characters. The dialogue is wonderfully written, and each of their personalities feels realistic and fun. My only other gripe is that at times it felt there were too many dialogue options, which was starting to get tiring by the end. However, that was probably because I was exhausting every option instead of thoughtfully selecting them.
If you're a fan of murder mysteries, give this game a go!
This is of the best mystery yarns I’ve read/played in ages, with a fun Earthbound-esque visual style and fun chiptune soundtrack.
I picked it up thinking I’d just give it a try, and then devoured the entire game in a single day over the course of 5 hours. If I hadn’t already stayed up past midnight, I’d have unlocked the last 4 achievements.
Exceptionally written, uniquely designed, and surprisingly moving, this dark tale is a STEAL at $5. If you were interested enough to click on the listing, just buy it. Right now. Do it, you coward.
Fun game, I like the story.
Cool game with good characters and story that you'll want to see through. It's held back by a somewhat underwhelming ending, a few stupid puzzles, and annoying bugs (music randomly cutting out, stuck out of bounds). Still worth it tho
What a cute little gem of a game. "Why am I Dead at Sea" is a very interesting title. Kind of reminds you of what anime titles look like today with their long structure. But this murder mystery pixel game is worth a one time play through by most people.
How did I come to play this? Well I was browsing through my inventory and forgot I had bought this game to gift. So I just ended up gifting it to myself 9 years later, and boy what a rabbit hole I went down.
You wake up as a ghost, someone murdered you aboard this ship. Who you are, is a mystery at first. A small boy is like the narrator as he greets you appearing to him to tell you how to be a ghost. You possess people + one cute little kitty cat, to learn about how you died. Each person you possess has a special ability. Some can tell what others are thinking (scary some of the visuals of the minds were), while others can look inside keyholes on doors, see inside of pockets or scan the rooms for clues. While some just are there to enhance the arc of the characters you take control of. Each person aboard the ship has a struggle of their own and the more you learn of these struggles, the more down to earth this game feels as humans with similar flaws.
Oh but don't forget, you're trying to catch a murderer + solve a mystery of who dun it! One girl is paranoid, and you come to find out why in a sad way. Another is a writer, but her fate has been sealed, seriously depressing. Oh and the old guy on the deck, man...I did not see that coming at all. These are some examples of what you'll find. Each character was crafted so well in terms of character build, not two of them are ever alike. Their growth is seen throughout the game and was done extremely well, I was rooting for some people while I said to myself a few times "I wouldn't mind If they disappeared" as the feels are real. It was why this made me sit down & want to complete the game after my first hour in.
The music in this game is also very well done. I didn't mind it at all and it would change up based on the character you were controlling and how the room or person in that room made you feel. Some were creepy, some were peaceful, it really built the world better.
The progression in this game is linear but you could miss important clues if you don't pay attention before progressing to the next chapter. If you get stuck, the kid in the bedroom who helped you out, will give you clues. It doesn't hold your hand at all, he's just there if you get stuck. In terms of how you progress, you don't just get options to possess just anyone. You first have to unlock a character, then there's an option on almost all characters to "fully possess" them which is like having a super power with new forms of dialogue for others. Make sure you don't miss any speech bubbles above other characters heads. That's how you know you haven't heard everything. For some characters you'll need to click on objects or read a diary. While some you'll need a key or a password for. So it's worth talking and looking through things. This game isn't hard to learn at all, nor is it going to just be a walk in the park. Let's just say it was where it was meant to be. Just right in terms of speed and difficulty.
The game I finished within 4 1/2 hours but because I wanted to get all achievements, my total time was 5.8 hours. And I was only partially right on who done it, so that made me happy. I highly encourage a guide for achievement hunting because you could miss a few things. For the most part I only needed it for the ending achievements in the final chapter. But the true ending was crazy and knowing no one was safe leading up to it, was thrilling. I'd recommend you to try this game and for $5 dollars, it's well worth it just for the narrative part. I feel some could say this is a good game for inspiring people with creativity.
I played this for 5 hours straight. So it's like EarthBound but on steam, right?
IDK HOW TO GET ANY OTHER ENDING OTHER THAN LIVING NIGHTMARE
the game is underrated af needs more attention
Not a really fun game. It's buggy and I lost all of my progress because I decided to posses the cat to go the meeting on the second floor. Shame on the dev for not fixing the bugs and releasing this game as it is.
I'll admit the writing is excellent in some places with the stock characters. Pity that the bugs ruined my progress.
If you're looking for a visual novel though if you're willing to overlook the bugs then you found it.
Jogão, fiquei envolvido com a história do começo ao fim. A soundtrack, ambientação e os diálogos são muito bem feitos. Cada personagem é único e com histórias muito interessantes. Passei um ótimo tempo tentando solucionar o mistério :D
(think I fell asleep with this on once - playing time is a little inflated prob more like 4-5 hours)
Will start out by saying - I don't really think this is my cup of tea. I spent more time frustrated than having fun, but I still want to leave a positive review here because perhaps someone else who doesn't have the same gaming quirks I do will find some enjoyment in it. Most of the game is really well done.
Great concept. The art is great, the faux-retro pixel art style popular with a lot of indie titles. The music is in the same style, nice and crunchy, different characters have different themes which is cool. The Ship has a lot of character, and the actual characters are all well designed and distinct. Their personal stories vary in quality (none are bad per se, some just really cliche) but the good ones are good. The mystery itself is intriguing.
Now here's where it started being more frustrating than fun to me, and where other's opinions may differ. The actual gameplay is straight out of 90s adventure games in the sense that you have to rub everything on everything, but in this sense rubbing everything on everything is just talking to people over and over with different people until you finally find a fresh, precious morsel of new dialogue. The perceptive shifts sound cool until you realize instead of exhausting all dialogue options with a character and then moving on to the next, you now have to do that with every character you can possibly control. Then later you unlock full possessions which just means you now have a whole new thing to rub on everything. Most of your time will be spent wondering around the ship as different characters, trying to figure out just who in the hell you're supposed to talk to to trigger progression. It's not so bad early, when your possessions are limited, but by Chapter 4 it just becomes a mess of guess work and walking.
Speaking of walking, most of the characters are painfully slow. No sprint. Your ghost form is way faster than anything else, but characters hang out in specific locations, meaning most of the time to interact with a character as a character, you have some walking to do. One character goes faster with his ability, but it's drugs so it makes your screen all fuzzy and annoying to look at.
Which segways me into the abilities, which I feel are wasted potential. Other than one allowing you to sequence break (Gwen's peeking ability unlocks the room for you as a ghost, allowing you to enter rooms a chapter early) they're all fairly useless or have very specific uses.
Finally, the ending is such "you have to do these specific things in this specific order" 90s adventure game ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ I was pulling my hair out. I don't care, I used a guide. You will too, because the entire game trains you to exhaust every dialogue option, but now, at the very end, the solution is to use specific dialogue in a specific order with specific characters, AFTER making sure you get the easily missable dialogue that could make it impossible to get the good ending. It's so 90s it hurts.
Ultimately, that's why this review is a recommend. If you love 90s adventure game ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ minus moon logic but with an extra heaping of rub everything on everything followed by a side of "do this specific thing in this specific order or else. and better make sure you found all the missable stuff!" then you will probably love this. I hate that kind of thing, so the back half of the game became a slog to me. The mystery was interesting enough that I wanted to see what happened, and the art and music was good, so I powered through, but I was very close to quitting at points.
Also, save often, characters can become stuck and you can fly out of the map.
Suprisingly good game
Something bad is going to happen here. To the people on this ship. I can sense it.
yipeee!!! the murder mystery, where did the kid go?
Excellent story, great characters. I liked the possession mechanic as well. If you like murder mysteries, try this one out.
A fascinating gameplay loop with hints of narrative brilliance, although somewhat marred by a lackluster ending which felt vaguely insensitive to some of the themes discussed. I recommend playing if you're a game developer looking for inspiration, or are just generally interested in shorter indie games with unique mechanics, but I wouldn't consider this a "must-play" either.
I played this many years ago, and many years ago I found the 1 man developer blog and his reflections (and frustrations) on (IIRC, the lack of success vs how much effort it took) on this game.
It is a tragedy, as this is a good Earthbound-inspired RPG that has more depth and character then games with million+ dollar budgets and 100s of people working on it.
Video games will survive and go forward as a medium with people who have a vision and passion for their project like this irrespective of money/resources, not the soulless corpos who are doing a pretty good job dragging it into the mud more and more every year.
One needs to be disparaged and the other elevated.
Incredibly intriguing adventure where you are a ghost trying to figure out how you died in a ship. This is superbly written, with lots of rich dialogue. It was fascinating how the twists and turns of the plot turn this story into something really grim and dark. If you like narrative games, you can't go wrong with this gem.
The game was fun. But, there was way too much walking back and forth and speaking to the same characters over and over... and over, and over again... to "unlock" everything and completely clear the game, tbh. It got tiresome and a bit tedious. Also the "tie-ins to the original flash game" served only one purpose: to inform me there was such a thing. Shouldn't have been achievements, especially two separate ones, if the game wasn't going to make anything of it imo...
But, that's a self-imposed annoyance after all, so I can't hold it against the game. The story was fun, and took surprising turns. i actually enjoyed piecing together the mysteries of what happened, I do recommend it!
The mystery behind it is wonderful, and the game is tons of fun! My only issue is that I encountered a number of bugs to the point I had to restart twice! Still, I'd recommend it.
This game went well above my expectations- it has a charming style which serves a fun plot and likable characters. I enjoyed the writing, it was a good balance of humorous and intense. This is a murder mystery game, so much of the game-play consists of talking to people and confirming facts, but each character has an interesting mechanic of their own that makes the process more dynamic. Like all entries in the murder mystery genre, I had a much better time playing with friends than on my own.
The puzzles (term used loosely) were not unreasonable, and the in-game hint system was helpful. We never needed a guide, thankfully, though there was a good bit of trial and error. Nothing egregious though. My one issue: The stairs on the ship can be quite buggy if you step onto them wrong- I did get stuck on them after the transition screen a few times. Since this game doesn't autosave, it was a bit of a pain, so I would suggest saving often to avoid any backtracking.
This game! where do I even start. This game is a wonderful mystery story full of twists and turning perspectives, literally! I adore this game's bottle setting, learning about everyone on this mysterous boat with you while finding out more about your identity in the process.The game has a very light-hearted Mother-esc sense of humor but is serious when it needs to be creating a perfect balance and that tone really brings you close to the cast of quirky characters around you.I highly recommend this game to Mother 3 fans specifically due to the constantly changing central location, tone, and music even this game offers.If you play this game, make sure to go in blind for the best experience!
MUITO BOM! super recomendaria se vc curte mistérios e investgação, além do mais tem um plot incrível no final!! sinceramente não sei como esse jogo não é tao conhecido, merecia mais reconhecimento! esse jogo é a pura prova de que não se deve confiar em ninguém. amei :)
One of my all time favorite games. The plot, the characters, the music, the ambiance. All of it is so full of emotion and mystery behind every moment. If you have the time to try it out and enjoy murder mysteries, I 100% recommend this one.
Fun if you like murder mysteries and detective work. There's a couple glitches with movement and NPC pathing can be frustrating (they can block doorways or box you in). Saving is also annoying because, when you unpossess certain characters, they tend to run away to their usual path by the time you've finished saving. Game can definitely benefit from certain quality of life changes.
I am so angry that this game isn't more popular.
Wonderful story with many twists, definitely worth checking out
Really interesting mystery game, every character including the main character was really well-written, twists upon twists, it goes places I wouldn't have expected.
A couple of bugs, like some text lines being white or grey when they shouldn't, but overall quite polished.
There are some quite dark themes without it being gratuitous.
If you make another game in this series, I would recommend the 'full control' mode to be an expansion of the regular dialogue trees rather than a separate set of dialogue options that you can use while controlling anyone. It was quite strange to see X character ask if they though X was guilty, for example.
Also, even if you can only uncover the mystery using your ghost powers, it'd be nice if you didn't have to use direct possession to incriminate and catch someone. It just feels like a bit of a cop out.
Score: 8.5/10
It is a murder mystery where you have to solve your own murder. Really good game, I wish there was a bit more to at least one the endings where you got a bit more information about what happens to you and the hostages after everything wraps up, other than that solid game!
alton kicks the bucket - best ending 10/10
The mystery genre is a strange one when it comes to games. It is at the same time a common genre and yet one that doesn't seem to have very many good examples to pull from. Most simply have you follow a red line through the aesthetics of a mystery, without much input from the player themself. Well, I'm happy to say that Why Am I Dead At Sea (quite a mouthful of a title) is not one of those games. Here we have instead a great example of how to do mystery right – with depth, maturity, creativity and a crew full of ogres.
With ogres I of course mean the Shrek kind, because these characters sure have layers. You are a ghost looking to solve your own murder, and the main way you do this is by possessing the people on the ship. You do so by getting to know them, as the game puts it, which might lead you to believe that you know everything there is to know about them. What is great is that you won’t. Seeing into their thoughts, snooping through their room and even walking about in their skin is just not enough, because there can still be a surprise that you didn’t see coming, a secret they hid from you. This game really understands that in order to make a mystery game interesting, the characters can’t just lie to each other, they have to lie to the player as well.
On top of that, there is just a lot of details put into the cast. Every character has their own text scroll “voice”, their own music and their own thoughts and skills. They even walk differently, with some characters walking faster or slower than others, and they move around the ship in a way that makes sense for them and the story at large. All of them have different ways of doing things and they’re all useful in solving the problems the game throws at you. That’s not even mentioning that they all have their personal stories to share, all with set up and great pay off. All of this makes these characters more than just colourful, more than just charismatic and quirky; it makes them feel like people. It’s simply great.
There are more positives I can list, from dialogue to plot structure to the resolution of it all, but I’m afraid I’ll spoil the experience of getting surprised throughout the game. Instead, I will mention a couple of flaws. One, the movement is a bit clunky, especially in your spirit form. It’s not a big problem, but it can feel a bit irritating when you’re chasing someone that you want to talk to or possess. Two, there are bugs in this game, mainly one I had the misfortune to run into twice where I got stuck in a wall when climbing the stairs, soft-locking the game and requiring a restart. Save your game, and do it often! I learned this the hard way, having to replay some sections because of the bug.
Overall though, Why Am I Dead At Sea is a great mystery game, requiring you to actually solve the riddles with only limited guidance and the possibility of failure to keep you on your toes. It deserves more attention than it has gotten and should be what other games in the genre aspire to be. Play it. You won’t regret it.
Game-breaking bugs prevented me from completing the game. I tried looking on the discussion board for help but someone else had a problem a year ago with no response. Reloading did not fix it, so it looks like this is just unplayable.
This was not the only bug I ran into, either (another placed me out of bounds and forced me to have to restart from my last save).
Good adventure game! Good story! Finished in about 7-8 hours. Worth a play through!
Why Am I Dead at Sea puts a very interesting spin on the murder mystery genre that blows the quintessential body drop clear out of the water! You are the body! More to the point, you’re the soul that has left the body that is presumably dead, and it’s your soul mission (see what I did there?!) to figure out who dunnit!
The gameplay is pretty straightforward. You play as Smilla, the spirit of the dead captain, and influence the thoughts and actions of the other people aboard the ship in order to uncover the gruesome truth behind your apparent murder. To accomplish this, you can possess the passengers and crew members and steer conversations and search for clues. Now, Why Am I Dead at Sea is actually a spiritual successor (I really should stop, but I won’t!) to the devs’ original flash game simply called Why Am I Dead. This is relevant because there are some major quality of life improvements to the possession mechanic. For starters, you can’t just go hopping into anyone’s body all willy-nilly, ya silly-billy! No, you must unlock the ability to do so by learning vulnerable secrets about the rest of the cast of characters in order initially to gain limited control over them and eventually total control. You must have the characters interact with one another, as well as the environment in order to accomplish this.
Seems like a perfect recipe for f<3<3<3 around and find out, don’t it? On the contrary! To help guide you, you have a spiritually prescient kid named Paulo who has locked himself in his room and can only be interacted with when you're in spirit form. In fact, he’s the one who helped you materialize in the realm of the living in the first place! So, it’s only fair that he also provides hints in order to steer you in the right direction. And I’ve gotta say, these hints are really well-written. For the most part, the devs do an excellent job of doling out cryptic hints that offer great satisfaction when you figure out just what you’re supposed to do next and why. There were one or two moments where I had absolutely no clue, but I’d rather that than an in-game line saying, “Hey, stupid. Go look in the thing and do the thing.” And I doubt anyone could be perfect at this, but this team got d<3<3<3-near close to perfection in my opinion.
To aid you further in figuring out what to do next, the devs also added a feature where each character has their own unique ability that is relevant to the story, as well as to their overall characterization. I will say, though, some of these are more useful than others. That being said, it’s a really interesting feature that encourages further immersion in the world of the game. Along the way, the other characters also reveal information about the presumably dead captain, and as you learn more about who you’re really playing as, her spirit starts to materialize more and her ability to interact with and impact the environment around the rest of the characters increases. F<3<3<3ing brilliant!
There are so many good things to say about this game. The writing is strong. There are some really nice twists in the plot that, while you may or may not see them coming, d<3<3<3 will you be thrilled to be on one hell of a ride! But the shining star of the writing would have to be the characterization. Each character has so much depth, which is a crowning achievement, considering there are 11 characters (including the captain and Paulo). But oh my goodness! Some of these characters and the shtuff they’ve been through had me absolutely weeping and fighting back the desire to Persona 4 my way through my computer screen to give them the biggest effing hug my spindly arms could muster! The amount of care and attention that went into crafting each character pays off immensely in making this an intriguing murder mystery. Every character has motivations for being on this ship, and none of them are willing to divulge everything, let alone be truthful even when it’s apparent that someone actually murdered the captain.
Another strong element in this game is the atmosphere. If there are any retro fans out there, just think Earthbound. Everything from the text boxes to the character designs to the midi-style soundtrack just screams retro. Heck, I’m sold!
Finally, let’s talk about quite possibly the best part of this game. The soundtrack. I’m a bit of a music nerd. Some might say snob. Those people will be dealt with accordingly. But my God! This soundtrack is incredible. Bill Kiley does an amazing job of staying on brand with the retro vibes while still creating complex musical compositions that do a whole lot of heavy lifting! Each character has his or her own musical theme, and none of them are just a simple motif that gets repeated ad nauseum. We have actual instrumentation to bless our earholes! For example, Marcurio’s theme has voices singing in a very dramatic operatic style, which is actually a very relevant choice once you learn a little bit more about what makes that guy tick.
And can I just gush about Donovan’s theme? That is my new pump-up jam! And the pacing of when you actually have unfettered access to that theme is perfection itself! Without spoiling anything, Donovan becomes accessible at a very crucial moment in the game’s plot, and having his theme play as you’re figuring things out and piecing the mystery together was a brilliant choice.
I don’t say this often. Maybe only once before in one of my reviews. But this game deserves a higher price tag. The game itself takes several hours to complete, especially if, like me, you really immerse yourself in the mystery and settle in for a thrilling ride. On top of that, there are multiple endings. And, like, the overall presentation – the way various elements, all so strong in their own rights, come together and crystallize so magnificently – is so satisfying to me both as a retro video game fan and as a murder mystery fan. Seriously, how can I give you more of my money?!
This was a suspenseful mystery game with a really creative and unique gameplay mechanic! The ability to possess different people in order to solve the mystery made this a story that could not be told in any other medium. The characters all had a good amount of depth, and the story got pretty dark at times but never felt gratuitously edgy. If you like mysteries, definitely give this game a try!
My only complaint is that there's a really annoying glitch where your character gets stuck in the wall between two floors. This happened about five times when I was playing, so I'd recommend saving often so you don't lose a ton of progress.
Я многого ожидал уже от постера самой игры и мои ожидания во многом оправдались. Геймплейные фичи очень неординарны и интересны, персонажи отлично прописаны и музыкальная тема отлично сочетается с каждым из них. Сопереживаешь героям до последнего и содрагаешься от столь разных финалов. Вообщем , самородок искусства
Yes, god yes please play it
Has its fair share of bugs (there was one point where during a key point in dialogue immediately before the ending, I teleported outside of the walls of the ship), but nothing that a bit of fiddling around with the game wouldn't fix. Let down by the graphics a bit, especially in the endings, where characters can literally witness people being shot directly in front of them without a single emotion on their faces. A lot of it felt kind of rushed, but maybe I just prefer a slower pacing. Also would have benefited from a few quality of life improvements - I never quite got the hang of saving, and would've also preferred not having to detour to the dining room every time I wanted to save, and an ability to skip dialogue would've helped immensely, especially when playing the final confrontation 5 times for all the endings. I suppose some mysteries always go unanswered, but I would've liked more closure on the player character - do they pass on? Is their body ever found? Maybe it's a function of the possession system, like in Ghost Trick, but it weirdly doesn't feel like the player character is at all that fleshed out.
However, for the most part, despite all this, the game really worked! I found the mysteries compelling, I liked the influence/possession system. I enjoyed learning more about these characters, especially Quella and Darryl (although I wish more characters had the psychological confrontations that Darryl and Gwen had, I also get that they had a LOT more going on psychologically than the rest of the non-villainous main cast), and I liked the power system. Kind of like Disco Elysium, where you're brought in to investigate one dead body and suddenly you're talking to cryptids and trying to resolve decades old political beef, this is one of those games that starts off with a fairly small scale premise (solve your own murder) and then branches out substantially by the end. If you can look past some of the flaws, which I clearly did since I played this game to 100% completion, I think there's a really neat little game here. It's fairly brief and inexpensive, so I'd recommend giving it a shot for anyone into short closed room mysteries that go a little off the rails at the end.
Edgy garbage.
This game is CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED. It is legitamtely one of the more interesting and charming games on Steam that I've encountered in my years using this platform for gaming, and II can't fathom how it could not be more of a popular game. It is one of the few mystery-oriented games that actually made me care about figuring out the truth behind not only the player's death, but about everything else going on in the game's story. It also reminds me of Ghost Trick, both in premise and in feel., though both go in vastly different directions. The characters, story, and concepts are more than enough to warrant this game being more popular, to the point that I would consider it a criminal offense to not give it a try, especially for its price.
gute story, gute charactere, sehr interessantes prinzip.
teilweise etwas verwirrend was man tuen muss, aber eher selten.
1-2 bugs gibt es, also am besten immer mal wieder speichern.
8,5/10
一个推理游戏吧！还可以！
Starts as a cute Earthbound-esque ghosty game and quickly evolves into an intense 999-esque murder mystery. Really wasn't a fan of any of the endings (the answers to the twists & the means of getting there were satisfying, but the endings themselves felt extremely abrupt with multiple loose ends unaddressed and basically no time to emotionally process the ramifications of the culprits), but overall this was an very well-written character adventure game. Check it out if you're a fan of 999 and/or Maniac Mansion.
A very enjoyable whodunit with an unexpectedly heavy weight to its characters. The ending is a mess, but I think the overall experience is worth the price of admission.
Очень интересная игра.
10 из 10
Saving is awkward, but the game is cute so I forgive it
So why AM I dead at sea?
short whodunit kind of games, cool story, if anyone wanna play detectives this game is cool
If you like games with a story and character development, you will enjoy this. Some parts of the gameplay mechanics were frustrating, but the music, the art, and the atmosphere make it more than worth it. Some very sad and heartfelt moments and genuine chills.
Więc tak: jesteś martwy, w morzu. Jako że twoje zwłoki szczęśliwie nie leżą specjalnie daleko, twój duch wciąż może zasuwać przez mały wycieczkowy statek. Pasażerowie go nie lubią, załoga nienawidzi, każdy chce tylko dotrzeć do portu i znaleźć wreszcie święty spokój. Nie masz znowu tak dużo czasu, by odkryć, kim byłeś za życia i dlaczego je tak gwałtownie zakończono.
Co jest HOT:
+ oryginalny system opierający się na opętaniach, wykorzystywaniu umiejętności (swoich oraz cudzych) i roszadach bohaterów;
+ bardzo duży nacisk na poznawanie bohaterów, ich charakterów, motywacji, celów;
+ "karty" obrazujące stan mentalny postaci przez symboliczne, proste wizualia i zdawkowe zdania - elegancki sposób na przekazanie wiele o obsadzie bez wykładania kawy na ławę, potrafi wziąć z zaskoczenia;
+ nagradzanie gracza za bycie drobiazgowym;
+ detektywistyczny, nerwowy finał;
+ dołujący, melancholijny klimat z przebłyskami spokojnej nadziei, gdzie najlepsze zakończenie (którego dorwanie jest bardzo oczyszczające) może być tylko słodko-gorzkie.
Co WIESZ, TO ZALEŻY:
~ to jest przygodówka bez przedmiotów i puzzli: cała robota detektywistyczna sprowadza się głównie do uzyskiwania informacji przez opętanie odpowiedniej osoby, by porozmawiała z inną odpowiednią osobą;
~ gra ma dość niespieszne tempo, przed trzecim aktem akcja dość powoli się rozwija.
A co NOT:
- jak na grę, która wymaga takiego przemieszczania się w tę i z powrotem po piętrach - tak jakby nie pomyślano o jakimś przycisku do biegania;
- muzyka nie zawsze pasuje klimatem do tego, co się dzieje na ekranie;
- dlaczego nic nie ma w toaletach, dlaczego nikt zgodnie z tradycją nie schował klucza w kiblu;
- rozumiem, o co chodziło w tym zabiegu w kontekście oczekiwań i założeń gracza, ale jednak odcięcie od systemu wskazówek w takim momencie było dość... niesprzyjające, zwłaszcza że to etap, w którym łatwo utknąć.
"Why Am I Dead At Sea" pozytywnie mnie zaskoczyło - przede wszystkim melancholijnym klimatem ze szczególnym posmakiem beznadziei, gdzie bohaterowie uwikłani w poważne problemy i traumy wciąż mogą znaleźć coś pięknego. Historie i relacje postaci szczerze mnie obchodziły, odkryło każdy dialog i sekrecik dla samej radości odkrywania, a system przygodówkowy skupiający się wydobywaniu informacji jest oryginalny i jakby pode mnie. Mam nadzieję, że autor jeszcze nie odpuścił tworzenia gier i można liczyć na kolejny tytuł z podobną mechaniką.
A great little murder mystery game, the Mother 3 style graphics hooked me in. There were one or two points where I was completely stuck on how to progress from there being unintuitively/arbitrarily specific solutions to a problem and had to look up a hint, but it's still worth experiencing the story
Cool game
An interesting mystery to solve, multiple character viewpoints, and unlocking progress along the way. You'll like this if you liked Oxenfree or like the character backstories of Stardew Valley.
really enjoyed the first 3 chapters
the 4th one is not so good
endings didn't deliver [spoiler] best boy dies either way [/spoiler]
the music is great tho
also
[spoiler] who tf was that voice in the bathroom? [/spoiler]
The story is pretty well written, you'll find plot twists many times. The characters are so different from each other yet unique in their own way, they all have something they want to tell. The graphics are Earthbound-like, simple but beautiful. Moreover, the music and the speech sound add up a lot for the overall atmosphere. In case you are not sure yet, you should really play this game :)
У всех в жизни есть скелеты в шкафу, а я просто Альтон который ничего не понимает и просто любит игры и музыку. Персонажи 12 из 10, прям как жизни
Why Am I Dead At Sea is a mystery game as exciting as it is nostalgic. I played through this gem over five years ago, and just finished a second complete playthrough, reminding me of how great this game truly is. I was a huge fan of both the pixel graphics and chiptune soundtracks, though this sort of thing really depends on the person. Nevertheless, the pacing and storytelling was excellent, really giving each character some satisfying development as the mystery unfolded. All that for only five bucks? What a steal.
its just good ima be honest. mystery and fun, played this for days, was my favorite game for a bit.
This was a great game with a really unique way of character building. 8/10
Incredible writing, a BOPPIN' soundtrack, and a steal for the price. This game keeps you on your toes and does an amazing job at character building. For such a simple game, its an incredible one. I'm not quite done, but I am loving it.
TW after 5 hours in: there are discussions/mentions of self-harm and suicide.
this game is very good!
Really cute game overall in terms of story and gameplay.
Also the music is pretty neat. Can't really complain much about anything.
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ how is this game not famous it's incredible
this plot is so good, i can't express how intrigued i got with the plot while playing this, the mechanic of possessing people to talk with others so see their reactions is absurdly good, it makes for so much options of dialogue, it's absurd how much thought this has been put through
Good story, even better backgrounds!
Easy to get all achievements.
Highly recommended.
Why Am I Dead At Sea is the true thematic and spiritual successor to EarthBound and Mother 3, unfairly overshadowed by Undertale, released only 4 months after this game. But that's neither here nor there. What matters is that this game is a story-telling masterpiece; a simultaneously disturbing and heart-wrenching character study that examines the struggles and horrors that occur during our everyday lives that, more often than not, we are completely oblivious to. The narrative forces players to question their own place in the world as well as those of others around them.
The game revolves around you, a ghost aboard the S.S. Douce Amere, possessing the ship's passengers in order to uncover clues about your death through initiating conversations with other characters. At the same time, you will learn more about these characters' personalities, motivations and personal lives. In essence, the gameplay loop boils down to interacting with characters and objects. Thankfully, the cast of this game is well-developed, multifaceted and realistic, and by the end, the player's connection with all of them will be so strong that they will feel like real people. All of this is accompanied by beautiful pixel graphics in the same style as EarthBound/Mother and a soulful, haunting soundtrack that is just as varied, engaging and touching as the characters themselves.
I know the term "hidden gem" is tossed around a lot nowadays and has lost some of its meaning as a result. However, if there is one game that truly fits the definition of "hidden gem", it's this one. Peltast Software have created a work of art with this game. I'm not sure where they are or what they're up to now, but I sincerely hope to see more from them in the future.
In short, this is the best book I, and hopefully you, will ever play.
its good!
This is an indie game that I bought for only $5 and it became one of my favorite games of all time. I've 100%'ed this game and gotten all achievements and endings and its the best mystery game I've ever played. While playing this game, you'll see that almost every single character is insanely interesting and it could honestly be any of them. Though it seems light, it is pretty dark for a five dollar pixel indie game. One piece of advice I have for everyone playing this game is that there are different endings and chances are that you wont fully solve the mystery and get the first picture in one playthrough. Since playthroughs are pretty short I would recommend playing a second time and consulting a guide if necessary (make sure it doesnt spoil anything) rather than just looking up what you think you missed because its a great plottwist/ending. TLDR: I cant recommend this game enough
One of my favourite video game mystery thrillers, the mechanics are unique and provide an interesting view into the psychology of the characters.
Really great music, creative story. If you like the style of the Mother series, you'll love this game.
I would have preferred to recommend this game. It was fascinating, the mechanics are something I've never seen before, and I always like to support games that do something different. For the price, it was well worth it so if you're even a little curious then I would suggest you check it out. The characters are fleshed out and interesting and I found something compelling about each one (yes, even that one), and the game tackles many dark themes with respect for them. (My only sore point there was thinking one of the guys had a husband for a hot second and getting really excited, but then it was a predictable plot element that was well handled, but extremely played out and unoriginal.)
That said, the bugs absolutely kill it. I enjoyed the quick movement speeds, but I lost out on progress constantly because I got stuck or characters got stuck on geometry and couldn't make it to locations where I needed them. There was a really solid hint system towards the beginning of the game that I enjoyed, but towards the end things kind of fell apart and lost the consistent thread of revelation, so it became this chore of "warg into X, check for dialogue, warg into Y, check for dialogue, warg into Z, check for dialogue, warg back into X," rinse repeat, until I looked up a walkthrough to discover that some dialogue cues actually weren't showing up for me to start with. To top it all off, when I finally got to the end, the game crashed on the final cutscene.
So this review is being posted in the heat of frustration and disappointment and I may soften it later, but having to look up the ending on YouTube because the game won't run is I think a tragic cap-off to a game this otherwise nuanced and exceptional. I would still say buy it, it's not expensive and it supports a game of rare style and quality (apart from its shortcomings), just be aware going in that these frustrating moments exist and you may get very unlucky with your finale to this experience. It at least seems like that largely hasn't been the case.
As much as I'd like to, I can't recommend this game as-is. I encountered glitches where my character was stuck out of bounds after going up or down stairs, and lost progress several times. That, combined with the lack of quality-of-life features in terms of getting all the endings, meant I was fighting the game more than I was playing it.
It's good when it works, but it's too broken to work consistently.
Holy molly, Why Am I Dead At Sea beated my every expectation. It's a short game, just around 4 hours of gameplay for me, but it's very good!
Word of caution: You should download the kind of, but not really, free prequel from the creators, called Why Am I Dead: http://www.peltastsoftware.com/content.html?id=waid, it'll help you a lot to understand this game, and the story.
Basically, you're a ghost with no recollection of what happened to you, or who you are. You're in a boat, and a kid is able to speak to you. From this point forward, you'll have to get inside people's bodies to try to control their movement, but not their actions, you're just a push in their inner mind to actually say something. As you learn about the diverse characters, you'll be able to haunt them, deepen the plot, and understand more about what transcurred in the ship.
It can feel kind of like a puzzle, sometimes you might not be really sure what your next step should be, and that's where a certain character will be able to help you, so you don't get stuck. You'll be able to reach the ending easily, or if you're a bit slower, with patience. Now, reaching the different endings requires more deep thinking and certain actions, and I recommend you saving just before finishing the game for certain reasons.
Why Am I Dead At Sea doesn't think the player is stupid. It doesn't hand hold you. It expects you to think hard, and remember evidences. Do not get discouraged by the price, the length or the graphics. It's a very especial experience that is really beautiful and will stay with me for a long time. I have to warn you that it might trigger certain vulnerable people.
I recommend this game, and it's in my hopes that you'll play it from beginning to ending in a single day. Non-stop.
So simple yet so thrilling
I really liked this. The puzzles were fun and challenging - though I needed help on a few. I found the end to be a bit of a let-down, but it was worth it for the journey. A full playthrough, including tracking down details, took about 4 hours.
gOOD STORY, INTERESTING CHARACTERS.
One of the best games I have ever played ....... !!!!!!
Pretty neat murder mystery; it was interesting to learn more about each character while also trying to figure out how you died.
However, parts of the game were frustratingly unintuitive. For most of the game, you have to talk to a specific character while possessing a different character. Sometimes, it wasn't obvious who you were supposed to possess/talk to, and going through every possible permutation feels like a waste of time.
Otherwise, great story and fun music, would recommend.
Странная игра. С одной стороны - необычный детектив об убийстве на корабле. Причем, расследуем мы его благодаря тому, что можем вселяться духом в других людей и заставлять их разговаривать с другими людьми.
С другой стороны - скучная и неудобная механика игры, при которой нужно много бегать по кораблю разными персонажами, искать, с кем бы поговорить в каждом конкретном случае, какие предметы можно изучить и т.д. Т.е. играть в это совершенно скучно и неприятно. При том, что история - в целом прикольная.
_Не рекомендую_ тем, кто любит игры за хороший геймплей. Рекомендую тем, кто любит читать детективы и не против побегать по кораблю пиксельными персонажами туда-сюда, чтобы почитать все доступные диалоги.
Starts out interesting and fun, but eventually turns into having to find the one NPC to talk to in order to progress the linear dialogue of who-dunnit, over and over. That's just no fun for me.
