The Sinking City 2 review
The Sinking City 2 has launched on August 18 as a survival horror game developed and published by Frogwares, available on PC and PlayStation 5 for approximately $50. Set in H.P. Lovecraft’s 1920s-era Cthulhu Mythos within a flooded open world, the game represents a significant directional shift for the Ukrainian studio.
While the original The Sinking City combined detective and horror gameplay, reviews indicate that the sequel pivots away from Frogwares’ signature “Mind Palace” mechanic—a clue-linking system that defined recent Sherlock Holmes games and the first Sinking City. Instead, The Sinking City 2 adopts a more action-oriented horror approach, described as a “Resident Evil-Lite experience.” PC Gamer noted that while the first game’s open world felt overstretched, the sequel appears to have overcorrected, ending prematurely just as players were settling in.
The shift represents a deliberate, albeit bold, move from the developer, trading the investigative puzzle-solving gameplay that Frogwares built its recent reputation on for a streamlined survival horror experience. Early reviews acknowledge both the ambition of this new direction and the studio’s history of delivering flawed but worthy games that improve with sequels.