"The Sinking City 2" is gross, obscure, and pretty cool
Why should you only see zombies in an apocalypse when you can also have parasites, colossi, and singing sirens? "The Sinking City 2" mixes occultism and body horror into an obscure melange that fits together in a bizarre way.
Back in 2019, the development team at «Frogware» showed with «The Sinking City» that they are capable of more than just designing tricky puzzles for «Sherlock Holmes» games. With an «Opencritic score» of 69 percent, the open-world survival horror adventure struck a chord in its niche – despite stumbling blocks in graphics and gameplay. The project was ambitious and by no means perfect. Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun with it, because these horror depictions do not yet feel worn out.
That was several years ago. Therefore, I do not have all the details from the first part in my mind. Fortunately, that is not a problem, because «The Sinking City 2» is only vaguely connected to its predecessor thematically. In «The Sinking City», I can trigger three different endings. A seamless transition of the story is therefore not possible. Instead, in part 2, I play with a new protagonist in an unknown environment to get a new perspective on things.
Arkham without Batman
The fictional city of Arkham is hit by the flood known from the predecessor in the 1920s and is haunted by bloodthirsty creatures. Most people are evacuated if they are not already dead. In addition to the masses of water that make streets impassable and buildings uninhabitable, «H.P. Lovecraft»-inspired monsters are my enemies.
Source: Frogwares
I slip into the role of Calvin, who evades evacuation to help his girlfriend. The two practice occult rituals out of passion – a shared hobby that suddenly gets out of control. A failed ritual puts his girlfriend into a kind of coma. All the challenges I have to overcome in «The Sinking City 2» are aimed at saving her.
Every game section of part 2 revolves around a central theme, on which the entire content of the following hours is built. In the game, for example, I encounter a siren who loudly calls for my help. To free her from her shackles, I explore the surrounding theater and uncover a disturbing plan involving a mass murder. The detective work does not feel like in a «Sherlock Holmes» game; it is woven into the exploration of the environment and happens quite incidentally.
Source: Frogwares
Parasitic worms and clear inspirations
Unlike its predecessor, «The Sinking City 2» is not an open-world game. I mostly move in a multi-story building and the surrounding areas before taking the boat to the next area. Once I have completed a story arc and left the area, I cannot return. I miss important items, such as new weapons and the urgently needed bag expansions, if I do not search every room thoroughly.
I am rarely alone: behind every corner, zombies wait, which form huge pimples upon visual contact and thus present me with a red glowing attack surface. With a pistol, sniper rifle, and other weapons, I fire at my enemies until they go down. Shooting feels more fluid and precise on the Playstation 5 compared to the first part on the PS4. Melee combat, where Calvin either performs a stomp attack or strikes, is less fun. Both are imprecise, and I often miss my target.
Source: Frogwares
Numerous worms wind around the corpses on the ground, which either emerge from their bodies or gather there to infest the bodies (again). These so-called slithers are responsible for corpses becoming zombies. So, if I do not want to kill an enemy twice, I stomp the sticky parasites into mush before moving on. There is no loot from defeated enemies. I find new equipment exclusively in crates and drawers.
Besides zombies in different versions, I encounter bony spider creatures, obscure figures, and even a kind of «Mister X», who chases me through the rooms with his superhuman strength. Unlike its obvious role model, however, this creature is quite stupid and loses my trail completely as soon as I turn the corner.
Less «Sherlock Holmes», more puzzles
The developers of «The Sinking City 2» remain true to their style from the first part and always expect me to think along while playing. There is neither a minimap nor target markers to which I blindly run. I learn the next steps either in conversations with NPCs or through the clues hidden everywhere in the game. The numerous puzzles can hardly be solved by pure trial and error. I have to deal with the lore and the texts found.
Source: Frogwares
The collected documents reveal lock combinations, background information on characters, and give tips on where I can find people or objects. I chose a moderate difficulty level for the puzzles at the beginning of the game, so all important points are marked for me in the letters. Filtering the information and finding the correct solution remain demanding nonetheless.
Assembling documents in a separate menu is not strictly necessary to progress in the game. I can extract all the necessary information myself. Combining the appropriate clues only brings a kind of in-game currency, which I can use for improvements to my abilities in a simplified skill tree.
Skill tree with a twist
A central element of «The Sinking City 2» is the nightshade. An occult mask that Calvin always carries with him. For spoiler reasons, I will not reveal why he hangs this dangling ballast on his bag. Over time, I unlock advantages for combat and regeneration, which I place like gemstones into the recesses of the mask.
Source: Frogwares
I can re-equip the mask at any time to adapt the abilities to my playstyle and the upcoming challenges. This system replaces the conventional talent tree and offers gameplay depth, as I cannot use all abilities at the same time.
Disturbing, disgusting, and surprisingly profound
While «The Sinking City» was a huge, open area full of fish-people and other figures, «The Sinking City 2» feels more restrained in the number of conversations. There is a handful of NPCs, only a few characters, and no sprawling side missions. The individual figures are well-written and all bring a disturbing story with them, which they tell with good English voice acting and German subtitles.
The nature of the horror has changed compared to the predecessor: There are still monsters from the deep sea and enemies that could spring from a Lovecraft novel. But Calvin has to endure much more: Extremely bloody moments alternate with occult scenarios, disturbing visions, and body horror. «Frogware» manages to combine all this into a coherent whole that always motivates me to keep playing. Some decisions and events seem illogical, but with occult horror, meticulous logic is generally out of place.
Source: Frogwares
«The Sinking City 2» is available for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and was provided to me by Frogwares.
In a nutshell
Successful body horror for fans of the niche
"The Sinking City 2" is an occult treat not made for the masses. Worms gushing from eyeballs, narcissistic sirens, and sea monsters are a welcome change in the genre. Those who find thematic games like "The Chant" exciting and appreciate obvious "Resident Evil" inspirations will like "The Sinking City 2" (even without prior knowledge).
The change from the open world of the first part to the linear sections in this spin-off does "The Sinking City 2" good. I can rarely deviate from my boat's course and explore the environment, which always keeps the focus on the story. The individual areas, however, are very detailed and offer numerous convoluted paths and puzzles that keep me busy for a long time. I spent a good 15 hours surviving between nightmares and parasites. Despite some graphical inconsistencies and an unusable melee system, I had a lot of morbidly disgusting fun.
Pro
- good English voice acting
- Horror in the foreground, detective work as an optional extra
- tricky puzzles
- Firearms feel cleaner than in the predecessor
- interesting, fresh characters
- Difficulty of puzzles and combat adjustable separately
Contra
- Melee almost unusable
- flickering and reloading textures
- little exploration on your own possible
I didn’t have a Game Boy or a Super Nintendo as a child, and only joined the world of gaming at 15. I’ve been trying to make up for lost time ever since. But looking at the ever-growing number of game releases each year, it seems the entire industry is conspiring against me.
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