Sunless Skies Image
Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 30 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 80 Ratings

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  • Summary: SAIL THE STARS. BETRAY YOUR QUEEN. MURDER A SUN. Sunless Skies is a Gothic Horror roleplay game with a focus on exploration and exquisite storytelling for PC, Mac and Linux.

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Sunless Skies Combat & Adventuring Gameplay
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 30
  2. Negative: 0 out of 30
  1. Feb 21, 2020
    100
    Failbetter finally balances smart gameplay and ingenious prose in this poignant saga of mortality, writ large.
  2. Feb 5, 2019
    90
    Failbetter continues to revolutionise the RPG - not by burning it all down, but by slipping pages of prose into every crevice it can.
  3. Feb 19, 2019
    90
    With impeccable world-building and compelling exploration, Sunless Skies is a haunting journey that is worth traversing time and time again.
  4. Feb 7, 2019
    88
    Sunless Skies is a strange amalgamation of genres with even stranger stories to tell, but the weird world and nightmarish encounters come together to create something special. Combat and repetition may weigh down the Homeric adventure, but the overall journey is well worth the ticket.
  5. Feb 28, 2019
    87
    Sunless Skies is a refined and more organic successor to Sunless Sea. The skies above London are full of intriguing events and charming characters depicted through a fancy, sharp and magnetic writing. The hybrid gameplay which mixes “choose your own adventure” elements with a classic RPG/roguelite scheme works well and offer a deep and satisfying experience. If you don’t mind read walls of text and embrace the rhythm of the slow gaming, Sunless Skies is one of the best games around.
  6. Feb 8, 2019
    85
    Sunless Skies is another well-written story from Failbetter Games. The story and setting carry the game, but the combat mechanics can take some getting used to and may feel limiting. If you like your stories thick in the dark and strange ways of things like H.P. Lovecraft than this could very well be your cup of maddening tea. And you do like tea, don’t you? Of course you do, the Queen wouldn’t allow it to be otherwise and She is watching, always watching.
  7. Feb 21, 2019
    70
    Sunless Skies is a real "interactive book". In the new game of Failbetter Games there are texts of a really rare quality for a video game, like a good sci-fi novel. Too bad that the strength of Sunless Skies is also its greatest limit: there are often long sequences of readings a bit too verbose and ends in themselves.

See all 35 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 16
  2. Negative: 4 out of 16
  1. Feb 15, 2019
    10
    this game is amazing the atmosphere and writing are flawless this game is one of the best
  2. Aug 21, 2020
    10
    I love sunless skies but there are flaws

    pros great exploration when ever I played the game Loved seeing everything i saw in the
    I love sunless skies but there are flaws

    pros
    great exploration when ever I played the game Loved seeing everything i saw in the backgrounds
    great writing this game has some of the best writing I've seen
    combat I did like the combat but its not the best
    great atmosphere and story the story kept me in maybe not the main story but the side story's

    cons

    I felt slow when exploring and a better engine is costly
    The main story I had to look for specific things to learn about story
    The best way to get money in my opinion takes time and resources to do

    even with the cons the pros outweigh them by a lot in rate this game a 10/10
    Expand
  3. Feb 14, 2019
    9
    With a focus on intircate story telling and excellent atmosphere rather than action and complex gameplay, Sunless Skies is an refreshingWith a focus on intircate story telling and excellent atmosphere rather than action and complex gameplay, Sunless Skies is an refreshing change of pace. Expand
  4. Jan 31, 2019
    8
    Post-apocalyptic Victorian adventure novel set within a mission driven combat-lite exploration game.

    + Well composed and atmospheric
    Post-apocalyptic Victorian adventure novel set within a mission driven combat-lite exploration game.

    + Well composed and atmospheric environment, rife with pathetic fallacy.
    + The stories are rich and diverse, tempting you ever onward.
    + Combat puzzles have some diversity and are a fun aside.

    - Fairly regular stuttering when loading new scenes can break immersion.
    - Some UX issues and missing quality of life conveniences.
    - Combat AI is relatively immature, leading to common glitches.

    If you enjoyed Frostpunk’s theme, Windward’s gameplay or Darkest Dungeon’s storytelling, then this is worth picking up and likely a must have after the first patch...
    Expand
  5. Feb 10, 2019
    7
    Sunless Skies é um jogo com uma narrativa tão viva, intensa e complexa que talvez fosse melhor se aplicada em um livro. O jogo como um todoSunless Skies é um jogo com uma narrativa tão viva, intensa e complexa que talvez fosse melhor se aplicada em um livro. O jogo como um todo seria no máximo medíocre se não contasse com essa parte. Seu gameplay é lento e difícil; sua direção de arte é boa, mas sem identidade e pecando em alguns quesitos; sua parte sonora é mediana. Pode valer a pena, porém, se você tiver a paciência para acompanhar uma história incrível. Expand
  6. Feb 6, 2019
    2
    Like Sea before it, Sunless Skies has some really good writing and atmosphere but the gameplay is about as fun and engaging as a screensaver.Like Sea before it, Sunless Skies has some really good writing and atmosphere but the gameplay is about as fun and engaging as a screensaver. There simply isn't much to it, the combat is very basic and besides that the game has nothing but simple resource management, rng stat checks and waiting; mostly waiting since traveling from place to place will take up most of your playtime, and like Sea it just involves staring at you vessel while it chugs through a nice looking but ultimately featureless map. Cheats can make the experience bearable by speeding up the game and removing the need to grind but a game that requires one to use outside means to avoid playing has failed at being a game. Probably makes for a good LP assuming it's screenshot-only or highly edited. Expand
  7. Apr 18, 2019
    0
    Sorry, but I just hate everything about this game. Story, unrewarding combat, game stutter/freezes, UI navigation, nothing happens, dieing,Sorry, but I just hate everything about this game. Story, unrewarding combat, game stutter/freezes, UI navigation, nothing happens, dieing, controller support. Expand

See all 16 User Reviews

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