The Sinking City takes an iron will and serious patience to play

There are frustrating design issues with new detective game The Sinking City that make it feel dated and clunky, but I’ve overlooked worse when the content has been good enough. Regardless it’s unique enough to find its audience. I’m just not sure that’s me.

When I first started reviewing video games, it was a time when we could encounter all sorts of wacky adventures of varying quality.

Depending on the budget, the studio, the platform — you could be in for a slick and polished blockbuster, an arty indie or a more b-grade affair, a little rough around the edges.

Over time, as global financial crisis woes resulted in the closure of many mid-range development studios, I feel like this middle section of more “mediocre” games fell away. There was less margin for error, no one was talking risks, we saw sequel after sequel from sure-fire hit franchises.

It also meant that every game was of a certain standard (unless it was independently developed but even then most of the indie titles hitting the market have been superb), and while that sounds like a good thing, it is, on the whole, a little boring.

The Sinking City is full of interesting ideas but the execution sometimes misses the mark.

Such is the cyclic nature of things, we’re starting to see a little of that mediocrity clawing its way back into the industry.

Lower-budget, hit-and-miss titles that retail cheaper and play a little rougher. Is this a good thing? Honestly, I think so.

I think there needs to be space for smaller developers to push their ideas out even if they can’t pull them off with the same flash and dazzle as a major studio.

Take Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, for example. An incredible game. Beautiful to look at, stunning concept — on the whole well-executed but a little repetitive. I would say, not quite “Triple A”.

But it was, nevertheless, one of the most celebrated games of 2017.

Ninja Theory launched the game with zero marketing budget, instead relying on a guerrilla campaign of YouTube developer diaries — and it worked. It was a hit. And now their latest title Bleeding Edge is set to be a team shooter to rival Overwatch.

Without a proving ground to test concepts and take risks, we miss out on potential gold.

This week, I reviewed The Sinking City. Is it potential gold? The short answer is, definitely, no.

From what I’ve played so far it has a multitude of issues. But the concept is cool and the world is unique — and I’m glad that it exists. Let’s dive a little deeper.

This is one for fans of HP Lovecraft, who will feel immediately at home in this eerie thriller. You play private eye Charles Reed — a former navy diver who is tormented by visions of an underwater city and horrifying sea creatures.

It’s an eerie thriller that fans of HP LoveCraft will feel at home in.

He follows his instincts to the city of Oakmont, supposedly where sufferers of the same visions have been inexplicably drawn to. What follows is a suitably bizarre (and perfectly Lovecraftian) plot filled with murder, monsters and strange characters.

In order to uncover the mystery of the visions, you’re going to need to entangle yourself within the town’s own various dramas as well.

I played this on Xbox — but I’d certainly advise against it — stick to PC. It has not been optimised well for console and there are some inexcusable bugs.

I can’t successfully open a single receptacle, for example. Be it box, cupboard or drawer — the mechanic is broken, serving only to open and immediately shut it.

So far it hasn’t been an game-breaking issue but at some point I’m bound to need something in one of those drawers and will be rather miffed that I can’t get it out.

It’s also a little unclear with its overall direction, lacking in cues and descriptions around what you should be doing and where you should be headed next.

I managed to fumble my way through as I have the benefit of having played a few of these clue-solving games, but I feel a newcomer would find themselves rather quickly at a loss.

Regardless of these faults, there’s an undeniable hook to the world presented in The Sinking City that I can’t deny I’m keen to explore further.

It’ll take an iron will and serious patience — but I can see this game developing somewhat of a cult following due to its reasonably well-written plot and intriguing subject matter.

There are some frustrating design and construction issues to get through as you play the game.

It’s full of interesting ideas, which as a detective, you’re tasked with exploring and piecing together with a bit of an LA Noir-style detective work.

Rather hilariously, our PI takes all of the world’s weirdness mostly in his stride. I came across characters with fish-faces, strange spider-like monsters made entirely of hands and found myself constantly plagued by flashes of terrifying monster-visions as I went about my day’s work.

Reed seemed to agree that this was all a bit odd, a reaction that falls grossly short of the very real horrors he’s presented with — almost giving it a bit of a Twin Peaks vibe.

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Whether you’ll get into this game is dependant on your love of Lovecraft-inspired tales and detective puzzling.

There are some frustrating design and construction issues to get through and overall the game feels dated and clunky in its construction — but I’ve overlooked worse when the core content has been good enough.

I know that regardless of its faults The Sinking City is quirky and unique enough to find its audience. I’m just not sure if that’s me.