The Sinking City Reviews

The Sinking City is ranked in the 40th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Daily Dot
Top Critic
Jun 25, 2019

The latest game to adapt Lovecraft’s fiction does so with a critical eye and some thrilling detective gameplay.

Read full review

80 / 100
Jun 25, 2019

A captivating detective story in a believable game world paired with the horror of H.P. Lovecraft and technical problems.

Review in German | Read full review

8 / 10.0
Jun 25, 2019

Frogwares expertly blends its Sherlock Holmes gameplay formula with Lovecraft's universe to create one of the best Lovecraftian experiences in years

Read full review

8 / 10.0
Jun 25, 2019

The Sinking City struggles under the weight of its ambition, but it's compelling mysteries and horrific world make it a compelling journey.

Read full review

8 / 10
Jun 24, 2019

The Sinking City is obviously not a complete open-world action adventure title, but it offers enough to keep you engaged with some solid story and atmosphere, great characters, wonderful modeling of the city of Oakmont, and that strange feeling that you would expect from H.P. Lovecraft works. If you can skip past some of the game's shortcomings, you'll get to experience something that you never did before.

Review in Persian | Read full review

Cubed3
Top Critic
8 / 10
Jun 30, 2019

For fans of Lovecraftian horror, The Sinking City is filled with... fishy details and lore that is used to enrich the world that Frogwares has created. Private Investigator Charles Reed must voyage through the deepest and most disturbing parts of his mind, as well as Oakmont itself, to find a way to rid the town residents of their visions. Doing what he does best, Reed must investigate and solve crimes while battling the horrors that jump out from the dark. While it lacks a bit of polish, The Sinking City is an otherwise weird and mind-bending journey, bundled with all the ingredients for a great experience.

Read full review

8 / 10.0
Jun 26, 2019

Unique mix of Sherlock Holmes adventures with the universe of H.P. Lovecraft. Yes, it works!

Review in Slovak | Read full review

8 / 10.0
Aug 15, 2019

Despite its shortcomings, the story and the oppressing atmosphere of The Sinking City recommend it as one of the best Lovecraft inspired game to date. If you can get past the clunky combat and technical issues, there's much to like in The Sinking City.

Read full review

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.

Read full review

Jun 24, 2019

The Sinking City is one of the best Lovecraft-inspired games available and, despite some slightly awkward controls in places, the game is brilliantly crafted. Fans of horror will love its atmosphere and those who enjoy investigative games will quickly become absorbed in the depth offered by the gameplay. Those who loved L.A. Noire or Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem, and players of the tabletop game, should definitely give thought to picking this title up.

Read full review

Jun 25, 2019

The Sinking City has an incredible atmosphere that really grips the darkest parts of your mind. Oakmont feels hostile, unwelcoming and full of secrets, but the game makes it clear that it might cost more than just your life to find out what they are. While it stumbles with its characters and combat, The Sinking City is a great first step into the supernatural detective game.

Read full review

4 / 5
Jun 25, 2019

The Sinking City has its rough spots, but a good Lovecraft inspired game is hard to come by and Frogwares managed to craft a story that’s interesting enough to scratch that itch.

Read full review

Jun 24, 2019

Frogwares has created an interesting and absorbing world of horror, and it’s deliciously rich in story and world-building. The sanity system works well, throwing some horrific visions at you, and capturing a feeling of nightmarish helplessness. Yes, it comes with some signature flaws too, but The Sinking City is a fine horror game and an engrossing detective RPG.

Read full review

Jun 29, 2019

Despite a few issues with combat, The Sinking City features solid world building, strong crime solving mechanics, and is the best Lovecraft game released in recent memory.

Read full review

8 / 10.0
Jul 1, 2019

The Sinking City is basically Sherlock Holmes off his tits on Opium after reading the works of H.P. Lovecraft. It combines all of the great deduction and investigation mechanics we’ve seen in Frogwares‘ Sherlock games with adequate combat mechanics and an emphasis on plotting out your own map based on the clues you uncover. Whereas I wasn’t a massive fan of the combat in place, it helped mix things up a little so that you’re swapping between investigating and killing things. Neither version I played (PC and PS4) felt perfect, in terms of its performance, but it wasn’t enough to put me off playing the game as the gripping story and horrific aesthetics had me hooked.

Read full review

8 / 10.0
Jun 24, 2019

The Sinking City took a while to get its hooks into me and, once I got past some of it’s issues, especially the combat, I found myself thoroughly enthralled by its compelling narrative, exploration and puzzle solving gameplay.

Read full review

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.

Read full review

7.9 / 10.0
Jun 26, 2019

Dive into The Sinking City and welcome our Cthulhu overlords with open arms.

Read full review

7.9 / 10.0
Jun 24, 2019

Unfortunately, the negative aspects in The Sinking City outweigh the positive ones: lackluster graphics, bug-ridden NPCs and a combat system that fails to deliver. But if you can dismiss all this, you will be in for a great action adventure and the most detailed lovecraft game world to date. It's still a must play for every fan of eldritch horrors and detective games!

Review in German | Read full review

IGN
Top Critic
7.8 / 10.0
Jun 25, 2019

While occasionally frustrating, The Sinking City's compelling stories, exciting environments, and memorable characters make for one of the better Cthulhu lore games around.

Read full review