(Spoilers of the entire game ahead, and a big These Are My Readings Of A Complex Story, I Do Not Have All The Answers, Actually I'm A Bit Dumb Sometimes-warning)
It's funny, the initial lines of vehement rejection of the protagonist (I know the origin of them but I want to analyse the actual story because things outside it is none of my business) made me think of people who are referred to as "energy vampires"; difficult to be around, leaving one exhausted often due to an onslaught of a lot of negativity. And then the protagonist is referred to as a vampire, and the things associated with the term become very evident, so I'm assuming the connotation is either intentional or at least relevant.
I'd say we see a person here who is at the endpoint of the 'energy vampire' (using the term facetiously, it's an awful way of seeing someone); rejected by everyone due to his issues, which exacerbates those issues in turn. We also see Colin's self awareness of this in the scene with Hunter, where he chooses to not say anything as that's likely to upset someone and he wants to get better. Of course, he's punished for not speaking instead, as it's to a point where whatever he does is seen negatively. He is denied improvement because of his past. My reading of this story isn't a focus on depression or suicide, although they're present, but of alienation.
Reflection and light are the motifs, and my reading of these pertains to Colin not able to understand himself anymore. His mental illness (I'll get to that) and the people around him have made it impossible for him to recognise who he is anymore, filed off anything identifiable like desires, interests, and hope. When Colin is about to give the lighter to Kurt to lose (metaphor for Kurt mishandling Colin's desire to trust him? Maybe!), he lights a lantern. Its light reflect on the surface of the ocean, which break out into nothing. Whatever light can be created is unable to last, because he doesn't know how to reflect those lights within himself.
As a jam game, the theming is perfectly implemented. If I chanced upon this outside the jam context, I wouldn't be able to tell - there's no "FOLKLORE GIVE ME 5 STARS IN IT PLS". Instead, the setting of the Bermuda triangle is woven into the characterisation of Colin. He is, in my reading, the Bermuda triangle. Sure, he feels like he is disappearing, but the things and people around him also do so. In his perception, his negativity is destructive, metaphorically dragging them down into the depths with him. An interesting part of this is losing his auto navigation system. I think that was supposed to be that he doesn't know how to live life in the way others do, as it seems like they are able to Just Do It™.
Okay, Colin's mental illness. It's kept vague, and the easiest thing would be explaining it with a catch-all depression as to not armchair psychologist diagnose. But I'll base it on personal experience instead. What I see in the story has a lot in common with personality disorders, with the lack of ability to get close to others/negative thinking patterns/distorted reality. I've been in Colin's situation feeling like I'm dragging others down and helpless to do anything about it (hell, I've been told similar things like the initial quotes!), and I've been in Kurt's situation feeling like I can't help someone who is making my own health degrade and left to decide whether to cut myself off or risk getting pulled down into that misery again. I'm empathetic to both, really, and neither the Colins or the Kurts have any clear answers before them.
Anyway, despite Colin's story not ending happily, this might be the most hopeful Carrioff VN to date. He dies, sure, but it's not willingly - if light is symbolic of emotion or hope, he is pushed past the brink of his limits by them. It's the conclusion of being pushed out alone to sea from alienation without anything to help you correct course for something else. But I don't see a loss of wanting to live here, just someone too overwhelmed to find a way to do so.
Okay I think that's enough analysis or I'll start going down on the sentence level like "He lets out a bright shield of smoke" being such a specific choice of words it could symbolise Kurt putting up a barrier against Colin, and shortly mention things about the presentation. Well, 1, it's stupid good. I'm still partial to Losing Ground's (rip I'll never recover😭) decay, but the use of the harsh line boiling to give constant motion to the watercolour sea, and making it stagnate with stillness by the end, mixes aesthetics and storytelling wonderfully. And despite myself being a musician and priding myself on sound design, I don't even have vocabulary to talk about what's being done here. It's empty and noise at the same time, having the vibe of being lost at sea SOMEHOW. I did also notice a noise at some point, perhaps of the engine, matching up with the beat of the animation. Just... yeah, perfectly made audiovisually, matched by writing I often re-read twice to understand what was being communicated.
Suffice it to say, I loved everything about Everyone Is Asleep and if I got to pick a winner of the jam this would sweep. I'm happy for anyone who played this and didn't have any thoughts besides "I guess that was about depression? Cool art!", but I'll hope that maybe it can help someone understand themself better.