Reed is sent to investigate
the sunken town.
PREVIEW
The Sinking City
RELEASE
2019DEVELOPER
FrogwaresPUBLISHER
Bigben InteractiveLINK
http://www.thesinkingcity.comNEED TO KNOW
Reedistheonlysurvivorofanobviously
supernatural disaster. More archetype
than distinct character, he occupies the
role of ‘man haunted (literally and
metaphorically) by that past event’.
Visions draw him to the waterlogged
streets of The Sinking City’s eerie town,
slap-bang in the middle of Lovecraft
country. Clearly the flooded corners
of Oakmont hide more than just
phantasms and tricks of the light.
After investigating a
disappearance, Reed encounters Joy, the
sole employee of Oakmont’s library.
Through lips that have been sewn shut
and pained whispers, she tells him she has
been dealing with an unwelcome visitor.
As with many of the investigations
available to Reed, you can decline to help
her. In this instance though, doing so feels
cruel. Agreeing to assist, Reed gets an
address from Joy, and off he trudges.
A boat ride later (because of the
‘sinking’ part of The Sinking City), Reed
finds Joy’s apartment building in disarray.
A still smouldering camera occupies one
corner and there’s a pile of bloody giblets
in another. Perhaps even more disturbing
is the empty dog bed. A bloody sewingmachine and alarmingly fleshy teddy bear
tell the rest of that horrific tale in
entertainingly over-the-top fashion.FROM THE DRINK
For a few moments the world goes grey,
taking on a visceral texture. There are
hints of a kind of sanity management
system, although I’m not sure what form
that will take in the full game. Once the
effect abates Reed starts his investigation.
In case you hadn’t guessed from the
teddy, this is not a subtle crime scene.
Reed spots a bloody symbol smeared
nearby and draws a connection between
what happened here and a prior
disappearance case.
Reed has the ability to see patches of
the past, letting you try to piece a chain of
events together. He sees someone sewing
up the meat-teddy as they sing creepy
rhymes to themselves. As the strange
visitor accosts Joy’s pup, they’re
distracted by a camera flash from next
door. This gives Reed a lead to follow, but
no one appears to be home.
Reed has another trick up his sleeve
though. Entering concentration mode, he
can figure out a possible way in and
soon winds up in a cellar of horrors.
After a costly firefight with a few
too-many-limbed creatures,
concentration mode comes in handy
again for dispelling illusions that would
otherwise trick the town’s denizens. Reed
eventually finds a key for the flat above.
He finds Joy’s neighbour in no fit state
to answer questions. However, his journal
drops more than a few hints as to the
wider lore surrounding Oakmont and the
identity of Joy’s uninvited visitor – the
cryptic cryptid Granny Weaver.
Players will be able to give Reed
himself more of a sense of personality
through dialogue choices. For example,
you can tell Joy later that her dog has
been killed, and there’s an option to share
all the grisly facts (what is wrong with
you?) or spare her the grim details.
This build still looked a bit rough round
the edges, and Reed is a tough chap to
invest in. The Sinking City caught my eye
because it seemed to riff on Lovecraft
tales rather than recreate them. I hope the
remaining months of development can
bring that quality out.
Jessica KinghornT
he sea and the sky trading places,
Escher-esque architecture and the
trout-pouted Innsmouthers that call it
home – Oakmont’s travel brochure
would certainly be a sight to behold. Luckily its
visitors are not looking for respite, least of all
detective Charles Reed.Between Cthulhu and the deep
blue sea, there’s plenty to unspoolTHE SINKING CITY
THEFLOODEDCORNERSOF
OAKMONT ARE STALKED BY
MORE THAN JUST PHANTASMSFIRST
LOOK