The Sinking City

 PlayStation 5
The Sinking City Image
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 41 Ratings

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  • Summary: The Sinking City is an action/investigation game set in an open world inspired by the universe of H.P. Lovecraft. In this new type of adventure, you take on the role of Charles W. Reed, an investigator in the 1920s United States. No sooner have you arrived in Oakmont, Massachusetts, than youThe Sinking City is an action/investigation game set in an open world inspired by the universe of H.P. Lovecraft. In this new type of adventure, you take on the role of Charles W. Reed, an investigator in the 1920s United States. No sooner have you arrived in Oakmont, Massachusetts, than you are led to investigate a mysterious flood inundating the city, in the hopes of shedding light on the darkness that has seized the place and corrupted the minds of the inhabitants - and yours...

    * An oppressive atmosphere and story inspired by the universe of H.P. Lovecraft.
    * A vast open world that can be explored on foot, by boat, in a diving suit
    * High replay value thanks to an open investigation system: each case can be solved in a number of ways, with different possible endings depending on your actions.
    * An arsenal of weapons from the 1920s with which to take on nightmarish creatures.
    * Manage your mental health to untangle the truth behind the madness.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. COGconnected
    Mar 5, 2021
    86
    The Sinking City arriving on next-gen is a surprising yet greatly welcome arrival. With such a rich world and narrative, compelling investigative segments, and some truly horrifying features like experiencing hallucinations when your sanity meter drops, this was a title classic horror fans simply must try.
  2. GamingTrend
    Feb 25, 2021
    85
    There’s a lot to like in The Sinking City on PlayStation 5. With updated textures, 4K/60 FPS support, faster loading times, and activities support, it’s a solid detective story. While the combat may be shallow, and it has enough havok bugs to make a Deep One scared, it represents some of the best work Frogwares Studio has made. If you are an H.P. Lovecraft fan, don’t let this one sail past you.
  3. Digital Chumps
    Mar 4, 2021
    84
    The changes that Frogwares made are impactful and make this a significantly better experience than it was at original release. It still has its quirks, but the positives far outweigh the negatives and it’s easy to recommend this game to anyone who has yet to check it out.
  4. God is a Geek
    Mar 1, 2021
    75
    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.
  5. PlayStation LifeStyle
    Mar 7, 2021
    75
    Frogwares is a master in mystery. While their pedigree is mostly rooted in Sherlock Holmes, this foray into Lovecraftian horror is an admirable effort made even better by the technology of the PS5. Loading times are vastly improved on The Sinking City PS5, and the game looks better than it ever has before thanks to improved textures, lighting, and resolution. This version is also free of Frogwares’ publisher drama with Nacon, and paints a pretty exciting picture for what the developer can do with mystery games on the PS5.
  6. PlayStation Country
    Mar 4, 2021
    70
    The Sinking City is a good Lovecraftian detective game with uprated PS5 visuals and massively reduced loading times from the PS4 version. Well worth picking up if you fancy something a bit different. Just a shame that haptics are underutilised outside the usual rumble.
  7. Push Square
    Feb 25, 2021
    60
    While it's great to see The Sinking City return to PlayStation consoles, the PS5 version does little to make this worth an additional purchase for existing owners. DualSense support and shorter load times are nice additions, but performance and gameplay are still on the rough side. For newcomers, the lack of direction in particular can turn the engaging story into a backtracking slog very quickly. There's a great and engaging detective game buried here, but there are much better offerings out there to scratch your itch.

See all 14 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 5
  3. Negative: 3 out of 5
  1. gamezn_ru
    Feb 28, 2021
    8
    Несмотря на то, что это довольно маленькая студия, Frogwares проделала невероятную работу по улучшению The Sinking City для следующегоНесмотря на то, что это довольно маленькая студия, Frogwares проделала невероятную работу по улучшению The Sinking City для следующего поколения.

    Когда она впервые вышла в 2019 году, The Sinking City была достойной игрой. Мы рассмотрели её, дав оценку 6/10, но похвалили за отличное повествование и детективную работу. Что мы особенно не комментировали, так это то, как игра выглядела и выполнялась. На PS5 игра теперь работает со скоростью 60 кадров в секунду с разрешением 4K.

    Расположенный в жалком городке Окмонт (Oakmont City), “красивый” — странное слово для описания The Sinking City. Несколько районов Окмонта далеко не живописны; это город наполовину под водой из-за наводнения, которое просто не утихает. Районы, которые не затоплены, грязные и запущенные; отчаявшиеся и обездоленные жители ходят по улицам, умоляя о помощи. Это мрачное зрелище, но в 4K оно блестяще воплощено в жизнь. Лужи на полу прекрасно отражают свет; детали разбитых и полуразрушенных зданий кристально чисты. Модели персонажей тоже поражают своей реалистичностью. Их анимация лица может быть не совсем идеальной, но их черты – особенно глаза – настолько реалистичны, что застают вас врасплох.

    Мощность PS5 также означает, что The Sinking City практически не имеет времени загрузки. Самое большее, вам придется подождать две-три секунды, начиная новую главу или загружая новую область. Но по большей части ваше время с игрой не прерывается, позволяя вам полностью погрузиться в темный и запутанный мир, вдохновленный Лавкрафтом.    … Expand
  2. lucuwu
    Aug 10, 2021
    5
    Juego regular, tiene una idea plantada que es interesante al leer su sinopsis, pero que el juego no termina de aplicarlo bien...
    sus gráficos    Juego regular, tiene una idea plantada que es interesante al leer su sinopsis, pero que el juego no termina de aplicarlo bien...
    sus gráficos son buenos y la ambientación también, tenía todos los recursos para ser más...    … Expand
  4. Gapinszczak
    May 2, 2023
    3
    Im very disappointed, because I love games from Lovecraft universe but here developers gave me some archaic stuff. The graphics look bad, likeIm very disappointed, because I love games from Lovecraft universe but here developers gave me some archaic stuff. The graphics look bad, like game from 2013 not from 2019. Gameplay and movement are wooden. You can forget about aiming, the aiming system is coarse and ineffective. But what about detective mode and cases. They are good, maybe not pretty good, but still funny. You roaming in the city, finding clues, suspects. It's the best part of game, and the only good things. I totally dropped out in a middle of game… Expand
  5. R1ck8r00ke
    Mar 29, 2021
    1
    I bought the Digital Deluxe version on PS4 when it first released, never finished it, so was excited to see a new enhanced PS5 versionI bought the Digital Deluxe version on PS4 when it first released, never finished it, so was excited to see a new enhanced PS5 version released.

    Sadly NO upgrade path ( free or paid ) for me is extremely disappointing and insulting to customers that supported this game at launch.    … Expand
  6. Lother
    Nov 7, 2021
    0
    The more I played, the more it devolved into pandering, progressive woke nonsense. Every checkbox is ticked here and shoved in your face:

    -    The more I played, the more it devolved into pandering, progressive woke nonsense. Every checkbox is ticked here and shoved in your face:

    - oppressed illegal immigrants that did nothing wrong? check
    - rich individuals who wont share their wealth with the poor? check
    - charitable individuals redistributing the rich one's wealth to the poor? multiple check
    - secret homo relationship heavy handedly shoved as an afterthought you discover from a photo and never mentioned again? check
    - women's rights movement? check

    The game also clearly bashes you over the head with what the creators think is the correct moral decision(the PROGRESSIVE one) in each instance. You're given stupid choices like: expose a clearly evil person part of a dark cult by poisoning the food they distribute to the poor in order to gain members or simply leaving her alone. I mean, seriously, what the actual F?

    Oh and the gameplay is pretty clunky and just annoying. You run out of ammo so damn fast then have to scrounge for more. It's not like you can AVOID monsters, most of the time you do have to fight them and they take so many hits to go down. What's the point of giving the player supposedly better and better weapons if those don't 1-shot weaker enemies? 4-5 shotgun blasts to take down a giant, same for rifle rounds.....huh?

    I only gave this a chance because it really did start out very promising and had SOME elements from H.P. Lovecraft done well. I should have suspected the level of wokeness when the game went exclusive to Epic for so long.

    Don't play this, play Eternal Darkness, a perfect adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft themes. Oh how I wish they would just make a remaster of that instead.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

63
#63 Best PlayStation 5 Game of 2021

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