This time, we’re taking a look at another horror game. The Sinking City 2 is a third-person survival horror game with action, exploration and puzzles, and it leans heavily into Lovecraftian horror. If you haven’t played the first game, don’t worry, you don’t need to. The Sinking City 2 tells a standalone story. This time, you don’t play as Charles Reed either, but as a new main character called Calvin Raffety. The game also takes place in Arkham, another flooded city.
What is Lovecraftian horror?
I actually had to look this up myself, and for those of you who don’t know what it is (I didn’t either): it’s a type of horror where the scary part comes from things you can’t really explain. It often involves strange forces and events that you have no real control over. You see that in the creepy cults, worm-like monsters and disturbing rituals. So it’s not your standard horror game where you’re only scared of whatever pops up in front of you. You also get the feeling that there’s a much bigger mystery behind everything. The thing with me and horror games is that my name might be Big Mike, but I scream and yell like a six-year-old girl. No matter how tense they make me, I still really enjoy the genre. I’ve had a lot of fun with Resident Evil in the past.
Resident Evil meets Alan Wake
While playing The Sinking City 2, it often felt like a mix of Alan Wake 2 and Resident Evil. I got used to the controls pretty quickly and the game played pretty smoothly. You also get puzzles that reminded me a lot of Resident Evil, and sometimes you have to combine items. I really liked the atmosphere too. It’s dark, but not annoyingly dark, and it’s pretty damn filthy. Think blood, worms and all kinds of other disgusting stuff. There’s an uncomfortable feeling wherever you go. Not in an annoying way, it just constantly feels a little off. You especially notice it when you walk into a narrow hallway or a room that’s just a little too crowded. During fights, I sometimes got stuck and started to panic. It never felt like the game was glitching though. Most of the time, it was just me making stupid choices and panicking.
In smaller rooms, that can get you into trouble pretty quickly.
Every Bullet Counts
I also enjoyed exploring the world. Whenever I went off the main path, I usually found extra ammo, supplies and upgrades. For example, you can find upgrades for your pistol. Just like in Resident Evil, you have to be careful not to waste all your ammo. It always feels like you’re just a few bullets short, and because aiming can be a little tricky, you sometimes burn through more ammo than you’d like. Sometimes it’s smarter to avoid a fight and come back later. The combat isn’t always perfect. Shooting works fine, but some enemies take a lot of bullets before they finally go down. When several enemies come at you at once, things can get a bit messy. Dodging in particular doesn’t always feel that great.
Puzzles and not enough variety
I enjoyed the puzzles for the most part too. You often have to look around carefully, read documents or find a code somewhere. It was all pretty manageable. I didn’t need a single walkthrough this time, so that’s always a plus. They’re not the kind of puzzles that leave you stuck for hours, but they fit the game well. Unfortunately, after a while you start running into the same enemies quite often. The longer you play, the more you notice that there aren’t that many different types of monsters. That’s a shame, because the monsters that are in the game actually look pretty damn cool.
Small inventory, lots of backtracking
One thing that really started to annoy me was the small inventory, especially at the beginning. On the one hand, it fits a survival horror game because you have to think about what you take with you. On the other hand, it’s annoying when your inventory is full again and you either have to leave stuff behind or walk all the way back. I even found myself using or combining items I didn’t really need, just to free up some space. And speaking of walking back, you’ll be doing quite a bit of that anyway. Sometimes I didn’t mind because you could open new doors or find new routes, but at other times it just felt like I was walking through the same area again. I especially noticed this with one particular chest. I had to walk so far back just to get to it that it interrupted the flow of the game a bit. Moments like that just slow the game down.
Conclusion
The Sinking City 2 does a lot of things right. I especially liked the atmosphere, exploration and puzzles. The combat is fine, but it isn’t as tight as something like Resident Evil. I also would’ve liked to see a bit more variety when it comes to the enemies. Still, I kept wanting to see what else Arkham had to offer, and for me, that’s probably the most important thing in a game like this.
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