Frogwares has done a good job putting together The Sinking City. The environments are nice, the overall open world feels good to walk around in, but there are a few issues still as a whole. Should gamers still take a look? Of course, especially if Cthulu and H.P. Lovecraft is your thing.
One of the confusing parts, admittedly, is the plot. Charles Winfield Reed is a sailor that decided to become a private investigator. He is invited to Oakmont in Massachusetts in the 1920s setting. Reed has suffered from nightmarish visions and is following the path to figuring out what they mean. Oakmont also has a history of these visions that plague the townspeople too. As he investigates, he must deal with his own sanity before being taken by the town.
The city is literally sinking. Seven districts have been affected by flooding and a boat is required for travel. Monster and otherworldly creatures lurk everywhere, some even being the townspeople themselves. Bullets are scarce, however, and must be savored in order to barter for the more critical things, like anti-psychotic medication. Staying here longer than necessary is not an option, unless you want to end up like the others, completely messed up in the head.
Inventory must be managed because tools and weapons will be crucial during your investigation. Somehow it’s still unclear what we are investigating besides the visions, but tasks will be given to you to do anyway muddling the story. One of the good things about the game is the environment. Lighting in particular, is very well done and The Sinking City could be closely referenced to the game Vampyre which gives off the same type of world vibe. Details on characters are very well done as well as the voice casting. These things don’t cover up some other issues though.
Cities are meant to be crowded but Oakmont is a little too crowded. Have you ever come across a game that has more going on in the background than on your mission and it distracts you? Of course, you have, this is one of those issues. The balance is off and multiple character citizens are crowding certain spots to do the exact same thing, and then they do it all over. I expect some pretty funny fan videos of this honestly, but you can see how this would pull you out of the plot and mission.
Another large discrepancy with the game compared to others is the control when in a fight. The lack of control is enough to drive you crazy when you’re fighting a potential monster. Not sure if this was intended since your insanity is important, but it definitely doesn’t feel right. Insanity in this game will cause you to do some crazy things, like see monsters, or shoot people. If it was you in the same position then I’m sure you would have to do some weird stuff too in order to see how crazy you really are in the moment.
So here’s what I think overall, The Sinking City has some issues. All games will always have something wrong in a way and that’s fine. This game, however, has some more critical problems such as the control, balance, and plot. The plot is hard to understand and follow. Control and balance are really just needed to fight and feel like you’re actually in the game. I would still play this anyway because of the intriguing nature of the story. Why do we have monsters and why are people are seeing things? These things make me curious and I’d play just to figure it out.
7/10
Available on: PC, Xbox One, PS4 and Switch
