The Sinking City |OT| "They're Sinking Cities with a Giant Squid!"

[Dancrane212]

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Platform(s): Windows PC (via Epic Store), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
Release Date:

June 25th/27th 2019 (different storefronts and regions are showing a mix of those dates)​

September 12th (Switch)​

2020 (Steam)​

Genre: Investigative Horror
Price: $59.99 USD
Player(s): 1
Format: Digital/Physical
Developer: Frogwares
Publisher: Bigben Interactive
Size: ~40GB

What is The Sinking CIty?
The Sinking City is a third person investigative horror game set in an alternate 1920s America. You play as a Private Detective, Charles Reed, as he journeys to the newly flooded city of Oakmont in order to find the root of his own growing madness.

How does the game play?
You explore an open city, uncovering clues to solve cases (the developer previously worked on Sherlock Holmes titles), at your own pace. The game does not guide you with waypoints or the like, so If someone tells you a location you're going to need to pull up the in-game map and find the street yourself.

To solve cases you'll need to gather all the information you can and then put together a sequence of events in your "mind palace" to come to a conclusion. Keep note of Reed's own sanity though, as finding particularly horrific clues will take their toll on Reed's mind.

How much of the game is combat?
While combat is not an uncommon occurrence it is not the focus of the game. You'll be spending the majority of your time in Oakmont exploring, investigating and making narrative choices. Though you do need to be mindful of your ammo and conserve it whenever possible.

The game is inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft which have a problematic heritage. How does this game handle that aspect of the work?
While we haven't seen the full story of how things are handled in-game we do know that the issue is addressed as early as the title screen.

Multiple endings?
Yes.

Can I change Reed's appearance and remove that backpack?
Yes.

There are multiple editions of the game. What do they include?
"Day One" retail package - $59.99 USD (And digital equivalent)

Digital "Necronomicon Edition" - 74.99 USD

(Worshipers of the Necronomicon being a 3 mission sidequest which can be bought separately)

How long is the game?
I was told ~15 hours to do the critical path, ~25 hours if you include sidequests.

Review embargo?

As far as the embargo is concerned for reviews, the email with my review code says no streams or publishing is allowed until "June 25th, 12 PM EST."

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PS4 Pro and Xbox One X support?
I was talking to someone from Frogwares a couple months ago and was told it wasn't looking likely for supporting those platforms. This was reconfirmed in a later AMA.

Ultrawide support on PC? Unlocked FPS?
TBA, but previous Frogwares titles could be forced to display in a 21:9 aspect ratio with an .ini tweak.

How will the game perform on Switch?
From a recent wccftech interview...

We are still developing this version of the game. But we know we have to make certain compromises. Because, first of all, it's a new platform for us, and there is a learning curve. We are reducing the number of polygons for character models, but in a way that it is not noticeable. There will be other compromises, but we still cannot say, as we are still working on it.

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Metacritic - 72 (PC)

MSPoweruser - 7/10

Without a doubt, The Sinking City is the best Lovecraft game we've ever seen. It's still not a perfect title—for some reason, none are—but it's a damn fun time as a Lovecraftian private eye. Hopefully, Frogwares will follow up with another Lovecraft title with stronger combat. But if investigating eldritch horrors in an entirely unique game world is what you're after, you need to play this despite its flaws.

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Gaming LYF - 3.5/5

The Sinking City is an incredibly ambitious open world detective title which punches way above its weight thanks to various refreshing mechanics, an engaging narrative and some impressively alluring world design. Combat woes, a rigid open world and numerous technical issues unfortunately let what's otherwise a great game down. However, The Sinking City is still well worth a look.

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Powerup-gaming - 8.4/10

Frogwares isn't casting judgement either. It lets you do that yourself and for a game to make you examine your own morals…well, you can't call that anything other than a success.

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pushsquare - 7/10

The Sinking City is a captivating detective undertaking that dives into the hauntings of H.P. Lovecraft with a compelling narrative that is sure to question your viewpoint as well as reality itself. If you can look past its presentational shortcomings and mediocre combat system, the plight of private eye Charles Reed is one worth seeing for yourself.

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ACG - "Wait for Sale"

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Title credit to HellBlazer

 

[Zacmortar]

Amazon copy shipped early so im wishful this is one of ghe few times i get a game early. The previews for this showed off waaaaaaay more of what I wanted from a cosmic horror game than CoC had in its entire run time, so even if theres tons of jank ill probably love it.

Really hope they added a bit more oomph to the gunshots though

 

[Alastor3]

I wonder if this game will beat their best Sherlock Holmes games.

 

[Hark]

Nice OT! Thanks for setting it up. Can't wait to finally play this. Been playing Arkham Horror for a few weeks now and ready for a different kind of experience.

Also glad to hear you can take Reed's backpack off, hahaha.

 

[joe_zazen]

Interesting vice (former waypoint) article linked in the ot, well worth a read. I had no idea this game was going to be about racism as well as pulpy detective stuff. I too wonder if they can pull it off.

 

[NTGYK]

So this dude just accepts that there's ape people and fish people wandering around?

 

[Zips]

Dancrane212 As far as the embargo is concerned for reviews, the email with my review code says no streams or publishing is allowed until "June 25th, 12 PM EST."

 

[Hassansan]

Thanks for the OT.

I wasn't going to get this day 1 but the Epic sale price was too good to pass up, hope they deliver.

 

[matrix-cat]

Nice OT!

I'm looking forward to this game, but I'm still kind of anxious about how much combat there's going to be. I quite enjoyed the early hours of last year's Call of Cthulhu game, too, but once it started getting into trial-and-error stealth sections and shooting I just didn't want to play it any more. Frogware's last couple of Sherlock games were wonderful, so I definitely want more of that, but I'm just kind of dreading the idea of getting bogged down in euro-janky, punishingly difficult shooter/stealth/hide-and-seek stuff when I just want to be investigating, y'know?

 

[Stiler]

Nice OT, I completely forgot this game was coming out so soon.

Really hope it delivers on the story and choices, right in the mood for a good HP Lovecraftian game.

 

[Bufbaf]

I wish we would have at least tiny prerelease demos for pc games. I have no idea if this will run on my machine, given that I still rock a Phenom X4 with a 770 GTX.

Preordering on EGS also nets you The Devils Daughter btw.

 

[Lucifonz]

Great OT. Release date says 25th though - pretty sure it's 27th? Embargo lifts 25th for what it's worth :)

 

[kizmah]

Great OT. Release date says 25th though - pretty sure it's 27th? Embargo lifts 25th for what it's worth :)

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Yep, according to PS Store and online retailers it's 27th. At least here in Europe.

 

[Goro Majima]

I will buy it later, for now is too expensive and I will not have time to play it anyway since Judgment is out tomorrow.

 

[eXistor]

Man, busy week with games for me. Almost done with Bloodstained, then it's onto Hollow Knight which I played a few hours for the last time last week (I wanted to do Bloodstained first as it's much shorter) then Judgment releases tomorrow and I almost forgot about Sinking City, which looks right up my alley. I'm probably gonna leave Judgment and Sinking City for my holiday which is in a few weeks.

/edit: Oh and Mario Maker 2 as well!

The game looks super-interesting though, I hope they can pull it off though, it sounds pretty ambitious. But even if they don't quite pull it off, I'd rather play a rough, but interesting game then a polished bland game.

 

[terminaljeremy]

The original trailer for this is fantastic, OP. Might be worth chucking it in there.

 

[ThroughtheVoid]

Please God just let this game be good I beg of you

 

[SvennusDemonicus]

I'm excited for this game. What time does it unlock tomorrow on EGS?

 

[Loggjaw]

Don't ban me but for me this a game pass game

 

[MEATER]

So, is the investigator pack exclusive to boxed copies of the game? Seems like if you pre-order the PC version on the epic store you get an extra skill point and one of their Sherlock Holmes games instead.

 

[SRV]

So excited to play this, I've been looking forward to it for a minute now.

 

[Ahti]

Still on the fence about this one. Game looks interesting but also janky somehow.

 

[Fatoy]

I've been a lifelong Lovecraft fan, and I really like what they're doing with the mythos in the marketing for this game. I've never played any of the Sherlock Holmes games that the studio put out before, though, so I'm not sure what level of "rough around the edges" to expect.

 

[Hark]

So, is the investigator pack exclusive to boxed copies of the game? Seems like if you pre-order the PC version on the epic store you get an extra skill point and one of their Sherlock Holmes games instead.

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The Necronomicon edition on each platform includes The Investigator Pack as well as the Gun + Skill point and, most importantly, the 'Worshippers of the Necronomicon' side mission pack :)

Whether this content is worth the extra $15+ remains to be seen. I hope so as I'm still undecided what edition to buy!

 

[MEATER]

I've never played any of the Sherlock Holmes games that the studio put out before, though, so I'm not sure what level of "rough around the edges" to expect.

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They started out pretty rough around the edges but improved over the years. Still, this is their most ambitious game so far as I can tell since it's open world and not as polished as say GTA V or RDR.

Seems like there is already a youtuber posting a let's play with permission:

Looks polished enough for me. Tough it seems less "guided" and linear than I expected.

 

[MEATER]

The Necronomicon edition on each platform includes The Investigator Pack as well as the Gun + Skill point and, most importantly, the 'Worshippers of the Necronomicon' side mission pack :)

Whether this content is worth the extra $15+ remains to be seen. I hope so as I'm still undecided what edition to buy!

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Thanks. I missed that.

At least on amazon the day one edition also includes the investigator pack. It's sold out in Germany though, so I'll probably go with the Necronomicon edition if I decide to buy. Still not sure if I want this over Bloodstained on Switch.

 

[Fatoy]

Looks polished enough for me. Tough it seems less "guided" and linear than I expected.

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This helped - thank you.

 

[Bufbaf]

I watched that first walkthrough gameplay video and yeah, this looks pretttty good :)

Now I gotta decide for either PC version, cheaper, more handy to start up at the desk but maybe running very poorly on my machine, or PS4, 60 bucks, probably half the price after a month or two.


first world problems.

 

[JustJavi]

I'm super excited about this one. Will wait to see how the Switch version is to decided what platform to buy it for

 

[KnivesAndCoins]

What the? A quest behind a pre order?

 

[Dancrane212]

Dancrane212 As far as the embargo is concerned for reviews, the email with my review code says no streams or publishing is allowed until "June 25th, 12 PM EST."

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Thanks!

Great OT. Release date says 25th though - pretty sure it's 27th? Embargo lifts 25th for what it's worth :)

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Whoops, got my wires crossed (must have been thinking of Samurai Shodown). Guess it's just an especially early OT then.

 

[Thiago]

Preloaded on PS4. I'm excited to play it tonight.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

This looks interesting. Definitely curious about impressions and reviews.

 

[mjc]

Very interested in this, but I'm a bit wary of the combat. Hopefully it pans out.

 

[Bufbaf]

Preloaded on PS4. I'm excited to play it tonight.

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27th though?

 

[APerfectOrganism]

I grabbed the 48 hour early access on PS4. Played about 2-3 hours yesterday on ps4 pro.

Impressions: the game looks great but has some technical jank, nothing too bad. Appears to run between 30 and 60 fps. Lots of dialogue and some decent voice acting. The city and atmosphere is dripping with mystery and intrigue. You are literally a private investigator just dropped into a Cthulhu universe and there are lots of mysteries to unfold and dig into it.

I've only completed one case, but I had options on how I wanted to complete it, suggesting my choices will have repercussions.

Shooting doesnt seem bad, no input lag it dead zone issues. Monsters are creepy too.

Oh and I can't wait to play more. Truly enjoying it. My only complaint are the graphical issues. Ymmv but they don't bother me too much.

 

[Thiago]

27th though?

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According to my PS4, the game unlocks in 14 hours and 45 minutes (US region).

 

[Bufbaf]

According to my PS4, the game unlocks in 14 hours and 45 minutes (US region).

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Oh hey, I didn't know! Have fun!

 

[Dancrane212]

According to my PS4, the game unlocks in 14 hours and 45 minutes (US region).

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Weird, maybe I did have the date right after all?

 

[Thiago]

Weird, maybe I did have the date right after all?

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It's probably tomorrow in America and Friday in Europe.

I just checked the American PS Store and it really releases tomorrow.

 

[Zutrax]

I'm extremely curious about this game. I honestly don't know what to expect, been avoiding trailers to go in blind. I really enjoyed the newer Call of Cthulhu game that came out, and the old Call of Cthulhu Dark Corners of the Earth is one of my favorite horror titles. If this one even remotely compares I'll probably adore it.

 

[PanzerKraken]

Kinda want to support this, seems like lot of effort by a smaller studio. Everyone focused on price when this will possibly be delivering a nice long game

 

[NovaXz]

I am very intrigued by this game and really hope it turns out well.

 

[GavinUK86]

Is that title a Gears of War nod? lol.

The game looks interesting but I'm definitely going to hold off until opinions start rolling out. Looks a little bit too janky to me.

 

[APerfectOrganism]

The Necronomicon edition unlocked the game yesterday. It is an extra $15 but you get a Sherlock Holmes game and DLC with it.

 

[Zedelima]

Is coming to the switch too?

Oh this give's me hope that they could port the sherlock holmes games too!

 

[AllThingsPurple]

Pre ordered this, game sounds awesome, hopefully it follows through on its promise.

 

[Astra Planeta]

Anyone running this on a One X? How close to 60 FPS is it? Trying to decide between that and my PC.

 

[Lucifonz]

Weird, maybe I did have the date right after all?

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It looks like the Necronomicon Edition comes with 48hr early access - not something they seem to advertise prominently, instead it's almost buried away. Odd that the review embargo is fairly well into the launch, but not the first time we've seen this.

Anyone running this on a One X? How close to 60 FPS is it? Trying to decide between that and my PC.

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I am but unfortunately unable to talk about my experiences until tomorrow.

 

[OhNo]

Anyone running this on a One X? How close to 60 FPS is it? Trying to decide between that and my PC.

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Go for it on pc. Seriously. Tried it on all Consoles and I was worried about my PS4 Pro lifting off into space. Only got a One S but its not that much better. It runs smoothly on PC!