The Sinking City - Interview, Video and Previews

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Wccftech interviewed the devs behind The Sinking City.

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Q: The Sinking City is an open world game. How difficult has it been to develop an investigation game in a much bigger setting?

A: The game is a heavily story-driven game, so it's not an open world sandbox game where you can go fishing, or you can go have a drink with your buddies, nothing like that. Still, it's been definitely challenging because we needed to make sure that players don't get lost. For this reason, we put hints in every part of the city to make it easy to put clues and conclusions together. It's in the evidence, you can just analyze it and you will get figure out where to go next.

Q: Are there multiple ways to complete missions?

A: There are linear and nonlinear parts in each quest. You reconstruct the trail to find out who committed a crime, but at the same time it's possible to gather different pieces of information, which can be optional, that give a better understanding of what's going on, and why somebody did something. There are also moral choices in almost every quest, and some of them will have consequences. Getting a better understanding of the motives may make you sympathize more with a character rather than another.

Q: Are there multiple endings?

A: Yes.

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WellPlayed has a preview which notes the attention to detail while CogConnected thinks The Sinking City has reinvented investigation games.

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While the build I had access to wasn't the final version, I was impressed with just how much effort had gone into making the world feel dilapidated yet alive. From the moment I stepped off the boat and onto the pier at Oakmont port the sense of something unsettling disrupting the city was apparent. Rotting carcasses lined the piers, half-submerged boats lay marooned in the shallows of the city's bay, and crazed denizens spoke of visions and ancient ruins. It was dark, gritty and grim - a bit like stepping into a Lovecraft-inspired visual novel.

You see Oakmont - a fictional city based in Massachusetts - has been afflicted by a devastating flood which not only left parts of the city submerged and a large number of its populace suffering from visions and hysteria, but has brought with it nightmare creatures from the sea. Reed, who is also suffering from these maddening visions, has journeyed to Oakmont in hope of finding the source of the madness.

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During the demo, Charles is asked to solve the murder of a medium at the Crown Theater. Arriving at the crime scene you'll clearly see the police markers for the evidence yet this is the only help the game offered. You'll take the time to examine everything you can in the room and utilize a strange ability Charles has when inspecting things; he is able to examine a piece of evidence and see through time to the items history and gather more information on its origin. Once all of the evidence in the theater was collected, Reed entered a portal that ripped through reality in the room and was able to use the evidence to see a few glimpses of moments that occurred. It is then up to the player to determine in which order these events happened.

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