The Sinking City 2 Review

Unanswerable shifts in the tides…

There’s no reason for us to give you the 411 on the tumult Frogwares -- as a studio -- has gone through since Russia’s invasion of its country. Nor do we need to talk about how difficult that made making arguably, not just the best game it has ever made, but maybe one of the best games of the year, because it does so itself throughout The Sinking City 2 (read our "Would you like to know more?" box out for... MORE!). No, rather, the point we want to immediately focus on is just that...

Focus.

There’s a sharp and stark contrast between The Sinking City 2 and everything else this studio has ever made. From its cinematic direction to its dialogue, art and overall pacing, this latest release feels like we’re witnessing a studio that is ready to go to the next level, best summarised by a Codex Entry in the game that so aptly says of an unseen Arkham denizen who might as well be Frogwares “... believe in yourself -- you’re made for the stage!”. And, that this is also the studio’s first ever foray into an entirely new genre, one dominated by some of the most recognisable names and iterations in the history of gaming, and yet not only holds its own, but carves out its own niche within… well, we just feel that it’s all a bit special and certainly something the muddied gaming landscape needs right now.

Things begin softly in The Sinking City 2 and end in a manner not at all dissimilar, at least in tone, pointing readily back to Frogwares’ focus and clarity of vision. The studio also tells us as such ahead of play but it’s something that we couldn’t shake throughout the entirety of our 14 hours within the game; a permeable, near tactile sense of direction and completion, and while it wasn’t always smooth sailing and does need some post-launch tweaks in terms of balance, we never lost sight of what the studio told us it set out to do because on the whole, it delivered in Eldritch and Arcane spades.

And it now feels like it owns the Lovecraftian survival horror subgenre, and we’re entirely here for that and whatever the future after The Sinking City 2 might hold.

The Sinking City 2

Genre: Lovecraftian Survival Horror
Developer: Frogwares
Publisher: Frogwares
Release Date: August 18, 2026
Classification: R18+
Author: Stephen Farrelly
Date: August 18, 2026

The Worms Must be Fed

Not to be confused as a direct sequel to The Sinking City which featured a more traditional Lovecraftian protagonist by way of the classically washed up, dishevelled alcoholic PI suffering from PTSD, The Sinking City 2 gives us Calvin Rafferty, a cavalier adventurer with a kink for occultist mythology, symbolism and rituals. He is also deeply in love with Faye Bennett, a slightly more ‘proper’ individual but whom also shares his affinity toward the arcane which, (un?)naturally brings the two together. However, after a ‘dreaming ritual’ goes horribly wrong, Calvin finds Faye in a deep slumber he needs to wake her from. In the meantime, the fictional city of Arkham, Massachusetts has been beset by a sudden flood forcing most denizens to evacuate, however, some still hold out in unique circumstances while the city itself is still entirely navigable, it just needs to be done by boat, dock to dock and through a series of otherwise locked gates and abandoned and damaged buildings.

"Frogwares serves up an escalating dread that permeates the screen, delivering one of the great Lovecraftian stories of the modern age..."

With the above in mind, Calvin recalls a book housed at the library he and Faye met at that *might* hold the very key needed to bring his love back to the land of the waking, he just needs to get there first, which is where our eventually unrelenting adventure begins.

As you'd likely guess, from here nothing goes according to plan and Frogwares serves up a steadily increasing array of bottlenecks and mysteries for us to engage in with clever puzzles, more and more aggressive enemies and an escalating dread that permeates the screen, delivering one of the great Lovecraftian stories of the modern age, and one that feels as naturally tied to survival horror as zombies and nefarious viruses do. And boy does the studio have fun with its world-building here with some of the most memorable characters this side of a Ganado village out on full and gory display.

Would you like to know more?
There's a moment in the hospital section of the game where you'll come into a room designated, contextually, to the design and manufacture of prosthetics. However, you'll also find a series of x-rays with notes tied to the very real impact of the war on Ukraine from Russia. Actual x-rays and anecdotal notes on how the injuries were suffered and in what context. A powerful, bold and stark reminder of what that country, and this studio and its many friends, family and brethren, have endured over these past years. Be sure to seek it out and given each a read.

Inmates Run the Asylum

The game’s first act keeps us in our trusty boat for quite a bit of time, though you do get out and explore the aforementioned collapsing buildings. If you’ve ever played any previous Frogwares joints, you might know the studio has never been known as a visual powerhouse. Its art and art-direction has always been good, but technically we’ve always felt it struggled to enter into the same visual plateau as many other studios, big and small. That’s not the case here at all though. The Sinking City 2 is a stunning game that features so much nuance in its game-world, you never feel like you’ve seen the same asset twice, nor that any one area isn’t unique and lived in and full of history and stories to tell. 

"Yes, Frogwares used the powerful Unreal 5 engine to power its game but so have many other studios and none quite to the level we get here..."

The whole of Arkham is a twisted mess awash with despair, which is entirely reflected in the colours and lighting the studio uses -- the latter being of exceptional note. Yes, Frogwares used the powerful Unreal 5 engine to power its game but so have many other studios and none quite to the level we get here. Later in The Sinking City 2 you move through a frozen research outpost with blizzard-like weather and it is gloriously represented, to the point you can almost feel each ice shard hitting Calvin’s face and hands, stinging like frozen insects. Honestly, on its visual leap alone the studio should be applauded, but it’s also in how it fills each environment and unfurls its ever-increasingly creepy tale of cosmic horror through notes, weird NPCs and an odd sense that this has all always been here, just bubbling below an invisible surface. 

A man with the ‘slither’ for eyes, a murder-obsessed siren and a fish woman are all par for the course and each’s story is intrinsic to your own goals but also work to ‘normalise’ some of the oddities in place, but this is also where The Sinking City 2 as a survival horror sets itself apart from others in the genre.

Would you like to know more?
The game employs a lite-but-still-helpful Talent system. However, to unlock the higher tiers of this, you need to invest in earlier ones, as well as complete tasks and find specific components to invest further, which winds up being a fairly clever risk-reward setup very much in line with traditional survival horror. It's also a great way to promote multiple playthroughs for completionists with us already halfway through our second, and loving it even more. This is definitely a thinking person's game and one that rewards added investment in all it has to offer.

Calvin and Hobbled

The genre tentpoles are there -- calming save rooms, weapons and item management, crafting and ammunition conservation, newer, more powerful (and scary) enemies but also more powerful weapons… and for the most part the studio handles this makeup well. You’ll gain access to boxes with loot strewn about the world, and the handful of ‘bosses’ and ‘boss moments’ aren’t too unforgiving to leave you out to dry at Normal. On the hardest setting, though, things are a lot less balanced, though upon completion of the game you’ll unlock its New Game+ which allows for some carryover of talents and the like. There’s also a sub-achievement system tied to in-game activities, such as dispatching of certain enemies while they’re lunging at you, or correctly correlating certain pieces of evidence to complete a puzzle. These will net you Eldritch Points to spend on follow-up playthroughs as well as cosmetics and other rewards.

"We had no real context around this which was kind of at odds with how much depth there is otherwise in game-world exposition..."

Where the game fails to fully deliver is in the boss and boss moments it throws at you. In one boss battle we were just using an inextricable series of totems to have its eyes open to shoot, but we had no real context around this which was kind of at odds with how much depth there is otherwise in game-world exposition, while in many others you’re forced to just survive mini horde-mode bottlenecks that just ask for you to move and spam evade as much as possible while collecting much-needed ammo or health. Don’t get us wrong, these were fine to play through and we get their existence but in the wake of how much else the studio did great and unique to itself, these moments felt almost rudimentary.

Still, with the Talents system (read our “Would you like to know more?” box out for… MORE!) and how you manage mobs, enemies and conservation there’s a lot of room for different playstyles against what, in parts, plays similar to others in the field. And when parking combat to one side, the game’s puzzles and investigation elements -- which have always been this studio’s strengths -- are excellent and hold a lot more to the world-building and context we’ve mostly lauded throughout. The Face Off-door system in the game’s incredibly memorable hospital section is a particular standout. 

Ex Oblivione

We can’t stress enough just how complete the whole experience is when the credits roll here. We’ve mentioned balance, and certainly had some frustrating moments with the odd camera here or there, and even got stuck in a doorway because too many characters were in the space at one time, but these were all so minor in the grand scheme that they were easy enough to shrug off and come back to after a breather -- par for the survival horror course, really.

"We’ve tried to remain as spoiler-free as possible, but would simply say to anyone about to jump in to absorb all the info the world can throw at you. You won’t regret it..."

A huge part of that ‘complete’ experience though was just all the notes the studio hit; performances, writing, visuals and even its excellent audio. It’s a difficult game to fault when you unpack it all, and the ending is just something really special. We’ve tried to remain as spoiler-free as possible, but would simply say to anyone about to jump in to absorb all the info the world can throw at you. You won’t regret it.

The only hope is that Frogwares’ identity isn’t an entirely new shift solely in this direction because the gaming landscape is better for its detective tales too, but as a new feather in its creative cap, The Sinking City 2 absolutely represents a rebirth for the studio in the best way possible where this series or spin can very, very easily sidle up alongside the likes of Resident Evil, Dead Space and Silent Hill, and more than hold its own.

Go ahead and open the gates to something unexpected, unknown and entirely infectious in The Sinking City 2.

What’s Boss?

  • Excellent world-building
  • A modern riff on Lovecraftian horror from the best at it
  • A stunning game throughout
  • Excellent puzzles and level design
  • The hospital is as tropey as they come, but oh-so perfect
  • Calvin and Faye are great leads and presented perfectly
  • Great gunplay and well-handled survival horror design tentpoles for a studio that's never done it

Not Boss Enough?

  • Some balance issues in the higher difficulty tiers
  • More creativity in boss battles and horde moments would have been welcome
  • Can't go back to completed areas to 100% them

A Lovecraftian survival horror that plays to all the strengths of cosmic horror in a standalone setting with a central love story for the ages from a studio set to take that next leap into top tier development.

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About the Author

Written By Stephen Farrelly
Stephen Farrelly is a veteran journalist and editor with more than two decades experience in the worlds of gaming, entertainment, lifestyle and sport. He is a proud pug dad, loves art in all forms (particularly street and tattoo culture), and is the director of Swear Jar Editorial and Media Pty Ltd, this site's owner and publisher. When not dispensing words, he's also dispensing boutique beers as a taproom fixture at Bracket Brewing in Marrickville, NSW...
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