With the weekend just around the corner on this Tuesday because of another bank holiday, we invite you to check out our first impressions of The Sinking City 2, which we were able to play for about two hours thanks to a preview build provided by the developers.
Seven years after a first installment that was imperfect but highly atmospheric and very faithful to the Lovecraftian universe, Frogwares returns with The Sinking City 2, amid the ongoing complexities of the war with Russia. The Ukrainian studio also had to fight hard with Nacon, which published the first game, to retain the rights to their creation—which, as a reminder, had initially begun as a Cthulhu game project for Focus Interactive (now Entertainment), which was eventually handed over to Cyanide. Even though The Sinking City suffered from several issues at the time, it proved more compelling than the game from the developers of the Styx series, but the difficulties encountered later with Nacon did not bode well for the future, despite Frogwares ultimately winning the legal battle. In short, it’s fair to say that the past few years haven’t been easy for the studio, so it was with a bit of worry that we approached this first hands-on with an unfinished version of the game. This preview featured two distinct sequences set at different points in the adventure, with the goal of giving a clear idea of the intentions behind this sequel. What we can say right off the bat is that The Sinking City 2 now seems to be leaning a bit more toward the Resident Evil franchise than before. Of course, the investigative aspect that made the studio famous in the Sherlock Holmes games is back, with the return of a sort of “mind palace” where we’re asked to connect various clues to reach certain conclusions. However, it should be said that this aspect of the game is much more accessible than in the games featuring the famous London detective. This was already the case in the previous installment, and we certainly don’t see it as a flaw, in the sense that it does make the progression smoother compared to a game like Big Bad Wolf’s recent Cosmic Abyss, for example. This makes perfect sense given the mechanics that are much more action-oriented, but we still expect the investigative portion of this sequel to push the difficulty a bit further than the easy puzzles in Capcom’s series. As part of our preview, we got a very first look at the puzzles included in the adventure, though this was mainly in the first available section, which let us solve a puzzle near a church after a quick boat ride through the flooded streets of Arkham. An important note: we were told that everything related to the investigation will now be completely optional, but that it will grant access to certain rewards that make life easier for the rest of the adventure (additional resources, some of which can improve multiple hero abilities, hints to help defeat certain monsters, items to expand your inventory, etc.).
In this second installment, it’s worth noting that, despite having a very similar dressing style, you’re playing a brand-new character here. Calvin Rafferty, however, finds himself caught up in a much more personal adventure than Charles Reed’s, since his beloved Faye Bennett—with whom he works as an occult adventurer in Arkham—is unwittingly placed at the center of the plot. We won’t say any more so as not to risk giving too much away, even though certain plot elements will inevitably be touched upon in the official videos promoting the game. The introductory sequence, which we were only able to view via a private video shared by the studio, offers some clues about Faye’s situation at the very start of the adventure, but nothing seems to clearly explain how she ended up in such predicament. In any case, Calvin will have to traverse the flooded streets of Arkham to help his sweetheart, in a game featuring a semi-open-world structure designed to allow Frogwares to better control the pace of the adventure. Since the two sequences we had access to were independent of one another, it’s hard to say at this point whether they’ve succeeded, but on paper, this seems like a good solution to address one of the major flaws of the first game: the boredom and monotony that eventually set in from wandering around the city of Oakmont in the Sinking City. The game alternates between outdoor and indoor sections, requiring simple interactions with the environment to progress through the levels, and, of course, a few boat trips—which were fairly linear in this preview version. We assume, however, that various side areas will be included to give some room for the investigative portion, even if the latter can also be integrated into areas that the main plot will require us to pass through (the church from the first sequence). To be honest, the short boat segment ultimately reminded us of what Naughty Dog offered in The Last of Us Part II. It remains to be seen, then, whether the final version will confirm this impression or not. Still, whether on foot or by boat, retracing your steps or pushing further into exploration won’t be in vain: special chests, which open with specific items (provided in limited quantities), grant access to interesting objects (some allowing you to upgrade a weapon, for example). These two sections also gave us the chance to meet two rather strange secondary characters (the first even repulsive and rather unsettling to say the least, despite his friendly demeanor), who will most certainly play a significant role in the plot and the unfolding of events. We know too little, however, to give you more details at this point, but just like in the first game, the secondary characters seem to have been given a lot of attention. While this preview gave us a chance to chat with a few of the town’s residents, it also gave us the opportunity to face off against a few enemies.
Given how clunky the combat was in the first game, it wasn’t exactly reassuring to hear that Frogwares was going to focus more on this aspect. Fortunately, while not quite matching the precision and excellent feedback of the latest Resident Evil, the combat is significantly more satisfying than in the original game. To take down the infected humans—who have no qualms about springing up unexpectedly in some of the game's scripts—you must first aim for the clearly visible pustules on their bodies to weaken them and knock them to the ground. You can then stomp on them while they’re down, Dead Space-style, keep shooting them without worrying about your ammo supply, or make a quick getaway to spare it. You’ll occasionally come across explosive cans (red, of course) or wolf traps, but the former seem to have an area of effect that’s a bit too small to be truly effective, and the latter require you to lure enemies into stepping on them, which isn’t always easy. Even less so so when dealing with the smaller creatures that move quickly on all fours and take great delight in jumping right in your face—while avoiding said trap at the same time. We won’t sugarcoat it: these enemies are a bit of a pain to deal with at first, and it’s a shame not to have access to melee weapons or a parry move (at least based on what we've played) to get rid of them a bit more easily. Dodging, however, can potentially be used to avoid their jump attack. Stomping, on the other hand, doesn’t seem very effective against them, and the punch you can throw with the R1/RB button can’t possibly hit an enemy that small. We also hope that the melee combat system will be more polished in the final version, as it currently clearly lacks punch and feedback. However, even in this PC version, the implementation of Sony’s DualSense is quite satisfactory, with proper haptic feedback and adaptive triggers (for the boat). Frogwares still has time to improve this aspect of the game, and we believe it’s a detail that shouldn’t be overlooked. That said, the shooting mechanics with the various weapons (pistol, shotgun, submachine gun) have seen real progress, and we find them much more convincing overall. We just regret some of the odd positions enemies take once they’re dead, as well as certain animations during impacts, which don’t give the impression that these creatures have any weight at all (this also explains the lack of impact in melee attacks). Just like Resident Evil, The Sinking City 2 relies on a grid-based inventory system, which can be upgraded over time, but Frogwares’ game also incorporates the possibility to upgrade the hero’s “talents” using a strange mask we don't know much about at this point. Be careful, though: once these upgrades are unlocked (faster reloading or weapon switching, more effective punches if you strike when the torch is off, reduced damage from humanoid enemies, etc.), you won’t be able to use them all right away—you’ll need to equip them first. Initially, only one slot is available and two others are locked, which seems to suggest a total of three slots. We don’t know if it will be possible to obtain more, but the talents are in any case divided into four categories: basic, intermediate, advanced, and expert.
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