The Sinking City Reviews

The Sinking City is ranked in the 40th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
8.4 / 10.0
May 16, 2021

‎The Sinking City Xbox Series X|S is a failed next-generation update, but thanks to its history, the excellent recreation of the Lovecraft universe, and the feeling of being a detective, make the game a remarkable play.‎

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6.7 / 10.0
May 11, 2021

The Sinking City is a good investigation game that is weighed down by repetitive and tedious combat, along with some outdated technical details. If you are a Lovecraft lover you should give it a chance.

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7.5 / 10.0
Apr 28, 2021

At $50 US if Sherlock Lovecraft Private Assassin sounds like a good time to you then this one is an easy call. The story is solid, the acting is surprisingly good, the detective part of the game is intriguing, and the combat gets the job done.

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6.5 / 10.0
Apr 13, 2021

The Sinking City is not going to be a game for everyone. It’s quite a slog and there’s a ton of backtracking. But if you stick around, the story itself is really great and there’s some really fun and unique detective mechanics at play. It’s a shame the rest of the game didn’t get a better quality of life upgrade. Oh well, you can always just go read some H.P. Lovecraft, no loading times or glitches involved.

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PSX Brasil
Top Critic
65 / 100
Mar 12, 2021

The Sinking City is a game that had everything to succeed in the new generation, but in addition to the technical issues, the plot ends up saturating in a very short time, as well as the entire system itself. It might be better to stay away, at least for now.

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7.5 / 10.0
Mar 10, 2021

Updated review - The Sinking City – PS5 Review https://chalgyr.com/2021/03/review-ps5-thesinkingcity.html So overall, The Sinking City's revamp on the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X is worthwhile if you've been thinking of giving this lovecraftian tale another go or had missed out on it the first time. With several upgrades and a new smoothness to the gameplay, going back for seconds alongside the added DLC was not a bad way to spend a few dozen hours. ---- Previous review - The Sinking City – PS4 Review https://chalgyr.com/2019/07/Review-PS4-TheSinkingCity.html So on a whole, while The Sinking City makes some great strides for investigative puzzlers, the open world that it tried to live in doesn’t really work. If you can get past the empty enough world and the clunky mechanics however, and there’s a gem underneath that is just begging to be explored and it’s worth the exploration.

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7.5 / 10.0
Mar 5, 2021

Frogwares is a master in mystery. While their pedigree is mostly rooted in Sherlock Holmes, this foray into Lovecraftian horror is an admirable effort made even better by the technology of the PS5. Loading times are vastly improved on The Sinking City PS5, and the game looks better than it ever has before thanks to improved textures, lighting, and resolution. This version is also free of Frogwares' publisher drama with Nacon, and paints a pretty exciting picture for what the developer can do with mystery games on the PS5.

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86 / 100
Mar 5, 2021

The Sinking City arriving on next-gen is a surprising yet greatly welcome arrival. With such a rich world and narrative, compelling investigative segments, and some truly horrifying features like experiencing hallucinations when your sanity meter drops, this was a title classic horror fans simply must try. The graphical upgrades are monumental in elevating the eerie, unsettling world which is already dripping with atmosphere into a new level, and the haptic triggers heighten the tension with every bullet. There are still some texture issues – particularly with the hair and teeth – that don’t fit in with the rest of the next-gen polish, and the strange NPC programming can definitely detract from the moment-to-moment situation. Beyond those minor gripes, this is still an exemplary outing into the world of H.P. Lovecraft and a beautiful horror experience well worth your time.

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7.5 / 10.0
Mar 1, 2021

If you're looking for something action-packed you'll be better served elsewhere, but for fans of Lovecraft's universe or head-scratching detectathons, The Sinking City is more than worth a shot.

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GameSpew
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Feb 26, 2021

The Sinking City was already an intriguing and worthwhile detective-thriller. But its PS5 enhancements have taken it to the next level. It’s a gorgeous-looking game, and roaming the ruined streets of Oakmont at 60FPS has never felt better. The combat is still a let-down, and more repercussions for your choices would be nice to see, but the freedom the game gives you to follow your own leads is second to none. Frogwares should be proud of everything it has achieved here, and it’s got me excited to see what its next game has in store for us.

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85 / 100
Feb 25, 2021

There's a lot to like in The Sinking City on PlayStation 5. With updated textures, 4K/60 FPS support, faster loading times, and activities support, it's a solid detective story. While the combat may be shallow, and it has enough havok bugs to make a Deep One scared, it represents some of the best work Frogwares Studio has made. If you are an H.P. Lovecraft fan, don't let this one sail past you.

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6 / 10
Feb 25, 2021

While it's great to see The Sinking City return to PlayStation consoles, the PS5 version does little to make this worth an additional purchase for existing owners. DualSense support and shorter load times are nice additions, but performance and gameplay are still on the rough side. For newcomers, the lack of direction in particular can turn the engaging story into a backtracking slog very quickly. There's a great and engaging detective game buried here, but there are much better offerings out there to scratch your itch.

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8.5 / 10.0
Feb 21, 2021

The Sinking City on the PS5 is the definitive way to play this awesome Lovecraft-themed exploration and investigation game. Despite a handful of disappointing enhancements (the DS triggers, content moved to DLC, and limited info in the Activities), there are far more positive enhancements within the actual gameplay that counter these. The game looks a lot cleaner, the atmosphere is much thicker, the gameplay is smoother, and the loading times are so short, you can’t even take a sip of your drink before it’s completed. If you overlooked this game on launch, in 2019, don’t make the same mistake – pick it up on the PS5 and experience the best version as you easily sink over 40 hours into it.

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8.4 / 10.0
Dec 4, 2020

What is fortunate though is that The Sinking City is available again, and this freshly enhanced version for the PS5 is by far the best way to play the game. The changes that Frogwares made are impactful and make this a significantly better experience than it was at original release. It still has its quirks, but the positives far outweigh the negatives and it’s easy to recommend this game to anyone who has yet to check it out.

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5 / 10.0
Apr 8, 2020

No matter how frustrating the combat became or how broken the environments turned out to be, I loved doing case work and figuring out obscure deaths or uncovering secret organizations within this peculiar game world. Given all the downsides, this is a game that is difficult to recommend, especially at full price.

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7 / 10
Nov 1, 2019

The Sinking City is a playable version of a Lovecraftian detective horror story and with all the mystery solving and investigation going on, this has (almost) all the conditions to satisfy those who enjoy dark, sombre and terrifying environments and an adventure component. The Sinking City does less well on its control system, which feels too removed and unnatural, as well as on some graphic performance issues but those looking for a captivating and chilling experience, this is the right option to go for.

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Unscored
Sep 30, 2019

If you like investigative adventures with a plot of mysteries and hints of psychological terror, The Sinking City is your game. Keep in mind that it is limited in some ways, but I'm still sure that it will capture you in its exciting history.

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70 / 100
Sep 30, 2019

The Sinking City for Nintendo Switch has managed to transfer all the essence of PC and other consoles version, but it has paid the price in performance and in several technical downgrades in areas where the game was not brilliant already. However with the good and the bad of the original work, if you are a fan of H.P. Lovecraft, you will have the opportunity to enjoy this portable version, and with some additions to the Nintendo system.

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6.5 / 10.0
Sep 30, 2019

Prominent amongst the PC gaming streaming scene currently, The Sinking City is a very good game that was awkwardly converted to run on the Nintendo Switch. It was unsettling for me to sit down for hours on end to review. It also launched during a stretch where a lot of new games are releasing to challenge my attention. But I'll probably revisit The Sinking City during quieter times, and when it's hopefully been patched.

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8 / 10.0
Sep 21, 2019

The Sinking City on Switch may not be the prettiest way to play the game, but it’s a feature-complete alternative way to do so. Despite the graphical downgrades and overall ‘fuzzy’ experience, this version of the game runs really well and even offers a few new costumes which you can’t obtain on any other platform. Once you’ve adjusted to the visuals, the 50+ hour experience was a joy to play, performing very well and even offering a few extra features such as motion controls and touch screen support for those who wish to play a little differently. As the game is now on all four major platforms, if you like games from this genre, you should certainly check it out.

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