The Sinking City 2's Shift To Survival Horror Leaves It Treading For Air
The first Sinking City was an ambitious swing for developer Frogwares. It was open-world, featured a massive, flooded city to explore, had loads of side quests, and made an--albeit flawed--attempt at third-person horror action. All of that wove together with the studio's signature detective-mystery roots to make an experience that wasn't very good, but was at least worth trying or paying attention to. Before The Sink...
The first Sinking City was an ambitious swing for developer Frogwares. It was open-world, featured a massive, flooded city to explore, had loads of side quests, and made an--albeit flawed--attempt at third-person horror action. All of that wove together with the studio's signature detective-mystery roots to make an experience that wasn't very good, but was at least worth trying or paying attention to. Before The Sinking City, Frogwares had iterated on the deduction mechanics of the detective genre one Sherlock Holmes game at a time, sprinkling in influences from other genres along the way, from open-ended exploration in Crimes and Punishment, to light combat with The Devil's Daughter. But neither were as stark in genre shift or as daring in scale as The Sinking City--even if those bold decisions were to the game's own detriment. The Sinking City 2, on the other hand, is not as ambitious. Instead of aiming for the same heights as the first game and Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One, Frogwares has whittled The Sinking City 2 down into a genre more safely suited for its Lovecraftian Psychological roots: survival horror. And, yes, that makes sense, but while the first Sinking City has its share of blemishes for its stiff combat and underbaked open world, I had a soft spot for its earnest ambitions. It was clear the studio had aimed for something higher, even if it couldn't quite reach it. Continue Reading at GameSpot
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