The Sinking City 2 review
Developed over time first seen 2 months ago
The Sinking City 2, developed by Ukrainian studio Frogwares, is a Lovecraftian action-horror game that continues the story of the flooded town of Arkham, following detective Calvin Rafferty as he searches for a cure for his comatose girlfriend amid cosmic horrors. The game is notable not just for its pulpy, unhinged scenario design but for having been made by developers working through Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with the studio incorporating references to the war's toll directly into the game's world.
The review praises the game's atmosphere, puzzles (drawing on Frogwares' Sherlock Holmes pedigree) and dark humour, while noting combat borrows heavily from the 2019 Resident Evil 2 remake, with tight resources and relentless enemies. Weaknesses include overly aggressive enemy encounters that undercut the game's intricate, puzzle-box map design, plus stiff acting and dialogue that weaken the central romance plot. Despite these flaws, the reviewer frames the game as a story of grim tenacity, likening it to beloved seven-out-of-ten titles from the PS3 era, and highlights an intro screen noting 85,183 recorded air raid sirens during development.
- Frogwares' Lovecraftian sequel follows Calvin Rafferty through flooded, monster-infested Arkham.
- Made by Ukrainian developers working amid ongoing wartime disruption and air raids.
- Strong puzzles and atmosphere; weaker romance plot and relentless combat pacing.
New here? Start with this
The Sinking City 2 is the sequel to Frogwares' 2019 detective game set in a version of H.P. Lovecraft's fictional, flood-ravaged Arkham, blending investigative puzzle-solving with cosmic horror. This instalment follows detective Calvin Rafferty as he hunts for a cure for his girlfriend, who is in a coma, while contending with otherworldly threats.
What sets the game apart is the context of its creation: Frogwares is a Ukrainian studio, and much of the game's development has taken place during Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The studio has woven references to the war's impact into the game itself, including a note in the intro screen recording the number of air raid sirens sounded while the team was working.
The review under discussion assesses how the finished game holds up, weighing its atmosphere, puzzles and writing against its combat and technical shortcomings, while also placing it in the wider context of the unusual circumstances under which it was made.