Frogwares has announced the development of The Sinking City 2, indicating that the project will steer the studio in a fresh direction and serve as a reinvention following the legal challenges it encountered with the first installment.
The Sinking City 2 will focus on combat, exploration, the Lovecraftian setting, and story when it releases for the PC, Xbox Series X, and PlayStation 5 in 2025.
The Sinking City 2 will feature a new stand-alone story
Set in the 1920s USA, in the fictional city of Arkham, The Sinking City 2 will be powered by Unreal Engine 5.
The city has been plagued by a supernatural flood that has brought decay and Eldritch monsters to its streets. Players will encounter Deep Ones, Mi-gos, occult zealots and other iconic monsters from HP Lovecraft’s works in this survival-horror adventure.
Here’s the full set of features:
- Immerse yourself in a distinct atmosphere of cosmic horror and twisted designs drawn from the dark wellsprings of HP Lovecraft's macabre imagination.
- Explore and survive the city of Arkham, a sprawling labyrinth of flooded alleys and decrepit mansions where eldritch horrors lurk just out of sight.
- Use an arsenal of weapons to fight off Deep Ones, Mi-gos, occult zealots, and other iconic monsters from the source material, as well as new and unique creatures that expand the Cthulhu Mythos.
- Experience the classic survival horror formula at its finest, complete with inventory management, optional puzzles, and backtracking to newly unlocked areas and hidden treasures.
- Use environmental storytelling and scattered clues to solve side mysteries that unlock new outcomes and gameplay bonuses.
- Thanks to Unreal Engine 5, The Sinking City 2 delivers next-gen visuals with Lumen global illumination, photorealistic Nanite geometry, life-like Metahuman-powered characters, and much more.
“The original Sinking City is still one of our most successful titles, most likely because of stronger horror genre leanings and setting.” said Sergiy Oganesyan, Publishing Director, Frogwares.
“We created quite a few detective adventures in the past, so now we’re going to mix things up to keep doing what people love about us - meaning story-rich experiences - while still being able to evolve. It’s exciting but at the same time risky.”
“We’re a totally independent studio that for the past 24 years has become known for detective games. But we need to start taking bolder moves. The industry is changing around us and we want to secure the studio’s future.” he added.
Becoming a shrewd detective has almost become a hallmark of Frogwares’ previous projects, given its success with the Sherlock Holmes series of video games. Naturally, The Sinking City 2 will continue in this tradition.
“We want investigation to be a beneficial part of the game but just for those who want it, offering tangible gameplay bonuses and eureka moments without it being a requirement to progress.” explained Denys Chebotarov, Executive Producer, Frogwares.
“By taking time to piece together clues, you’ll arm yourself with more knowledge and awareness of your options vs just coming across them by chance. We are also doing this for our existing fans who have come to love this feature from us, so they don’t feel left out. For those not keen on combat and survival-horror mechanics, we will also have various accessibility features to help.”
Frogwares are based in Ukraine, and as the country is still in a state of war, it’s turning to Kickstarter to ask the community to help fund its development and make The Sinking City 2 the best game it can be.
“At this stage, we have learned and adapted to our reality but the ongoing war adds an ominous layer of uncertainty, and the additional funds will help us deal with potential disruptions on top of helping fund various extra features we would love to implement.” said CEO Wael Amr.
“Our previous game, Sherlock Holmes The Awakened, was fully developed and released during the war. Through Kickstarter and our supporters, we built ourselves a safety net that saved us more than once. From power cuts as our electrical infrastructure was targeted for months to the need for team members to relocate at very short notice, this financial safety net proved invaluable to us.”
The Kickstarter campaign will be launching later in 2024.
We wish Frogwares well with the development of The Sinking City 2 and look forward to finding out more about it later in the year. It’s in development for the PC, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5.
You can give the first reveal trailer a watch below.
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