The Sinking City 2 Review

It’s an incredible achievement that Frogwares has managed to continue doing what it loves given what the people of Ukraine have been subjected to in recent years with the ongoing war due to the Russian invasion. Faced with the prospect of conscription, dealing with air raid sirens occupying the once peaceful and bustling city soundscape, and the sinking feeling that team members may never return to the project, Frogwares still bravely decided it wanted to tackle a whole new genre with The Sinking City 2.

Instead of being an investigation-driven experience that the studio has been known for previously, The Sinking City 2 is a full-blown survival horror game with plenty of Resident Evil and Silent Hill DNA running through its Lovecraftian tentacles. It may not be the most innovative video game, but it’s made with a level of confidence that makes you wonder why the studio didn’t make the move sooner.

The Sinking City 2 is a sequel in name only, so you don’t need to have played the first one before jumping in here. It’s set in 1929 and sees you play as occult treasure hunter Calvin Rafferty, who, along with his partner Faye, attempted to perform a dream ritual only for Calvin to wake up and Faye to remain stuck in the dreamlands. Calvin then makes it his mission to bring his dreaming damsel back to the land of the living. But to do so, Calvin must find answers in the city of Arkham, which has seen almost all of its residents evacuate after a devastating supernatural flood left it waterlogged and teeming with the Slither – a parasite that occupies corpses, turning them into creatures. The longer they’re infected, the harder they are to kill. Who says romance is dead, hey?

Surprisingly, the narrative is engaging and full of moments that keep you invested in Calvin and Faye’s quest, and the performances from both voice actors capture the desperation of the situation and the love they have for one another. It’s got its share of twists, and the ending is well executed, which you have to give the team credit for. Without spoiling anything, Lovecraft fans will find themselves pointing at the TV like Leonardo DiCaprio in that GIF.

However, the downside compared to the first Sinking City is that there are very few supporting characters to engage with, and those you do come across (such as the charming Corentin, a doctor who has replaced his eyes with Slither worms) are only brief interactions.

Frogwares has lifted a few ideas from some of the best in the business. Players can quickly switch between weapons (although there’s no quick-use button for health), there’s a safe room where players can manually save, upgrade skills, and utilise their stash, and rooms on your map will turn blue once everything in them has been uncovered.

Unlike Oakmont in the predecessor, Arkham isn’t an open world that players can explore at their leisure. Instead, the game is set in four large open areas that Calvin ventures through as the story unfolds. Think Resident Evil 4 as you make your way through the various locations. It’s a move that takes away some of the player freedom the first game had, but results in a tighter-paced experience.

Once again, the world-building and atmosphere are highlights. The design of Arkham and its eldritch art direction is truly top-notch, and coupled with the sound design, the team has crafted an incredibly compelling world. Playing on the PS5 Pro, the game also runs smoother than I was expecting, with only a small handful of hiccups encountered during my playthrough.

Combat is a major focus and has been massively improved from the first game. I wasn’t super sold on how the combat felt in the preview, but after rolling credits, I can happily say that the gunplay is solid enough to sustain the 10–15-hour runtime.

Calvin has access to the usual weaponry: handgun, shotgun, rifles, and others that I won’t spoil. Enemies lumber towards you before quickly lunging at you when they get close enough, so you’ll need to sink enough bullets into them to put them down or utilise your dodge to avoid being caught. Making them easier to put down, Calvin can shoot the pus growths on their bodies, although annoyingly they can take a little too long to spawn sometimes.

But generally, combat is tense, and it can be quite easy to get overwhelmed as you frantically try to switch between weapons while trying to avoid those who desperately want to stick their tongues down your throat like they’re Sarah Michelle Gellar from Cruel Intentions.

Perhaps the game’s only real knock is that the last couple of hours feel a little unbalanced, with constant waves of enemies that take away from the tension the early chapters created.

Like any good survival horror, inventory and resource management are key to surviving, and in The Sinking City 2 you’ll need to manage both if you’re to see it through to the end. You’ll start with a smaller inventory and find upgrades to increase the space as you go, and you’ll need it to, as crafting ammo and health is a frequent task that you’ll be doing.

But while I appreciate that it’s a genre staple, you do need to strike the right balance, and some of the inventory management design feels like it’s punishing players for being too frugal or too good. I lost track of the number of times I had to backtrack to a safe room just to make space for items I couldn’t pick up. To mitigate this, I wish key items didn’t eat up space and that items such as health boosts and weapon upgrades could be used or equipped without ever needing to hit your inventory. Multiple times I had to waste ammo because I needed space to pick up a health item only to use it straight away. One little quality-of-life feature I did appreciate is that the game won’t let you waste health items when it’s full.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a survival horror without puzzles, and although some of the puzzles will feel familiar – requiring particular keys, there are some rather neat ones to solve. And for the Sherlock Holmes fans, this is where the game makes use of the investigations.

While they’re not compulsory, players are encouraged to do them. If you do choose to participate in a bit of detective dabbling, the clues you find will make it much easier to solve puzzles. That isn’t the only incentive to complete investigations either, as players will be rewarded with Dream Essence, which allows Calvin to unlock perks that he can equip to his Night Shade mask. Night Shade upgrades will give Calvin perks such as reduced damage taken or crafting more ammo out of the same resources, which ought to be enticing enough to have you don the old deerstalker and smoke a pipe while you solve some mysteries for fun and profit.

Final Thoughts

Plenty of people won’t agree with Frogwares’ decision to relegate investigations to an optional component, but as someone who enjoyed them in the first game, The Sinking City 2 works better as a survival horror game. It may follow a proven gameplay blueprint, but Frogwares has crafted a tense, confident and satisfying experience with The Sinking City 2, with only a few minor annoyances stopping it from being in the same conversation as the games that inspired it.