The Sinking City Remastered

ITS SO LOVECRAFT

A great game, real atmosphere but it is a very hard game

it's cool manee

I really liked it. You might not. Its been a little while since I've played the game, but from what I remember, the vast majority of the game is just a trudging-through-waist-deep-mud slog. Like it starts off really good, the detective systems in place are fun, the characters are weird and interesting, the voice acting well done. Just so many elements to set the game up for success. Unfortunately, after that initial loop of gameplay, you realize that it is a pretty unforgiving (and repetitive) survival shooter. The game just lacked variety and doesn't always give the player the tools they need to really move forward. You could be cruising along in the game just fine, but suddenly you happen upon a house to explore for resources. By the time you get through said house, you're either dead or actually less item-rich than when you entered, as enemies can be hard to kill and sometimes can completely overwhelem you. Storywise, its pretty good, very lovecraftian. For me the game was enough of a good story and mix of lovecraftian inspired horror to keep me interested, but thats only because I'd consider myself to be a big fan of that genre. For the average person, I'd imagine the game would become unbearable at one point and they would give up. I'll likely never play the game again, but I enjoyed the playthrough I had. HOWEVER, I am hoping that Frogwares learns from the complaints about the first game and makes the sequel much better than the first. Here's hoping. So yeah, for anyone who's a big fan of detective games and lovecraftian/cosmic horror type stuff, I'd reccommend. If not, you're probably better off playing something else. Also worthy of noting is that I played the entire game on Steam Deck and it ran pretty well.

I will be honest. I had Sinking City installed for a while but didn't get to play it much. Then the remastered version happened, and got back to it. And definitely got hooked. What you got here is a game where exploration and free roaming are king. You are Charles Reed, a P.I. that travels to fictional Oakmont to learn about his visions. He will get much more than he hoped for in the process. Sinking City isn't perfect. Some of the interior lvl designs get samey after a while, combat can be incredibly hazardous, especially early game, and at times you may not even be sure what you got to do. But if you can overlook these faults, what Sinking City will offer you in exchange is personality. In spades. You will spend most of your time solving mysteries and cases. Considering most of these are tied to some form of Lovecraftian mythos or story, if you enjoy Lovecraft you are in for a treat. Sinking City is the oddball for a game. It is not strictly speaking a sandbox, but has several qualities of them. What makes everything work is the dev's efforts in making Lovecraft's stories be part of the progress. You will spend a great deal researching and figuring out clues and puzzles to advance the story, locations, etc. And all of them are tied subtly to some form of Lovecraftian lore. If you are into it, you will likely enjoy this game in ways you couldn't imagine. And it does it simply by crafty storytelling alone. Some of these will make your skin crawl for sure.

Flawed but still worth it

I've been a fan of Frogwares since Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper. They are always pretty good, but just missing something that makes their games truly great. I think the mechanics are great, and I think Sinking City refines the detective formula they've had for years now and adds much needed combat to break up the detective side of things. My only issue with this game is that the combat feels a little too clunky for me, which I hope is improved upon in the upcoming sequel. Other than that, I can look past the performance and reused faces etc. considering Frogwares isn't exactly AAA. It is clear that their scope is a little bigger than their abilities, whether due to team size or funding I am unsure, but I think they have made a really special game here.