It's the 20s, and Charles Reed, a private detective by trade, is plagued by nightmarish visions. He then landed in Oakmont, Massachusetts, because very many cases similar to his were identified there. It must be said that the city is a perfect refuge for frappadingues. Not only does it not appear on any map, but it was also the victim six months ago of a (super)natural disaster called the Flood. Several weeks of storms have raised sea levels to separate the city from the mainland, and even turn some streets into canals. As for the inhabitants, some have a strangely simian face, while others have a real fish head. Add to that rumors of submerged ruins with strange architecture, sleeping giants and voices calling from the depths! No doubt possible, The Sinking City is indeed inspired by the work of Lovecraft. And the main quality of the game undoubtedly lies in the restitution of this very special atmosphere.
FICTIONAL OCTOPUS
Driving rain, swell, monstrous creatures, murders, madness, shells and crustaceans are in the game. The art direction cleverly blends film noir elements into it all, for a very satisfying overall result. The dialogues also participate in immersing us in a real Lovecraft short story, while certain racial-political situations remind us that we are well in the 20s. The representation of the madness of the hero is also worthy of praise. For the player, it is a question of managing a gauge of mental health, otherwise various disturbances are to be expected. Hero who inexorably points his gun to his temple before coming to his senses, ghostly apparitions, crawling creatures that gradually appear before our eyes, image that distorts in a wide angle way, vision that blurs, and other cabalistic signs that appear on the sets reflect the deranged mind of Charles Reed.
Quite protean, the gameplay still focuses mainly on investigation mechanics. It is also possible to shoot the Malbêtes that invade the city, but these fights are even more terrifyingly soft than the gaze of a Great Old One. Well, we're exaggerating a bit, but you really shouldn't rely too much on The Sinking City's gunfights. Instead, bet on the investigator's work, which is more successful than the action component. The game offers a whole range of tools, among which we find a notebook where important information is automatically recorded, a map of the city with an essential role, evidence to pin on this map, and even a "palace of memory". This table makes it possible to associate clues in order to obtain deductions, which themselves can lead to solving a case in different ways. The choices are often difficult, and we spend long seconds determining which action would really be the best.
Quite protean, the gameplay still focuses mainly on investigation mechanics.
As for the importance of the map, it is due to the lack of automatic quest markers. It is indeed up to the player to pin the places of his choice on the map himself, so that their symbols are displayed on the "heads up" compass. To this must be added the "mind's eye" power with which the hero is endowed. It allows him to reconstruct scenes from the past from spectral memories, like Murderered: Soul Suspect, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter or even… Call of Cthulhu. Detective work also takes more down-to-earth forms, such as research in the archives of the police station, the hospital or the local newspaper, which is carried out by selecting three criteria from multiple available categories. If your selection is consistent with the information sought, it will be delivered to you. All of this is nice, but overall very simple. The concern for accessibility is understandable, but we would still have liked to have had to warm up our neurons a little more.
DIVING IN TROUBLED WATERS
Flood obliges, it is sometimes necessary to borrow a boat to cross certain streets. Swimming is still possible, but only for a few seconds, because tentacles will quickly catch you. The game also offers a few passages in spacesuits, just to put a little more pressure (in every sense of the word) on the hero. Note that like a Metro 2033, money no longer has currency in Oakmont, advantageously replaced by alcohol, cigarettes and, above all, ammunition. The game has a crafting system that allows you to create bullets, care kits and antipsychotics (which are used to raise the sanity gauge). In order to tick all the boxes of the modern video game, the developers also offer us a skill point system (totally anecdotal), a slew of secondary missions (sometimes banal, sometimes more interesting than certain main missions) and, this explaining that, an open-world structure. Thus, the player is free to visit the different districts of the city as he sees fit, and the lifespan easily exceeds twenty hours, or even thirty if one wishes to overcome the secondary quests.
The Sinking City never manages to approach excellence, and it owes its salvation mainly to its Lovecraftian atmosphere. To be reserved for Cthulhu fans, who will be able to overcome its few shortcomings.
Alas, this open world is singularly lacking in life. The game does try to regularly place a few groups of pedestrians in our path, but we don't really believe it. It must be said that the technical aspect does not help with immersion. The graphics blow hot and cold (the artistic direction at times catching up with the overall dated look), while bugs come from time to time to interfere in the experience (clothes jerked up, character who enters an element decor when you jostle him, enemies who remain curled up in their corner…). Finally, the soundtrack offers us full French dubbing, with some actors being very convincing... and others much less. As for the interface, it could have been better thought out, especially with regard to the placement of places on the map when using a mouse. In short, The Sinking City never manages to approach excellence, and it owes its salvation mainly to its Lovecraftian atmosphere. To be reserved for Cthulhu fans, who will be able to overcome its few shortcomings.
