The Sinking City became something of a cult classic upon release back in 2021, offering as it did a mixture of Lovecraftian horror and developer Frogwares’ unique investigative gameplay mechanics. Whilst it was a little rough around the edges, many players were willing to look past that to appreciate its particular take on the Cthulhu Mythos. Since release, both the game and Frogwares themselves have been through various ordeals of their own, with publisher fallouts, an Unreal Engine Remaster and, most importantly, the studio having to endure the ongoing war in Ukraine. Given all of that context it’s incredible that The Sinking City 2 has continued to be developed at all, let alone that this preview build suggests that it is a genuine realisation of what the developers have set out to produce.
The first game saw the flooded city of Oakmont being beset by Lovecraftian monstrosities, with protagonist Charles Reed using a combination of detective skills and authentic 1920s guns to discover what had caused this climactic event. The original release was representative of ‘Eurojank’ and suffered from some repetition, but showed some genuine promise in this combination of mechanics. The sequel changes location to Arkham (a Lovecraft staple) but retains the flooded streets and boat exploration. Instead of Charles you now play as Calvin Rafferty, an occult investigator who trapped his girlfriend in a failed ritual and must discover how to free her.
The graphical improvements in this sequel are immediately obvious, with better lighting and improved fidelity across the board. The lighting in particular is important as this sequel pushes more towards survival horror and atmosphere over investigation – although the latter is still available for those who want it. The preview build contained two areas to explore, a hospital and a church, with the latter also including some boat navigation, which controlled much more smoothly than the original game.
Investigation takes a bit of a back seat in The Sinking City 2, with Frogwares stating that it is retained for fans but is no longer central to the game. I’m intrigued how this will play out in the full release as the original’s focus on it was one of its main unique selling points. Instead, the sequel contains what appears to be a stripped down version of the mind palace mechanic from Frogwares’ other games, in which you link clues to make deductions and discover breakthroughs. How much of an effect this has on the main game remains to be seen and I’m reserving judgment about whether this is a positive development until I can get fully hands on. There was an element of clue discovery in the church section of the preview build, but I can’t tell how much of an effect it makes on progression.
What is immediately obvious from the outset here is that the combat and controls have been massively overhauled and it plays out very much like a modern Resident Evil game. The hospital focused on exploration and combat with a range of different guns. Enemies are aggressive and require accurate shooting to defeat as they are have visible weak points, highly reminiscent of the mechanic from the terrifying regenerators from Resident Evil 4 (albeit without the thermal imaging). There were several ambushes that offered the requisite jump scares and also chokepoint fights with multiple monstrosities. Gunplay itself was a vast improvement over the original with weapons having a real sense of weight and impact.
I was left eagerly anticipating more hands on time with The Sinking City 2 for all sorts of reasons. The storyline is intriguing, the importance of the investigation aspects and their effects on the game, and the sheer mechanical thrill of the combat all promise to come together to create a game that represents the full evolution of Frogwares’ approach. With a vague release set for sometime this summer, it shouldn’t be too long before we can get hands on with Calvin’s occult investigation and I, for one, can’t wait.
