SeaBed is the best story I've ever read. It is beautiful, honest and cathartic; however: this game is not for everyone. Firstly, it's a visual novel. Secondly, while not being as long as some other characters in the VN medium (erm, Umineko), it is really slow and filled with very rich and very detailed prose — more akin to what you'd find in a classic paperback novel than your typical VN.
To me and to other people who love the game, these are very positive qualities; to others, however, they are such a bold detriment that it's cause for dropping the game completely. It's also very mundane, in traditional SOL fashion (think less Hidamari Sketch and more Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō). And again — some people love it, others loathe it.
If, however, you like your Slice of Life, you like your romance (or just Yuri in general) and, above all else, if you enjoy letting yourself sink into the vast, dreamlike sea, being absorbed into the world and its characters and its very, very enchanting prose, then I'm sure you'll love it. SeaBed is a profound tale of love and loss and grief — and of coming out stronger on the other side. It is uncompromisingly honest, incorrigibly vulnerable, and, as previously stated — really, really, outstandingly beautiful.

Reviewed on May 21, 2023


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