The Sinking City is a third-person action-adventure game from Frogwares and gets its inspiration from the horror fiction author H.P. Lovecraft. It’s a game where you take on the role of a private detective called Charles W. Reed, who is haunted by horrifying visions. By searching for answers in the fictional city of Oakmont, Massachusetts, during the 1920s, you quickly realize that something from the depths is watching your very steps. You try to solve mystery after mystery by finding clues and activating your third eye to fit the pieces together. The game was re-released with a remastered version of the original one by using the Unreal Engine 5. Let’s talk about the next chapter…
As I mentioned above, the game situates itself in the fictive village of Oakmont, Massachusetts, in the year 1920, within the universe of H.P. Lovecraft, where one of the Old Ones, named Cthulu, influences the people around him. For people who don’t know anything about H.P Lovecraft’s work, Cthulu is a being older than the cosmos and more mysterious than the depths of the deepest ocean. Cthulu doesn’t inflict physical pain as most people know, but he terrorizes with visions of the past, future, and even far beyond the unknown. Visions are often haunted by mysterious creatures that terrorize the minds of those who are influenced by Cthulu. You either worship him into eternity or try to block him out of your mind.
“Something in the deep is stirring up all of these people, and step by step, you uncover the reign of Cthulu.”
The first chapter of Sinking City is all about discovering what mystery holds the fictive city of Oakmont and why the detective is being haunted by Cthulu. You roam the city searching for answers and trying to figure out what has happened to the people who live in the city. You hear talks about a great flood that covered streets blank, and people had to cross streets by boat. The flood not only brings water but also mysterious creatures from the depths that terrorize the neighborhood. People are freaking out, and cults are trying to get a hold of the feeble minds. Something in the deep is stirring up all of these people, and step by step, you uncover the reign of Cthulu.
With this little bit of information, the stage has been set, and I can talk about the preview of The Sinking City 2. The Sinking City 2 is a direct sequel to the first one, but is a standalone story within the same environment. We don’t know much about the story specifics, but it will consist of new characters and a new storyline. The game takes us to Arkham, a place different from Oakmont in the first chapter. In this area, there are almost no residents; only a few with twisted minds remain in the city. The environment is constantly changing due to the flooded streets, abandoned houses, and mystery. It’s almost an impossible maze to traverse. You can either explore the streets of Arkham by boat or on foot.
“Even though the developers already said that they will enhance the combat mechanics in this second chapter, the core of surviving these treacherous streets of Arkham is still there.”
We have had the joy to test out 2 portions of the game: exploring the streets of Arkham and getting to know the game in a library. But we’ve also had a peak mid-game where the situation is not explained, but will be once we explore the full game, and this side of things takes us to an abandoned hospital in search of a woman’s body. Without spoiling too many details story-wise, I will try to compare the gameplay elements with the first game.
So just like the original Sinking City, the game is still (in its core) a survival third-person action-adventure game with combat elements. Even though the developers already said that they will enhance the combat mechanics in this second chapter, the core of surviving these treacherous streets of Arkham is still there. What do I mean by surviving? Well, you’re traversing into an area with almost no sign of living people.
The streets and buildings are slowly taken by the flood until there’s nothing left. It will be unusual if you could just go to a grocery store to find food and medication to maintain your perfect health. The game is about scavenging and crafting these different findings into something useful, like health potions, weaponry, ammunition, etc. Just like the original, everything is scarce, and it’s up to the player to take notes. You will have the ability to explore all of these sites within Arkham and search for scraps, gunpowder, chemicals, herbs, … to fix yourself up before you’re confronting the enemy. It’s better to take your time and be prepared before you head into battle. This game is not for the weak. Just by exploring, you’ll find many cabinets or even items lost-in-action that can help your battle against these weird creatures.
“In other words, get exploring because it’s worth your time.”
Something new has been added that will definitely stimulate you to explore. There are these new Emergency Relief Crates that can hold up items, weapon parts, crafting recipes, … It’s important for your survival to find these chests and get the best out of them. Of course, these are truly your treasure packs within the game because they offer a lot of quality items. Of course, quality often means you’ll have to work for it, and it’s no different in The Sinking City 2. You will have to find pens that can be used as keys to open these different cases. They are spread around the environment, so you’ll have to keep an eye out. In other words, get exploring because it’s worth your time.
To get your orientation going, you will need to find a map of certain areas. These maps are hanging up on the walls or hidden in dark corners. If you manage to find these maps, you will immediately get a sense of your whereabouts within the building you’re exploring. These can be very helpful as these buildings are not always accessible the way you might think, but having a map that lays out the buildings’ structure will help you in figuring out where to go faster. Don’t worry, if you don’t find the map, you can still access the building, but you just have to take your time to explore the building.
“The game is best played at your own pace.”
Developers made sure that the sense of exploration and discovery is the main attraction of the game because it adds a lot of atmosphere, vibes, and immersion. They want you to explore the environments to find your crafting materials and discover parts of the story, but it’s also important to explore for hidden secrets and interesting documents that can help fit in the pieces of all the mysteries you’ve seen. Just like the original one, the game is packed with letters, notes, books, … that can help you get figure out what’s been going on and still happening. In this way, the game incentivizes exploring the missing pieces of the story because it will help to fill in the blanks. Because of this approach of the developers, you’re really setting your own goals within the game, and step-by-step, you will be figuring out your own on how you want to certain objectives. The game is best played at your own pace.
As I have said above, one of the main changes the developers wanted to implement and improve upon is the combat mechanics and how we take on these enemies. From the enemies I’ve seen in the preview, the combat feels a bit more active/ interactive, which is a good thing. Some enemies will now have blisters forming on their bodies, which allows you to stun them and do a lot of damage. Some blisters even spawn on the legs, and when you shoot the blisters on the leg, the enemy will fall. Blisters also grow back on different parts of the body, so the confrontation with these kinds of enemies will definitely be interactive. Some enemies are returning and have a visual upgrade. It’s great to see these minimal changes because they will help the player to sink more hours into this game than the previous one.
“It’s these little things that definitely help with the modernization of this third- person shooter.”
You can also inflict environmental damage, which makes the game a bit more immersive. Enemies will crash into furniture or even obliterate it, but they can also be trapped and wounded in bear traps. Just make sure that you don’t step into them as well, or you’ll have to face the consequences. There are also high-explosive barrels that can be shot to damage these creatures badly. It’s these little things that definitely help with the modernization of this third- person shooter.
Talking about immersion, you can definitely see that the new engine is doing its work. The creatures are presented as gruesome and eerie. The graphical boost does a tremendous job in getting you into the immersion and making the game feel like an experience. Even damage to your character is being shown, so this also adds to the immersion. I can really say that the combat has been improved, and it probably will improve even more. You can also jab enemies, which is a good thing since ammo is scarce, but I do hope that they will find a way or implement a mechanic that can help us in jabbing the smaller enemies. Even though my character is pointing at the enemies on the ground, I can’t jab or smash them, which breaks the combat a little bit. So I do hope they can make that part of the combat a little bit better.
“This is a tremendous step forward…”
The new engine also helps with storytelling and creating that eerie atmosphere. The character ( and environmental) design, along with the fantastic voice acting, helps to bring the story to life. The developers can focus more on cinematic storytelling, rather than clunky dialogue scenes. This is a tremendous step forward… The original already had some scenes, but this graphical engine does bring in the work. The only thing I didn’t like about… was the movement between doors/ windows/ cracks in the walls/… Even though the animation is done perfectly, the game just slows down because of the fact that your main character “stops in the action” and takes his time to traverse the obstacle. This breaks the immersion due to the robotic feeling it has. Hopefully, they can smooth this transition a bit more.
Another great mechanic that has been added is the fact that you can store items in your safe room. This room allows you to switch between equipment and items. Not only that, but the safe room is present during some of your explorative environments and helps to take a breather after a difficult encounter. Within this room, you can swap out items and equipment to strengthen your arsenal. You start off with a couple of item slots, but by finding certain items, you can expand these inventory slots. The game also features a talent mechanic that allows you to spend Dream Essence to unlock some extra skills. For example, there’s a talent that says “your reload time is a lot faster” or “you do more damage against humanoids”. These are examples of basic talents, but from the preview, I can already tell there are going to be a lot more talents for you to unlock.
“Just like the original, you will find clues that can help solve problems.”
Some of your items also have perks, which allow the player to invest in a more personal build, which I like. By spending Dream Essence in the talent tree and finding items with personalized perks, you will be able to tailor your characters’ playstyle more to your own combat style preference. For example, there was a gun that said: “fully- focused slows down enemies”. It’s a nice thing to experience, especially for the loot goblins out there.
Just like the original, you will find clues that can help solve problems. If you solve problems, you will be able to progress the main or even the side objectives faster. It’s a great gameplay element that has been introduced in the original, and I’m happy to see it returned. It has been updated to a more visually attractive and simple- to- use Mental Board.
The best thing the game does is create this eerie feeling. The feeling of something constantly lurking in the dark, preying upon you. By a more visual, stronger graphical presentation and genuinely great sound design, jump scares will occur more frequently now, and it is great that the developers are embracing this sense of horror that can be found in the stories of H.P. Lovecraft.
Early conclusion:
The Sinking City 2 feels like a solid evolution of everything Frogwares tried to achieve with the original game. While the first chapter focused heavily on mystery-solving and atmosphere, this sequel seems determined to expand those foundations with deeper exploration, more interactive combat, enhanced survival mechanics, and a far more immersive presentation thanks to Unreal Engine 5. Arkham already radiates the same Lovecraftian dread that made Oakmont memorable, but the darker environments, improved creature designs, cinematic storytelling, and stronger sound design elevate the horror experience to another level.
What stands out the most is how much freedom the game gives players to approach exploration at their own pace. Searching abandoned buildings for resources, uncovering hidden lore, solving mysteries through clues, and gradually building your character through talents and perks all contribute to a rewarding sense of progression. The developers clearly want players to feel vulnerable, isolated, and constantly uneasy; and from what I experienced during the preview, they are succeeding remarkably well.
There are still a few rough edges, particularly with some movement transitions and certain close-combat interactions, but the improvements over the original are undeniable. Combat feels more dynamic, exploration more rewarding, and the overall atmosphere far more immersive. If Frogwares can maintain this level of quality throughout the full release, The Sinking City 2 has the potential to become not only a worthy sequel, but also one of the most compelling Lovecraftian horror experiences in recent years.
