Video Game Review - The Sinking City Xbox Series S|X

Rob reviews The Sinking City on Xbox Series S|X...

The Sinking City has had a pretty bad time since its launch back in 2019. It's been a bizarre journey that's seen the title being de-listed, re-listed, accusations of stolen code, de-listed, and now re-released...phew! 

Anyway, whilst The Sinking City's developer Frogwares tackles publisher Nacon over this contractual dispute, we can finally 'sink' into this detective noir...

The Sinking City is a third-person detective game that has action-adventure elements thrown in. On the surface The Sinking City shares the same DNA that's been seen in the recent Sherlock Holmes, naturally, this is due to Frogwares developing those too. However, this title deviates from the adventures of Sherlock Holmes by tapping into the works of H.P. Lovecraft - shown here as Call of Cthulhu. 

The game takes place in the fictional city of Oakmount, Massachusetts and is set during the 1920s as a strange flood besieges part of the town. Our guide through these strange events is Private Detective, Charles W. Reed. Reed is a complex character who's haunted by his experiences of World War 1, as well as the phenomenon that seems to have a hold over the Oakmount residents. No sooner than Reed steps off the boat onto the shores of Oakmount he's drawn into a tale of the supernatural that's surrounded by the mysteries of the deep sea.

Gameplay sees you controlling Reed as he explores the mysteries surrounding Oakmount. The city is divided into seven districts which offer a degree of an open world in which to explore and investigate. The Sinking City also features quite a robust main quest that is supplemented by plenty of optional side-quests. This next-gen version also comes bundled with an extra piece of DLC that offers extra missions and other locations to explore.

The majority of the title's gameplay plays out in a similar way to other investigative games. We travel from location to location in search of clues, to then travel to another location and do the same. When investigating Charles will be able to spot clues in the environment and can collect evidence to piece the case together. Once all the evidence is discovered you're then able to examine them for their tell-tale sweet-spot that serves to point Reed in the right direction. There's also an opportunity to explore crime scenes with your ' mind's eye' ability. Using this ability casts an eerie glow on the surroundings and you're able to see hidden clues and hints of where to go. It's an incredibly interesting mechanic and feels very reminiscent of Batman's investigation tools in Arkham Knight - except your chasing ghosts.

Each clue we gather gets added to a case file. Once all the clues have been found it's over to us to place everything together, resulting in the current case's outcome. This is where The Sinking City shines and feels very reminiscent of the Sherlock Holmes games that inspired it.

Combat however is a bit of a mixed bag. Whilst the game actively encourages you to avoid combat, you have a variety of weapons at your disposal. Guns range from a selection of pistols, revolvers, sub-machine guns, and shotguns. Reed also has a basic melee attack but much like the gunplay - it's a bit hit and miss. Normally you could chalk this up to bad design but considering Reed isn't a fighter it all fits the game's design and up's the tension. Ammo is also considerably scarce, which means every bullet you fire must be for a good reason. And to top it off bullets are the currency of choice amongst the Oakmount residents.

Visually, The Sinking City looks great. The Series S|X optimisation allows for greater detail of fidelity across most of the game. There's a high degree of detail within each character and the world. On the Series X, the title runs at a smooth 60fps and every action has a style of smoothness about it. Loading times are also near-instant which is great considering you'll be in and out of various areas throughout the game. 

Much like the visuals, the audio is very atmospheric and fits the setting incredibly well. There is a wide range of voices too, with each character bounding with energy and delivering some great lines. 

Overall The Sinking City is a great adventure and is one that takes a good few hours to see through to its conclusion. There's a great sense of achievement as you control each aspect of the investigation, and it's always great putting all the clues into place. Oakmount is a pretty unique location and offers a lot of interesting experiences and quirky residents to see. The use of Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos does mean that the ending is a little clichéd, but the journey to get there is a real pleasure...

Rating 8/10 

The Sinking City is available now on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, PC

Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow Geek Culture Reviews on Twitter and Facebook @GeekCultureRev