The Sinking City 2

For all of its merits, there was always something missing when looking at the investigative-first design philosophy developer Frogwares used in its former video games. Perhaps it's down to consumers being so familiar with the now traditional survival horror premise, or maybe Frogwares' prior design mantra wasn't quite as refined as it could have been. Regardless, when the Ukrainian team announced The Sinking City 2 and revealed this sequel would lean into the more widely used survival horror structuring, my interest was immediately piqued.

When you look back at the original The Sinking City, there was so much the game did wonderfully. The world-building and level design, the interesting characters and their often twisted motivations, the intricate and challenging puzzles and mysteries to solve. There was a lot here to celebrate, even if the adventure-first setup meant the gameplay often slipped a tad to the wayside. Now imagine all of what The Sinking City 1 did so brilliantly was put into a survival horror template where you have to manage resources, fight off terrifying enemies, solve complex tasks for key rewards, and all while fear and anxiety pushes you forward into claustrophobic and darkened corridors where nightmares scuttle where the light cannot reach. Essentially, all the pieces are in place for The Sinking City 2 to be something special, meaning the natural next question is can it compete with the established titans of Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and so forth?

Before I answer that question, it's worth mentioning The Sinking City 2 doesn't really do anything you wouldn't expect from a survival horror game. That's not a knock per se, but you do know what you're getting from this sequel after just 30 minutes of gameplay. We have tight and dimly lit levels, a collection of unique enemy types where you have to strategically take them down to conserve as much ammunition as possible, plenty of backtracking around levels using a scaled down Metroidvania structuring, looting to find resources used in basic crafting recipes to make healing items and ammo, plus safe zones where enemies can't reach you, and puzzles where you will need to critically think through the task at hand to crack a safe of something similar.

Again, I have no quarrel with this as when used correctly and effectively, the survival horror template can be one of the most wonderfully engineered game design philosophies. Like its direct competitors, The Sinking City 2 is a well-paced, tightly-packaged product that doesn't really waste your time and offers decent replayability from the outset thanks to Resident Evil-like challenges (called Eldritch Feats here) and New Game+ options too. Simply put, without even needing to get into the nitty-gritty, The Sinking City 2 has a foundation you can't help but admire and enjoy.

This isn't to say there aren't faults with this design philosophy, areas where even The Sinking City 2 has clear pitfalls and struggles. Inventory management and restrictions continue to be frankly aggravating as it's designed in such a way where as you progress the story, you'll almost always need two more inventory slots to carry everything. It's not a game that throws resources at you and asks you to pick and choose what you need. There's a finite amount of objects and for the most part, you'll spend time wandering back and forth between the safe zone chests to deposit useful items to create space to bring back that extra unit of Gunpowder or Healing Herbs in case you need a few more bullets or an extra Dolocide Pills healing item in a pinch. Does it work? Objectively, yes. Would I like this to be an area where survival horror in general at least attempts to innovate in the future? Also yes.

Likewise, The Sinking City 2 likes to throw a lot of enemies at you, and while most are easy enough to fight, there's usually more than the limited ammo economy allows for, meaning you'll leave monsters and threats to wander the halls, asking you to frequently evade and weave around them when you backtrack to crack puzzles. It's another area where it works well enough, but really there is opportunity for refinement here, and The Sinking City 2 hasn't cracked this code either.

As for a few more quick frustrations to continue to emphasise the point, one major example is how the game gives you more weapons than you can easily use at once and then proceeds to throw ammunition at you for weapons you aren't actively carrying... It's hugely annoying when you need some handgun ammo and get gifted SMG ammo when your SMG is in the vault as there aren't enough quick-select buttons nor inventory space for all five weapons. Another area is the very title of the game, as you would expect to spend more time moving around the flooded city of Arkham, but it's more of a quick gimmick where the backtracking and Metroidvania element in this dilapidated urban environment isn't used to the full extent it could have been.

Still, for each of these areas where The Sinking City 2 either falls into the trap of the survival horror genre, in the same way even hits like Cronos: The New Dawn does, or builds on decisions where potential isn't fully tapped, there is also a huge amount in this game to appreciate. The level design is brilliant and has you constantly retracing your steps around each area, the puzzles are fantastically engaging with the occasional one being mind-bogglingly tough to crack, the narrative is twisted and thrilling, and the connection between the two main characters makes following the storyline all the more entertaining. I even have to give credit to Frogwares for its intelligent use of accessibility and how you can tailor the experience to as you see fit, even adjusting puzzle difficulty so the game highlights key phrases and codes to help you determine the solution. It truly is a brilliant example of a survival horror game for so many unique reasons.

The skills shown by this Ukrainian team to take what was so special about the original game and the studio's own understanding of narrative-heavy puzzlers, and then merging this effectively with the survival horror template, all makes for a wonderful marriage of ideas that in practice delivers an enjoyable and thrilling experience. It also exudes a premium feel with stunning visuals, quality performances and voiced dialogue (even if the characters have that very noticeable Unreal Engine 5 aesthetic to them) from the cast, outstanding technical performance on PS5 at least, and all of this while the developers deal with the unprecedented circumstance of making the game amidst the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia.

It's for these reasons I can't help but be impressed by The Sinking City 2. Again, there are areas and places where innovation and improvements could make a difference, but you'll also truly enjoy your time with this Lovecraftian take on the survival horror genre, and because of this game, I can't wait to see how Frogwares expands and takes the next step with whatever project it'll cook up next.