The Sinking City 2

J'ai joué au premier, que j'ai beaucoup aimé. Dans ce 2e opus, qui n'est pas une suite, le style de gameplay est bien différent du premier. Nous sommes ici dans un jeu style Resident Evil (Remakes) à la sauce Lovecraft/Chtulu. Les énigmes sont variées et intéressantes. Visuellement, le jeu est beau, les animations et les personnages aussi. L'histoire est prenante, l'ambiance horrifique/glauque/malsaine et le sound design sont excellents. La bande-son est minimaliste, et sert surtout d'ambiance. Petit bémol pour les combats qui manquent un peu de sensations, mais ce jeu est plus axé survival que action (en tout cas lors d'une première partie). La rejouabilité est la même que pour les RE, avec une boutique de points permettant de débloquer des bonus. Je recommande à tous ceux qui aiment le genre.

On February 9th 2024 I finished The Sinking City, I think it was right before they released the free Remaster. Check my Review for The Sinking City for reference... So I bought the Sinking City 2 Premium Edition for 59,99€. Steam says it took me 16.6 hours to finish, but the Game said 11:21:30 for the Main Game and put just over an hour for the Day 1 DLC for a more realistic playtime. 20/23 Achievements, the other 2 I would only get for a second playthrough (which I don't want to do right now) and then there is only the "All Achievements" Achievement. But let's talk about the Game itself. First off to get it out of the way: I think Day 1 DLC is obviously bad and it's kind of scummy to put it into a Premium Edition. Thus the price is too high and I kinda wished I bought it on sale. I still have total respect for the Devs who basically developed this in a warzone and I guess me buying the Game full price kinda supports them!? So I started out on Sleep Demon Difficulty which is the hardest in the beginning but I changed it somewhere around the Church area to Hard Night (second highest difficulty) because it was not enjoyable at all. I died MANY times until I changed difficulty. Never had a problem playing any of the Resident Evil Games on the hardest difficulty, but here dodging felt weird and inconsistent and every single mistake is extremely punishing. Especially since Items you can find are random. Sometimes you get 3 bullets, sometimes 5, sometimes a crafting material. Also even when I was kiting enemies like crazy, when I returned to their spawn points, they magically teleported back to their point of origin. But playing on Hard Night was a good choice afterwards, it still felt challenging but I could make progress and it was WAY easier. But you still HAVE to run and conserve your ammo. I felt like even on the hardest RE Difficulties you could scrape by with some ammo, in the Sinking City 2 the odds are most of the time against you, especially on the harder difficulties. But this was actually a good thing, it really felt like a true survival horror game. The "wave based sections" were also well made, I had to bite my nails a few times, but material/ammo crates basically give you unlimited resources in those sections. Graphically the Game looks really good and it ran perfectly. I think there was only one small area where I had a fps hickup, that's it. What was weird is, that every time I inspected an item, my CPU usage would shoot up and I could hear my fans spinning really fast. Apart from that, I had no issues and could crank everything to the max. The Sound Design was EXCELLENT throughout. There were areas where it gave me shivers. Voice Acting was also really good and the music very atmospheric. In the beginning I thought the story was "kinda meh" and I didn't get the full on Lovecraft vibes, but it really picked up and was ultimately and overall really enjoyable. The level design was excellent and the environments were all interesting and varied. Enemy variety was just ok, since 90% of the time you basically fight "tentacle worm zombies". Many people are mixed on The Sinking City 2 because they expected it to be like the first Game. I don't mind that they tried something different (full on focused, linear, level based Survival Horror instead of Semi-Open-World Detective Game with a bit of combat), actually I appreciate it. Yes, I REALLY liked the first Game but I am not against something fresh and new and this was a pleasant surprise. Call it a Resident Evil Clone, that's fine. Many Games copy it. This is one of the good ones. Combat was good, puzzles were there and fun to solve (not too easy, not too hard, good middle ground). And it retains the atmosphere from the first Game, so it didn't completely lose it's identity. Again, I don't think that's a bad thing... The DLC was also well made and had a few throwbacks to the first Game, still I think it should've been included for free. Basically played the Game over the course of 2 days, couldn't put it down and I can definitely recommend it! Good Game...

[h1]Pros:[/h1] * [b] One of the Better AA Survival Horrors[/b]: Titles like this and Cronos: The New Dawn give me hope that we’ll see more new blood in this genre that can carry the torch of Dead Space (and to a lesser extent, Resident Evil and Silent Hill, as they’re still alive). They might not be perfect by any means, but they get what makes these experiences interesting – in-univese, grounded scares, proper inventory management, difficult but rewarding combat. * [b] Refreshingly Distinct in the Right Ways[/b]: The Slither are an excellent spice up of the established zombie survival horror experience. Admittedly the weak spot system feels a bit too videogamey, but the unnatural movement of the enemies and how much you have to change up your strategy when dealing with them is a wonderfully distinct variation from the formula of “aim for the head”. Once you suss out the best strategy for dealing with the enemies (shooting their ankles and running in to stomp them), the game clicks in a rewarding way. I also really loved the investigation mechanic, which both rewarded you with skill points for engaging with it AND made the act of solving the game’s puzzles far more interesting. * [b] Proper Survival Horror Inventory Management[/b]: While I am disappointed in no ink ribbons (which I always feel like are the best way to make the limited inventory management worth it), this is one of the first Survival Horror titles in a long time that makes inventory management an actual priority. Key items taking up space alongside guns and crafting materials might make for a more frustrating experience for some, but for anyone who loves classic Resident Evil, it adds a fun strategy to the title where routing and proper organization matter. * [b] Solid Challenge and Intensity[/b]: It’s always nice when I genuinely struggle with a title in this genre, and while I had my fair share of complaints about the designs of bosses, I think a majority of the enemies (minus the Deep Ones?) are designed well to throw you off. Even once you understand the proper strategy for dealing with the Slither, it is very easy to get overwhelmed, and proper use of your dodge is key to escaping tricky situations. * [b] Faye and Calvin’s Writing[/b]: Neither of the main characters are written in a way that grates on your sanity with tired quips or unnatural deliveries. Faye does tend to get annoying in the later parts of the game where she acts like Navi, but ultimately her character is performed and written excellently. Calvin is endearing and written sort of similar to Ethan Winters, with an unnatural level of stupidity for someone so talented as a detective. Still, by the end of the game, you will find yourself rooting for this doomed couple. * [b] Intense Atmosphere[/b]: While not quite at Dead Space levels of making you uncomfortable, there are quite a few places in Arkham that have a very unnerving mood to them, especially in the opening moments of the game. * [b] Playtime[/b]: I managed to do MOST, but not all, of the game’s secrets (Don’t finish the mermaid part until you’re sure you’ve explored the entire first town!) on the second hardest difficulty, and my playtime reached around 12.7 hours, which is quite good for a game in the genre. There are a host of optional challenges to pursue, a shop full of unlockables to purchase, and an unlockable NG+ higher difficulty mode with hidden lore and gameplay changes. With enough fun with the game, you could easily squeeze out double the playtime or more if you cared to pursue all of the challenges. [h1]Cons:[/h1] * [b] Unfortunately Awful Boss Encounters: Room Survival[/b]: Easily the worst part of this game is the bosses. For starters, a majority of the boss encounters are “let’s throw 20 enemies at you in a small enclosure with respawning ammo and health”. It feels a far cry from Dead Space’s horde survival segments. I think it speaks volumes that they had to start throwing respawning ammo crates in these rooms as opposed to traditional Survival Horror giving you an assortment of supplies and saying “good luck”, because unfortunately the game isn’t quite balanced enough to support the fights they tried to do. * [b] Unfortunately Awful Boss Encounters: Real Bosses[/b]: There are ~four boss encounters in the game (two of which start to become a semi-regular occurrence enemy), and unfortunately all of them suffer from the same problems: attacks that are spammed and make no visual sense for dodging (the gas attacks from the Juggernaut is a horrid example of this, as is Shoggoth’s worm ground attacks), never being able to focus your attention on just the boss (whether it’s because other things are often in the arena with you or their attacks often come from places where you cannot look at the boss), and lacking space to breathe for reloads (as most attacks are constantly outputted back-to-back). The first two problems are the worst offenders, and unfortunately they seem to be the only things helping the boss fights feel difficult. There wasn’t a single boss fight that lived up to even the most mundane of expectations from Resident Evil, Silent Hill, or Dead Space. * [b] Story has an Unsatisfying, Poorly Written Resolution[/b]: [spoiler]Calvin deciding to trust the Eldritch horror to honor a deal at the end of the game is absurd. Faye doing a 180 on her “this is bigger than both of us” perspective is absurd, and her stating the obvious (“You orchestrated this!”) is extremely silly. I of course expected an ending with a poor resolution to their story, as is tradition with this sort of media, but “Both of these idiots inexplicably decide to trust the Eldritch horror to reclaim her body and somehow are able to decide to give up Arkham on everyone’s behalf” was not the ending I anticipated nor desired. I was hoping for Cal to rightfully realize that either he or her are dead and there’s no coming back from that, or alternatively for us to learn that Faye hasn’t been Faye for quite some time, acting on behalf of the monster’s whims.[/spoiler] * [b] Lackluster Pursuer [/b]: This is a less important problem, but I think worth saying: the Pursuer (the Shadow, or whatever it is) in this game is kinda lame. His design is 0% intimidating because he’s just a black blob, his movement lacks the intimidating presence of Mr. X or Nemesis, and his mechanics to trip you up are often more annoyance than a problem (placing thick barriers in front of your path that you have to walk around or attack). * [b] Unclear Stomping Mechanic [/b]: To this day, I’m still not quite sure if stomping the ambient worms has any purpose. You’re meant to stomp enemies after killing them to stop the worms from reinfesting the corpse, and that makes sense! But there are often ambient worms in the environment that you can slowly stomp away. Sometimes it feels as though this helps lessen encounter difficulty and you can see the worms slowly start to dissipate… but other times, no matter how much you stomp, the worms seem like they cannot be killed. [h1]Overall:[/h1] I tried to get into Sinking City once before and bounced off hard. I love detective mystery games with weird monsters, but something about its exact blend of janky mechanics and world building just didn’t do it for me. However, I LOVE survival horror, and this pivot into the genre is very successful for a first go. There are many things to love about Sinking City 2: it properly utilizes the strengths of its genre, strives to stand apart from other titles, and has a solid cast of characters that you want to know more about. It may falter in some pretty unfortunate ways with its boss fights and ending, but ultimately I enjoyed my time with the title. I’d recommend this as a great hold over for all Survival Horror fans waiting for their next fix of Silent Hill or Resident Evil, and hope that Frogwares continues to expand upon their work in the formula.

How far would you go for love? The Sinking City 2 is a great horror story with a world that immerses you in the dread of the Cthulhu Mythos.

Doporučuji hrát na nižší obtížnost, lépe si to užijete. Vyšší obtížnost (já hrál a dohrál na těžkou) je spíš frustrace protože Frogři boj prostě moc neumí. Nebo jinak: Ono to není vymyšlené špatně, dá se přežít když opravdu používáte všechno s rozmyslem ale je to hodně těžkopádné a pojí se s tím častý backtracking. Vyšetřování šlo taky trochu do pozadí, je poměrně zjednodušené ale to byl asi záměr. Co musím vyzdvihnout je naprosto parádní čeká lokalizace. Ta se fakt povedla a za to velkej palec nahoru. Jinak je to dost obšlehlé od Residenta a toho mám opravdu rád. ale Sinking City 1 bylo pro mě přece jen originálnější a víc mi to k Frogrům sedí. Dvojka špatná není a rozhodně stojí za to zahrát ale asi zase budu vyhlížet Šerloka a takouvej Zločin a Trest 2, ten by mě opravdu potěšil.

Good game, almost like a RE gameplay. Really recommend it!

Gran juego!

it is great game