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Sunless Sea Image

Sunless Sea (PC)

Release Date:
Also On: iPhone/iPad
81
Metascore
 38 reviews
7.6
User Score
 159 ratings
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Developer: Failbetter Games
Publisher: Failbetter Games
Game Details: Take the helm of your customised steamship and set sail for the unknown. Sunless Sea is a 2D game of
Take the helm of your customised steamship and set sail for the unknown. Sunless Sea is a 2D game of discovery, survival and loneliness set in the Victorian Gothic universe of Fallen London.
Developer: Failbetter Games
Publisher: Failbetter Games
Genre(s): Sci-Fi Action Adventure General
Number of players: No Online Multiplayer
Cheats: On GameFAQs
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Critic Reviews
(38)
81
Metascore Generally favorable reviews
31 Positive Ratings 81%
7 Mixed Ratings 18%
0 Negative Ratings 0%
Based on 38 Critic Reviews View All
100
LEVEL (Czech Republic)
Mar 10, 2015
"It's not earned easily, but if you are proficient in English and you also have patience to get in picture in a fantastical world, your reward will be a true treasure among current games. [Issue#250]"
90
Gamestyle
Mar 10, 2015
"An extremely good game which just doesn’t feel properly finished. It’s not quite a final draft. It’s still damned good fun though." ... Read full review
88
Multiplayer.it
Feb 23, 2015
"Sunless Sea is a game for a very specific audience. It requires a patient player who loves reading and has a big imagination. But if this is you, then you'll know how does it feel to long for the open sea while remaining seated in your room." ... Read full review
80
Guardian
Feb 9, 2015
"Indeed, one of the best things about Sunless Sea, apart from its beautifully crafted elder-horror stories, fantastically drawn artwork and generally creepy atmosphere, is the feeling that the decisions you make within the game are shaping the narrative, and that by playing, you are writing yourself into that story. " ... Read full review
80
Hardcore Gamer
Mar 3, 2015
"Sunless Sea is a little darker and less cheerful than its already morbid sister Fallen London, but it’s no less delightful." ... Read full review
80
PC Gamer
Feb 11, 2015
"Wonderful writing resting on top of infirm foundations. Almost a classic, Sunless Sea falls a few leagues short of its final destination." ... Read full review
60
CalmDownTom
Feb 18, 2015
"I don’t want to sound too down on Sunless Sea. Sadly though, it’s one of those games that I respect and appreciate more than I enjoy and one that I find it easier to recommend than to actually play." ... Read full review
User Reviews
(36)
7.6
User Score Generally favorable reviews
106 Positive Ratings 66%
27 Mixed Ratings 16%
26 Negative Ratings 16%
Based on 159 Ratings and 36 Reviews View All
10
historymaking
Dec 18, 2016
One of the best games I have played in a long time. The text is immersive. I actually feel like I'm part of the story. I find this to be aOne of the best games I have played in a long time. The text is immersive. I actually feel like I'm part of the story. I find this to be a rare thing in games, you're so often ramrodded towards a central narrative even in games that proclaim themselves to be openended and open world. In sunless sea there are a million little pieces of story, all well written, all tailor made, but free to combine themselves into new and exciting things all of the time. I find myself anxiously wondering if I'll make it to the next port before my food and fuel run out, wondering what I could have done to stop that house from burning down, and generally lost inside the game. This doesnt happen. I dont get lost inside games. Somehow I am.… Expand
10
OHIC
Sep 25, 2017
One of my favourite games of all time. It's famously harsh and keen to kill you, which is part of the dark humour. It's a humour style thatOne of my favourite games of all time. It's famously harsh and keen to kill you, which is part of the dark humour. It's a humour style that won't work for everyone, but if you recognise and appreciate their references then it'll reward you in spades. Strongly recommend getting the Zubmariner DLC too - it's playable inside the main game story, and gives you many advantages once you've gained the ability to scour the surface, the Unterzee and the sea bed too.

The game also makes a big deal about playing for permadeath, teasing the idea that it would be detrimental to use Saves and lose your status as a "true" player. I'd advise you to forget that, and use the Save! It's hard enough without completely crushing yourself. Abandon all ideas about finding some cheap stock that's worth a fortune at another port, too; such things are almost totally non-existent, and this isn't Elite. Money will appear as windfalls from unexpected moments in the game's story, as will life-saving food and fuel (although you will also need to buy these!). The game wants you to forget about traditional game ideas and put both feet into being a foolhardy sea captain from a horror story. Be reckless and give yourself to that premise, and the game will pay you back with more (wonderfully well written) stories.… Expand
10
miranda7
Feb 8, 2015
Been playing games since the 80s, and first game I felt compelled to rate. For sure, it not for everyone, but for me it is stunning,Been playing games since the 80s, and first game I felt compelled to rate. For sure, it not for everyone, but for me it is stunning, Atmospheric, different, addictive. Love the fact that you are going to die at the start, but that helps your descendants (or rivals) to progress.… Expand
8
Skulb
Mar 6, 2015
This is a highly unusual game to say the least. If you can imagine a sort of mutation of Lovecraft, Ports of Call, Rogue Legacy and FTL withThis is a highly unusual game to say the least. If you can imagine a sort of mutation of Lovecraft, Ports of Call, Rogue Legacy and FTL with undead tourists and sea monsters then you`re getting there. But then it isn`t really like any of those at all either, but something quite particular indeed. Half the time I couldn`t even tell if I was having fun or was being shanghaied into some sort of sociology experiment quite frankly. Crossing the sea takes positively forever, and chances are you`re not making it across even if you`re patient enough to try. So in short the best description I can give of Sunless Sea is that it is a verbose, story generating, nautical legacy rogue-like set in a faux, subterranean 19th century Britain with undeads, pirates, talking rodents, giant crabs, jellyfish, mechanical sharks and other sea dwelling terrors. It could hardly be any weirder if it tried.
Meanwhile there`s a curious mixture of gloom, literacy and nonsensical absurdism in this game I am unsure if I have seen anywhere before. It`s not exactly funny, not exactly tragic and not exactly dramatic. It just is, like a weird alternative reality full of slightly unsettling things of all kinds. But something is very likely to take a hold of you while playing Sunless Sea whether you like it or not, and whatever it is.
Mostly it`s desperation and sheer panic of course, as hours of meticulous progress threaten to go down the drain unless you can somehow limp and cannibalize your way back to the relative safety of Fallen London. But on the occasions when you do make it back, preferably with some haul to make the whole thing feel worth it, there`s a potent sense of relief I haven`t experienced too often in video games. There is a distinct visual style as well, and the sound is excellent in every way, as you chug your way nervously around a subterranean ocean called The Unterzee. But it`s the panicked moments when you know you`re gonna be lost at sea, again, which drive you up the wall and right on to starting all over again with the next poor sap you`re gonna drown in an act of overstretch, stupidity, hubris or accident, in the form of your heir. Ideally each drowned sap, erm I mean captain, will build on the fortune of his predecessor until some conclusion to the game can be reached. I have not reached that far yet, but it is an interesting concept and it is well executed in Sunless Sea.
I would score it higher if it wasn`t for the sense I am getting that the story part of the game crashes a bit with the rogue-like genre. Replayability is all good and well. But who wants to read the same text over and over again? I ended up clicking through most of it because of this, which is a shame because it`s well written stuff. Just not the tenth time. Or the twentieth. And similarly, random events have a bad habit of not seeming very random. Once I got the same one five times in a row within about three minutes. I didn`t want it and dismissed it only to get it again twenty seconds later until I thought it was a bug of some sort. Secondly it seems a bit grindy. This isn`t necessarily a bad thing of course, and at least the game rewards the lost art of patience. But I am having a hell of a time getting any development of my ship going at all, which is sort of a big deal in a nautical rogue-like. The upgrades are expensive, not to mention upgrading the hull, and the one cannon upgrade I did manage to buy was not inherited by my heir as advertized, which felt like the game cheating quite frankly. And the game is hard enough without cheating the player.
Other than these slight niggles, most of which have more to do with the irrepressible creativity of the designers than any actual flaws with the game, I can`t find a thing to criticize about it.

Highly recommended if you have the patience to read my review of it. Especially if you like things difficult and slow paced and you enjoy reading.… Expand
7
Sjalka
Feb 10, 2015
Sunless Sea offers an open world with an abundance to explore and interact with. It has a beautifully drawn 2d top-down world and I instantlySunless Sea offers an open world with an abundance to explore and interact with. It has a beautifully drawn 2d top-down world and I instantly felt the victorian steam punk alternative world.

However the game can easily overwhelm a newcomer with its many plots, sidequests and stories and items - along with a punishing difficulty (at first) that literally leaves you dead in the water quickly.

Once you become a bit secure and can deal with your most basic needs, the game turns into quite a grind - but usually offers more depths to it.

Combat and crew management could have been much nicer - as i never really related to my crew.... at all much.

All in all, the game with well worth it - and i can only recommend it.… Expand
5
mbcu
Apr 5, 2015
First of all ignore all those big scores from "critics". If you think that a publication naming itself "Eurogamer" would be biased towardFirst of all ignore all those big scores from "critics". If you think that a publication naming itself "Eurogamer" would be biased toward European games then you're right.
This game is first and foremost is incoherent. Is it an action game ? No, combat sucks. Is it a trading game ? No, trading is so pointless there's even a loading message advising you against it. So given a ship and crew when you start the game, what should you do ? I can't tell because I don't know. All you can do is set sail, reach an island which hopefully gives you a little resource to allow you to repeat the process next time. In this game money is so scarce you'd even have to sell the introduction manual. A few ways there are to make money are available only in online forums. Even so these all require unreasonable amount of time for grinding and save skumming. It really doesn't help either that the ship moves very very very slowly. You will spend most of the time watching your little ship struggling painfully to get to the edge of monitor.
Playing this game is like coming to a party when everyone is about to leave. Try as you want, you just can't get into the crowd. This game is derived from Internet game called Fallen London with rules and lore no one but fans know. Indeed it has interesting premise, about exploration and Cthulhu-like atmosphere. But with poor presentation and incoherent gameplay, I am not going to spend another hour finding out. Neither should you.… Expand
0
fredhorrigan
Feb 16, 2015
Mediocre flash-tier game that only got high marks because one of the people working on it has a bunch of connections with gaming journos.Mediocre flash-tier game that only got high marks because one of the people working on it has a bunch of connections with gaming journos.

While this game might seem interesting for the first couple hours, the feeling that quickly sets in isn't terror, but the reality that the game is extremely shallow (geddit?) and far too restrictive when it comes to making progress, forcing the player to grind for a very long time if they want to stop using the starter boat.… Expand
User Reviews