Seashell

Genre: Simulation / Application

Players: 1

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Review:

Seashell, released on PC and Nintendo Switch in 2022, is… barely a game. If I had to tie it to a genre, I’d probably call it a Simulation, but even that is only true in the broadest sense of the word. In Seashell, players are looking directly down at a shoreline as various debris is washed up onto the beach. Players look through this debris for seashells, cataloging the different varieties and their sizes, with the loose goal of trying to collect each kind.

There’s… not really much more to the game than that. You have an on-screen cursor you can guide using the analog stick to pick up shells, or you can use the touchscreen in handheld mode. There’s a score that goes up as you collect shells, and the more seashells you collect, the more seashell facts you unlock in the virtual notebook you record your findings in. Also, you can cause the waves to behave differently if you grab multiples of the same kind of shell, but mostly… that’s it. You just look down at the waves, watch what washes up, and look at seashells when you see one.

While the gameplay is bare bones to nonexistent, the presentation is phenomenal. The water in this game looks gorgeous, with some excellent lighting, and the shells are rendered in 3D. I just wish the water’s edge and the sand looked more realistic. The sound design here is phenomenal too, with some wonderful, relaxing wave sounds, an occasional seabird in the distance, and music consisting of subdued, melodic tones, with players able to independently adjust the volume of both the sound effects and music.

I suppose that’s where the real appeal of Seashell lies – this isn’t a game so much as it is a piece of interactive relaxation software with some minimal game elements layered on top of it. I could easily see someone putting this game on and falling asleep to its soothing sounds and peaceful rhythmic visuals. On that note, however, I would complain that there aren’t more options – you can’t choose to get rid of the bird sounds, change the strength or rhythm of the waves, change the appearance of the sand or the time of day.

However, for a $4 application, I think Seashell is more than sufficient for what it attempts to do, even if what it’s attempting is not really “being a game”. Because as a game, there’s just not much here, and players aren’t likely to be engaged with it in that way for very long. But as an inexpensive relaxation Application, this is wonderful.

tl;dr – Seashell has players looking down at a beach and sifting through the debris to find seashells. The gameplay here is nearly nonexistent, but Seashell still has some value as an Application for relaxation, as its soothing sounds and placid visuals are quite good in that regard, especially for a $4 purchase. Just don’t expect many options to choose from here.

Grade: C+

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2022 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best Sound Design

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