The Sinking City became something of a cult classic upon its release in 2021, offering a blend of Lovecraftian horror and unique investigation game mechanics from developer Frogwares. Even though it was a little rough around the edges, many players were willing to look past it to appreciate its particular take on the Cthulhu Mythos. Since its release, the game and Frogwares themselves have gone through various trials, with publisher fallout, an Unreal Engine Remaster and, most importantly, the studio having to endure the ongoing war in Ukraine. Given all of this context, it’s incredible that The Sinking City 2 continued to be developed, let alone that this early release suggests that it’s a true realization of what the developers set out to produce.
The first game saw the flooded town of Oakmont come under siege by Lovecraftian monstrosities, with protagonist Charles Reed using a combination of detective skills and authentic 1920s weapons to discover what caused this climatic event. The original version was representative of “Eurojank” and suffered from some repetition, but showed real promise in this combination of mechanics. The sequel changes location to Arkham (a Lovecraft staple) but keeps the flooded streets and boat exploration. In Charles’ place, you now play as Calvin Rafferty, an occult investigator who has trapped his girlfriend in a failed ritual and must figure out how to free her.
This sequel’s graphical improvements are immediately evident, with better lighting and improved fidelity across the board. The lighting in particular is important because this sequel pushes more towards survival horror and atmosphere rather than investigation – even if the latter is still available for those who want it. The pre-release version contained two areas to explore, a hospital and a church, the latter of which also included boat navigation, which was much easier to control than the original game.
The investigation takes a bit of a backseat in The Sinking City 2, with Frogwares stating that it’s kept for fans but is no longer central to the game. I’m intrigued by how this will play out in the full release, as the original’s focus on it was one of its biggest unique selling points. Instead, the sequel contains what appears to be a stripped-down version of the mind palace mechanics of Frogwares’ other games, in which you match clues to make deductions and discover breakthroughs. It remains to be seen how much of an effect this will have on the main game and I’m reserving judgment on whether this is a positive development until I can fully appreciate it. There was an element of finding clues in the church section of the preview, but I can’t say what effect that has on progression.
What’s immediately obvious from the start is that the combat and controls have been massively overhauled and it plays a lot like a modern Resident Evil game. The hospital focused on exploration and combat with a range of different weapons. Enemies are aggressive and require precise shooting to defeat as they have visible weak points, which are very reminiscent of the mechanics of Resident Evil 4’s terrifying regenerators (but without the thermal imaging). There were several ambushes that provided the requisite jump scares as well as choke point fights with multiple monstrosities. Gunplay itself was a big improvement on the original, with the weapons having a real sense of weight and impact.
I was looking forward to more time with The Sinking City 2 for all kinds of reasons. The storyline is intriguing, the importance of the investigative aspects and their effects on gameplay, and the sheer mechanical thrill of combat all promise to come together to create a game that represents the full evolution of Frogwares’ approach. With a vague release planned for this summer, it shouldn’t be long before we can get our hands on Calvin’s occult investigation and I, for one, can’t wait.
