Game of the Week – The Sinking City 2 is my Silent Hill-loving brain's new survival horror obsession

• The Sinking City 2 is perfect if you want a freshly themed modern survival horror like Resident Evil 2 or Silent Hill 2 remake

Here's the 60-second pitch for why you should play The Sinking City 2 this weekend: With the love of his life trapped in a Lovecraftian dream space, Calvin Rafferty must brave the flooded streets of Arkham as he tries to track down the occult tools to wake her, all as creatures from the deep surface and the city is plunged into chaos. Shambling enemies puppeted by the Slither are unpredictable, with shifting weak points, and maze-like, nightmarish maps are packed with arcane puzzles and tempting upgrades that'll have you constantly considering your dwindling resources.

Why play it today?

• The Sinking City 2 is a fresh twist on modern survival horror that feels just as good to play as recent Silent Hill and Resident Evil games, rather than a retro revival

A lot of recent survival horror games outside of the big names position themselves as throwbacks to retro sensibilities. While I still love that angle, it's interesting to see The Sinking City 2 take most of its cues from the likes of Resident Evil 2 remake rather than just the original Resident Evil 2.

Even so, The Sinking City 2 has a lot of its own ideas. Developer Frogwares is well-known for its detective games, including the first The Sinking City, and a whole catalog of Sherlock Holmes adventures. This means the bevy of survival horror puzzles required to progress or unlock upgrades are all smartly designed, and a detective mindmap allows you to sort and organize uncovered clues to arrive on solutions. It'll only tell you if evidence is related, never reveal a final solution. It's a light touch compared to their detective games, but adds a neat flavor to Calvin's adventure.

Lovecraftian eldritch horror is well utilized to make The Sinking City 2's stand out. Flooded streets and buildings allow for effective jump scares as monsters emerge. Twitchy movements, and shifting Slither on bodies mean you're never quite sure where to best aim. Down a foe, and escaping Slither can animate other corpses. It creates an uneasy atmosphere where you're never quite sure what the rules are, and are always weighing up when to stand and fight, and when to make a break for it.

Time commitment:

The Sinking City is about the same length as Resident Evil 2 remake, taking me about 10 hours to beat on my first playthrough. Post-game unlocks, as is often the case in the genre, makes for rewarding replays. With each area taking just a few hours, this is an adventure you can chip away at.

Play The Sinking City 2 if you love:

Skip The Sinking City 2 if you want:

One thing to know:

The Sinking City 2 has some great, forgiving difficulty options, but this is still a survival horror game. There are a lot of situations that can be quite stressful to get through with relentless swarm of enemies that'll turn you into fish food if you don't know when to cut and run. Even when backtracking, Frogwares takes the opportunity to add more pressure and challenge to catch you out. That's part of the fun. But, for those used to their more sedate detective games, this can be intense if you're not ready for it.

A moment you'll remember:

First feeling overwhelmed as you struggle to understand how the Slither work. Survival horror games are often at their best when they're unpredictable and you're learning a game for the first time, and The Sinking City 2 has enough strange foes that you'll find yourself unsure of the threat before you, and how to best deal with them. It doesn't get more horrifying or Lovecraftian than that. Even now, I don't fully understand how some systems work.

The final verdict:

In my The Sinking City 2 review, I said it's a "Lovecraftian fusion of Resident Evil and Silent Hill that boasts its own delightfully gruesome pleasures", and I meant it. Given the shift into the survival horror genre was such a departure for Frogwares, I was skeptical when this was announced, but the end result has blown me away. I like a lot of games in the genre, so it's great to see this in conversation with the modern big-hitters, and with plenty of fresh angles of its own.

So, where can you play it?

The Sinking City 2 is currently available on most major platforms: PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. It is not currently available on Xbox Game Pass or PS Plus. Launching at $49.99 for the base edition, the price is appealing, too.

How to get started with The Sinking City 2:

The Sinking City 2's horror works best when you don't know too much going in. But, if you get stuck, or just need some pointers, we've got plenty of guides already for where to start with The Sinking City 2 this weekend.

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