The Sinking City 2 Review: Decide If Its Horror Is Worth the Price
A flooded Arkham, reanimated corpses, and scarce ammunition give The Sinking City 2 a sharp new identity. Unlike the investigation-heavy original, the sequel is a focused survival horror game inspired by Resident Evil and other genre staples. This shift suits its Lovecraftian setting far better than expected.
This The Sinking City 2 review is based on a complete 100% run finished in slightly under 20 hours. That included achievements, side investigations, upgrades, collectibles, and the New Game Plus requirements. One collectible is exclusive to New Game Plus, and fully maxing out the character may also require a second run.
The game offers strong atmosphere, tense resource management, smart enemy encounters, and useful replay value. However, uneven dialogue, unclear worm mechanics, and crashes in the Fish Market hold it back. Testing took place before launch on PC hardware, Steam Deck, and Steam Machine, so performance may differ across systems and future patches.
Spoiler warning: The story discussion below covers the opening setup and broad themes, but avoids major twists and detailed plot beats.
The Sinking City 2 Review: A Focused Survival Horror Identity
From investigation game to survival horror
The original Sinking City centered on detective work and large investigations. Its sequel puts combat, exploration, puzzles, limited supplies, and safe rooms at the heart of the experience. Investigations remain, but they now work mainly as optional side puzzles that reward Dream Essence, weapon upgrades, inventory space, or skill points.
Puzzle difficulty comes in two forms: Breezy and Brainy. Breezy highlights key details in clues, while Brainy expects you to read the notes and connect the information yourself. Since the clues often explain the solution directly, Breezy mostly saves time rather than changing the puzzle design.
A Lovecraftian setting that fits the genre
Flooded Arkham gives the game a damp, grimy, and hostile mood. Miskatonic University, an abandoned hospital, a Flappers-era hotel, and the Fish Market each bring a different style of horror. The game blends 1920s visuals, classic haunted locations, and cosmic dread into one strong setting.
Scarce ammunition makes this setting work even better. Every hallway feels dangerous when you can't afford to shoot every enemy, and the slow search for supplies builds tension. The Lovecraftian themes also benefit from quiet exploration, hidden clues, and places that seem better left untouched.
X Oblivion Makes New Game Plus the Sequel's Biggest Value Feature
Eldritch Points turn challenges into rewards
The New Game Plus mode is called X Oblivion. During the campaign, you complete challenges tied to enemy interactions, weapon use, and other actions. These challenges award Eldritch Points, which unlock rewards for future runs.
This system encourages experimentation after the first playthrough. A cautious player may avoid certain risks early on, but a second run gives more room to test weapons and unusual tactics. Optional challenges are worth attempting during the first campaign when they don't put your ammunition or survival at risk.
Powerful unlocks can change the second run
X Oblivion rewards include cosmetic options and major gameplay modifiers. One of the strongest examples is the grenade launcher, which becomes available near the start of a New Game Plus run and can kill many enemies in one shot. Unlimited ammunition is another unlock that removes much of the first campaign's resource pressure.
These rewards can make the highest difficulty feel easy. That may sound unbalanced, but the system is designed for repeat runs rather than a first-time challenge. It gives a short campaign more life and lets players create their own wild, overpowered playthrough.
Early weapons still have upgrade limits
New Game Plus weapons don't bypass every progression gate. Unlocking a weapon early does not also unlock its two upgrades, since those upgrades remain in their original locations. The rifle is the clearest example because its upgrades appear near the end of the campaign.
The grenade launcher needs less help because it is already so powerful. This limitation also keeps some exploration meaningful during repeat runs. You may start with better gear, but you still need to search each area for its upgrades.
Resource Management and Enemy Weaknesses Create the Best Combat Tension
Limited supplies make every fight matter
A normal first playthrough keeps ammunition and crafting materials tight. You can fight most enemies, but doing so requires careful weapon choice and good positioning. Sometimes avoiding a threat is the smarter option, especially when you don't know what waits in the next room.
Boss areas include respawning material caches, so players won't become permanently stuck without supplies. Even so, stronger ammunition should be saved for dangerous enemies. Keep your distance, watch the room layout, and avoid spending high-powered rounds on targets that can be handled another way.
Enemy weaknesses reward careful play
Jumping enemies can be shot with a pistol, killed with one stronger blast, or dodged at the right moment. When they crash to the floor, you can stomp them without spending ammunition. Zombies may expose weak points, while shooting their knees can knock them down for a finishing stomp.
These options make combat more than a basic shooting gallery. Enemy numbers, available space, and your current weapons all affect the safest choice. The result is a tense survival horror system built around saving bullets and keeping enemies away.
Worm mechanics lack clear feedback
Slither worms can reanimate corpses, but the game doesn't always show which worms pose a real threat. Some appear to be background details, while others can bring a dead enemy back into the fight. That uncertainty makes it hard to know when stomping a worm is essential.
The problem becomes frustrating when you kill the same enemy twice because an active worm was missed. In crowded rooms, look for reanimation threats before committing to a long fight. This is one of the clearest places where the combat design needs better visual feedback.
Flooded Arkham Delivers the Game's Strongest Atmosphere
A flooded 1929 Arkham drives the horror
The story begins in Arkham in 1929 after a major flood. The disaster brings an entity called the Slither, which inhabits corpses and reanimates the dead. Calvin and Fay become connected to the Eldritch Unknown after attempting to enter the Dreamlands.
Fay never wakes from the experience, leaving Calvin desperate to save her. His search for an eldritch ritual gives the campaign a personal goal inside the wider crisis. The city, the Slither, and Calvin's fight for Fay all push the story forward.
Chapter-based exploration rewards careful searching
Each major chapter works as a self-contained area. You can explore freely, complete side investigations, and find upgrades before reaching that chapter's point of no return. Once you cross it, missed content becomes unavailable.
The map makes completion easier by tracking rooms and areas. Before moving on, finish nearby investigations and search every marked location. This helps prevent missed collectibles, weapon upgrades, and inventory expansions.
Safe rooms support saving and crafting
Safe rooms provide manual saves, stash access, and the talent table. They offer a needed break from the creatures outside and help you manage a limited inventory. Crafting materials can be turned into ammunition and healing items, so every item has value.
Inventory upgrades are essential because you collect several weapons and different ammunition types. The stash helps, but poor planning can still leave you carrying the wrong supplies. Safe rooms become practical checkpoints throughout the campaign.
The Story Is Effective, but Its Dialogue and Pacing Are Uneven
Calvin and Fay provide emotional direction
Calvin's effort to save Fay gives the story a clear emotional center. His private struggle contrasts with the flood and the Slither threatening everyone in Arkham. The game also spends time showing the closeness between the two characters.
That relationship gives the horror a personal cost. Still, some scenes feel less natural than intended. The writing tries to capture both 1920s speech and romantic intimacy, which can make certain conversations sound corny.
Familiar themes lead to a bittersweet ending
Players familiar with Lovecraftian horror will recognize many of the story's ideas. The campaign follows familiar patterns of forbidden knowledge, impossible choices, and human effort against forces beyond understanding. Even so, the ending feels distinctive enough to work.
The conclusion is bittersweet rather than triumphant. Some actions can feel pointless once the next act begins, but that frustration fits the bleak logic of eldritch horror. The story won't win many awards, yet it remains enjoyable and effective.
Technical Performance Determines the Best Platform
Most areas run well, except the Fish Market
The game ran well across most of the review playthrough. The Fish Market, which appears late in the game, caused multiple crashes and felt less stable than every other area. Occasional enemies also became stuck on terrain, and physics behaved oddly at times.
The Fish Market remained playable, but manual saving became important there. These issues may improve after launch, and one setup can't predict every player's results. Still, the area needs attention.
Steam Deck struggles while Steam Machine performs well
The Steam Deck could run the game at its lowest settings, but frame rates often fell into the teens and 20s. The device also became noticeably hot during play. It is technically playable, yet hard to recommend for the best experience.
Steam Machine performance was much smoother, with no major problems reported. The resolution appeared limited to 1080p, but the game looked better and ran consistently. Controller support also worked well, making Steam Machine the stronger choice for couch play.
The Sinking City 2 Review Verdict: Buy It for Atmosphere and Replayability
Strong horror design comes with manageable flaws
The best parts are the Lovecraftian atmosphere, scarce supplies, enemy weaknesses, and chapter-based exploration. The map tracks missed content well, and X Oblivion gives the short campaign a useful second life. Boss fights work, though they aren't the strongest encounters in the game.
The main drawbacks are concentrated rather than constant. Fish Market crashes, awkward dialogue, odd physics, and unclear worm rules can interrupt the experience. None of them ruins the campaign, but each one lowers its polish.
Price depends on your replay plans
The base edition costs $50 USD, while the Deluxe Edition costs $55 and the Premium Edition costs $60. The Premium Edition includes roughly a two-hour extra mission and 24-hour early access. The campaign may feel short at that price if you only plan one playthrough.
X Oblivion improves the value for players who enjoy challenges, modifiers, and repeat runs. The grenade launcher, unlimited ammunition, and other rewards give you reasons to return. Fans of Lovecraftian survival horror should consider The Sinking City 2 a buy, while others may prefer a discount or a few technical patches first.
Final Thoughts
The Sinking City 2 makes a smart genre shift and finds a strong match between survival horror mechanics and Lovecraftian dread. Its first run delivers tense combat and excellent atmosphere, while X Oblivion adds meaningful replay value after the credits. The short campaign, uneven dialogue, and Fish Market crashes keep it from being flawless, but the full package earns a recommendation for horror fans who plan to play more than once.
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