The Sinking City 2 Review – The Things We Do For Love

There’s something about Lovecraftian horror in a city that reflects its themes that just works. Bloodborne’s specific brand of action/horror is a great example of that, although that one didn’t have you feeling as powerless as Calvin Rafferty, the new protagonist in The Sinking City 2, who’s nowhere close to being as agile and combat-ready as The Hunter. Instead, he must rely on his firearms and limbs to keep himself alive long enough to save his one and only.

You might think that it’s an angle that’s been exhausted by stories since the dawn of time, but I can tell you that it’s a strong bond that can drive anyone to brave the flooded streets of Arkham. That’s a city where a lingering evil is never too far away, and its minions are a nasty bunch who want nothing more than for Calvin to be their next meal.

"Arkham’s desolation is handled very well, and it’s a treat for anybody who wants a world that feels like you’re only a second away from a horrifying end."

It’s clear from the opening minutes that Calvin’s no detective, but is still as smart and tenacious as Faye, his partner-in-crime. Although Faye is largely out of the picture thanks to a ritual gone wrong, her body imprisoned by an artifact called the Night Shade Mask, a smattering of flashbacks helps sell the bond between the two leads. In turn, that helps explain Calvin’s motivations, and introduces a hint of altruism to his character, who might otherwise feel like too much of a rogue for us to care about him.

That’s all I’m willing to say about the story, which is well-paced and does well to sustain an escalating threat level for Calvin to face as he makes his way across Arkham, meeting his fair share of eccentric survivors while he looks for a way to get Faye back on her feet and get the hell out. He’s not too talkative other than when pointing out useful things around him or giving us a bit of insight into what we might need to do to progress.

The rest of the cast is quite intriguing, each bringing something fresh to the table. I’m not going to forget meeting a guy who deliberately mutilated himself with the Slither, parasitic beings that inhabit the dead and proceed to feed off any living being in the vicinity. That someone would knowingly fuse themselves with something that terrifying presents a level of psychosis I’d be inclined to run the opposite way from in normal circumstances.

But Arkham’s circumstances are far from normal. The once-thriving and now abandoned city is the perfect stage for the franchise’s shift to a survival horror gameplay loop. Arkham’s desolation is handled very well, and it’s a treat for anybody who wants a world that feels like you’re only a second away from a horrifying end.

"Even in Performance Mode, reflections and lighting remain quite consistent, and maintain a level of quality that really sells Arkham as the perfect stage for a survival horror title like The Sinking City 2."

This is probably a good place to talk about the game’s visuals. Arkham’s flooded streets and the general air of abandonment in the city limit the amount of color and flair that’s on offer. What you do get is a well-executed vision of a flooded city where subdued hues and muted soundscapes add to the tension. Navigating the streets and buildings often leaves you unsettled, the silences as loud as the chittering of beasts and the guttural shouts of Slither-infected corpses that ring out as you walk or run along.

Even in Performance Mode, reflections and lighting remain quite consistent, and maintain a level of quality that really sells Arkham as the perfect stage for a survival horror title like The Sinking City 2. It’s a pity, then, that the things you do in it largely boil down to the same pattern with some minor changes such as brief chase sequences, but they’re definitely not enough. You’re given an objective to fulfil, which is often inconveniently placed at the other end of the city. You then get on a skiff and sail toward it to find a gate, or even a dead whale perhaps, blocking your path.

You get off at a nearby pier and explore the region around it to find ways to proceed. Of course, enemies and obstacles make that harder, while going out of your way to find scant resources and managing your limited inventory early on becomes a standard part of what you’re doing. It’s here that I found one of my few complaints about this game. With only limited inventory slots early on and a lot of stuff to carry around, you’re going to find yourself running between important locations and the nearest Safe Room too often.

For instance, I happened upon a locked door that needed a key. Perfect. I explored the area quite thoroughly before I found it, but couldn’t pick it up because my pockets were full of healing and crafting supplies while my Handgun and Shotgun took up the majority of my inventory capacity. It was then off to a Safe Room that was a little distance away to store a few items and return to pick up the key and a couple of crafting materials.

I was then able to open the door, only to find a whole bunch of other items, all important, that then required multiple trips to and from the Safe Room before I could have them squared away in my storage. It was tempting to just leave them there for later, but with Arkham’s landscape constantly shifting as you progress, that’s a risk you don’t want to take, as every scrap you can find is useful in keeping you alive.

"There’s a fair bit of enemy variety on offer, but the challenge they offer is largely due to Calvin’s own limitations in comparison to their superior agility."

Wouldn’t it have been more elegant to have key items picked up automatically while leaving us to manage everything else as and when we found it? I think it’s a better solution than what’s currently on offer, especially since the extra two slots you unlock as you go along don’t really help. Even on the easiest difficulty, Arkham’s threats proved to be quite potent thanks to how limited your supplies were, so you can imagine how much more tedious Normal feels with these restrictions. These limitations do ease up a bit once you start unlocking more slots later on through perk points and exploration, but the early going is definitely on the difficult side.

This brings me to the combat, where I’m quite happy to report that the controls are fluid and smooth, making those nerve-wracking encounters with enemies that are quite quick and all too hostile quite thrilling to take on. I’d say that the melee attacks feel clunky in comparison to the gunplay, but your mileage may vary on that front. You get a dodge too, but you’re going to have to be quite precise with the timing. There’s a fair bit of enemy variety on offer, but the challenge they offer is largely due to Calvin’s own limitations in comparison to their superior agility. It’s grounded well within the premise, forcing you to target enemy weak spots not just to bring them down and survive, but to ensure you’re using each bullet optimally.

You could just shoot away in a pinch, but you’d be much better served dodging attacks and creating space before taking a calmer and more collected approach. It’s here that the presentation truly shines, as you can’t help but feel a sense of panic once an enemy is on to you, and you find your ability to line up shots far more reliant on holding your nerves than you’d expect. Without diving into too many spoilers, there are a few hard fights ahead of you which are going to be quite memorable.

It bears mentioning that the semi-open world design lends itself very well to the focus on environmental storytelling while allowing Arkham to squirrel away secrets and puzzles that are optional, but often bring worthwhile rewards. There are whole quest chains in there sometimes, complete with clues that you must find and piece together on an Investigation Board that’s a lot simpler this time around, with difficulty sliders to help you find your way to important locations or items faster.

Between the great level design, the way information about the world is presented to you, and the twists and turns of the story, the rather predictable gameplay loop becomes less of an issue since exploring Arkham is enough of a reason to stick around. An early highlight of my time in it was when I stumbled upon a mysterious pillar with a note about a trident missing.

"With a story that works well to keep you invested in uncovering every secret you can find in Arkham, along with the city’s air of mysterious allure, it’s no surprise that I’m quite impressed with what The Sinking City 2 achieves."

I set off in search of it, eventually bringing it back only to find that I had to align four symbols in the right order to activate its latent power. Entering the wrong sequence came with consequences, and I spent way too long trying to guess the right one before eventually going off in search of more information. I soon found what I needed, returned to solve the puzzle, and made my way to a very valuable reward: Dream Essence.

It’s what you use to unlock upgrades for Calvin, with four categories available, each one unlocking the more points you sink into the previous set. Moreover, the upgrades you unlock, such as improved healing efficiency or increased weak-point damage, need to be individually equipped before they’re active. And you can only have one slot available until you spend Essence to unlock more. It’s a well-implemented system that incentivizes going off the beaten path and being very strategic with what you find in the process.

On my base PS5, performance was sublime with consistently good textures and frame rates making things move along quite smoothly. I didn’t see enough of a reason to switch to the game’s Quality Mode, since I prefer better frame rates

With a story that works well to keep you invested in uncovering every secret you can find in Arkham, along with the city’s air of mysterious allure, it’s no surprise that I’m quite impressed with what The Sinking City 2 achieves. The city’s glum and moody atmosphere might not terrify you in the beginning, but combined with its muted colors and an excellent soundtrack, it’s going to have you on edge with every step Calvin takes.

You’re never truly safe in Arkham, and that’s the game’s greatest strength. It nails down the shift to survival-horror, and while it utilises too many tried-and-tested genre staples, it brings enough new stuff to the table to make that a complaint I can live with. The rest of what’s on offer is an impressive take on Lovecraftian horror in a world that calls to you, not unlike the voices that reach out from the beyond in-game.

You’re not going to be disappointed with this one, and it’s done so well that it’s a wholehearted recommendation from me.

This game was reviewed on PlayStation 5.