Sunken Engine

Sunken Engine operates in this delightful space between a job simulator and a horror game. Your main job is to operate a shipyard, cleaning and repairing ships for cash and experience/skill points. You then spend that cash and skill points to expand the range and difficulty of servicing operations you can perform, the quality of the tools you use, and the materials required to fully mend every vessel you can. Some of the things you collect, namely shells and starfish, can be sold at your market, along with any fish you catch from fishing. Over time, the economy starts to grow as wealthier customers offer greater gain, and larger or more urgent jobs offer even more. Underpinning this already satisfying gameplay loop, is a sinister Lovecraftian tale of horror, betrayal, and meddling with unknown powers. Figures begin appearing out of the corner of your eyes. Glowing red eyes stare at you from the tops of buildings. Your heart beats faster and your skin begins to crawl. Strangers knock on your door, hinting at mysteries beyond the veil. Strange fish begin appearing on your hook. By this point, you're already in too deep. They have found you. They are watching you. As an Early Access title, I reserve final judgement for the full release, but so far there is a lot to discuss about this game (SPOILERS AHEAD). For an indie title, this game shows a lot of completion. There's plenty to do, plenty to work towards, and most progress feels satisfying. The horror feels well-integrated, and when things really start to get creepy, they deliver. During the day, parts of the town are open to explore, while at night, things begin to change. Occasionally, the circus comes to town, offering yet another unsettling venue and gameplay loop. Some nights you'll even be visited by haunted ships that hide dark secrets. The art is very pleasant, albeit overly cartoonish at times. I found myself gripped by this game, losing large blocks of time making progress towards the current end of build. I have enjoyed the time spent, and I believe a wide array of people would enjoy this game. I can tell that there is a tremendous amount of inspiration from Dredge, but it feels more of an homage in the service of familiarizing players, rather than outright theft, and comparing the two is a tad reductive. Naturally, however, I have some complaints. As I mentioned before, there is an overly cartoonish quality at times, that detracts from the general feel. The NPCs are all 2D drawings with lots of detail, but the shadow figures are 3D and very geometric. Those two clash at times and detract a little from the horror element. I also feel like the horror part is a little too forgiving? While I appreciate the ability to regain sanity easily, and that true horror comes from the unexpected and random, I feel like some of the sanity-breaking events and creature interactions were minor or infrequent enough to not really count sanity as a well-managed resource. This is most prominent when you get to the ghost liner. It is marketed as a horror venue where you're stalked by an unseen monster - wherein I never encountered a single scare. I'm not sure if it was because I managed sanity well with the pipe, or if I was never able to spend a LONG enough time on the ship because the Blue Prince-style room generation locked me out constantly. I also struggled with the material economy at times, because repairing deckboards never seemed to cost the same twice. I would run out of either wood or nails randomly, despite having purchased amounts I would've imagined were satisfactory. Lastly, I struggled with the haunted ships that come in certain nights. Supposedly, there are 4 types of artefact to be obtained from them, although I only ever got the same 3 over and over again. Maybe it's not integrated yet, but my completionist mind says - if you're going to show it's possible, it better be possible. Overall I think this is a really impressive title, worthy of the time and money I have invested so far. I am extremely eager for the next installment. I encourage anyone who has read this far to give it a try!