![]() After collecting the necessary evidence at any given location, it is dependent on the player to extrapolate from clues left behind where to move next in the investigation. ![]() At no point is the player ever given an explicit checkpoint to pursue. While not usually a genre I dabble in, I actually found the puzzle-solving to be among the game’s strong suits (perhaps a testament to developer Frogware’s resume filled that’s with Sherlock Holmes games). Given the genre, players find themselves regularly investigating crime scenes and solving puzzles in a quest to slowly uncover the source of Oakmont’s, and for that matter Reed’s, troubles. The story follows Charles Reed, an ex-navy diver turned private eye, who finds himself guided by terrifying hallucinations to Oakmont, Massachusetts - only to discover a city plagued with massive flooding, as well as monsters from the ocean known as wyldebeasts. For the unfamiliar, The Sinking City is a detective-mystery survival-horror game inspired directly by the writings of H.P. If you’re looking for something action-packed you’ll be better served elsewhere, but for fans of Lovecraft’s universe or head-scratching detectathons, The Sinking City is more than worth a shot.The Sinking City is not a great game, but it was one that I enjoyed in spite of that fact. If you missed The Sinking City previously, this is absolutely the best time to jump into it and experience the adventure. It also comes with a surprising amount of DLC to extend and improve the campaign even further. On PlayStation 5 it looks very good, the improved textures enhancing environmental detail and animations, bringing the macabre ambience up a notch. Cracks shown under scrutiny, of course, such as repeated NPCs, occasionally broken AI patrol routes and copy-pasted assets, but Oakmont in general is a city you’ll want to keep examining despite how outwardly gross it is. It creates agency instead of a simple checklist, and forces you to travel on foot and see things you’d otherwise miss. Small concepts have big pay-outs too, such as you having to physically mark Reed’s map of the city with points of interest. ![]() The writing is more than decent, and the world is one that feels worth exploring. Reed’s “mind palace” allows him – and you, of course – to piece together all the evidence and clues you’ve found pertaining to the city’s various mysteries, from which you can then draw conclusions, issue accusations and generally help people find a peace that ironically alludes Reed himself. It’s hardly shocking given Frogware’s pedigree with Sherlock Holmes adventures, but the detective mystery that holds The Sinking City’s unnecessarily open world afloat is repeatedly entertaining and surprising. Its far from the focus and the primary element of playing Detective is by far the superior. Shooting is unsatisfying and melee fighting is floaty and imprecise, but it doesn’t matter. There’s very little combat in The Sinking City and this is a good thing, as the combat is the weakest element. In fact a lot of The Sinking City is like this, including why people are so comfortable with monsters wandering the place and gutted sharks stinking up the streets. There’s also a family who closely resemble apes, although that’s never really explored or explained. Instead he finds conspiracy and terror lurking around every corner, a cult dedicated to the worship of the otherworldly deity known as Kay, and escalating tensions between the townsfolk and a humanoid race called Innsmouthers, who resemble fish. who suffers crippling PTSD, and had come to the dreary former resort town looking for a cure. The protagonist is a former sailor turned P.I. It makes you wonder why people are so content to literally leave dead bodies strewn about the city, but then things in Oakmont are rarely what they seem. On PS5 the dingy streets and waterways tingle with detail, fish carcasses and octopi remains gleam with a hideous patina. My most recent foray was in the Switch version and, while it ran as well as it could after certain concessions, it struggled at times with framerate and the resolution took a major hit. Reed’s decent into madness and horror in the bizarre city looks pretty incredible on PS5. Perhaps unsurprisingly, its also the best version of Frogware’s Lovecraftian detective thriller, The Sinking City. The new version on PlayStation 5 marks the third time I’ve stepped into the shoes of Charles Reed and made my way to the grimy city of Oakmont.
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