New Trailer Delves Into The Sinking City’s Investigation Mechanics

Frogwares, the developer most known for its Sherlock Holmes games, has released a new trailer for its upcoming Lovecraftian detective game, The Sinking City. Set in Oakmont, Massachusetts, in the 1920s, The Sinking City casts players in the role of detective Charles W. Reed, fighting to stave off insanity.

Reed finds himself in Oakmont, a flooded city overtaken by supernatural creatures and those infected with madness. He is on a mission to discover what went wrong and in true horror-game fashion, risk his own insanity while investigating the events that have taken place.

The game’s latest trailer, released today by Frogwares, covers the investigation aspects of The Sinking City. As the video points out, the developers want players to feel like real detectives, putting that experience first. As a result, The Sinking City isn’t a game that will tell players where to go or what to do; they will have to figure that out on their own.

In fact, the game doesn’t even put markers on the map indicating any objectives, or where potential clues might be. Players have to figure all of this out for themselves, even when accusing someone of a crime.

However, players won’t be completely left on their own. The information they uncover will be recorded in a casebook, helping them keep track of what they’ve done and who they’ve talked to while figuring out what to do next.

Of course, the detective work in The Sinking City does differ from the real world since Reed must deal with horrific Lovecraftian monsters and the supernatural.

The good news is that in addition to his sleuthing skills, he also has a few supernatural ones, including retrocognition, which allows him to see what appear to be echoes of the past. 

Based on what we’ve seen in the newly-released trailer, The Sinking City looks to be an exciting game for players who like puzzles and solving mysteries. That said, it seems like it will appeal most to players with patience and who do well without direction.

Players who are interested in picking up the game shouldn’t have too much longer to wait. It’s slated to hit PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One sometime this year. However, there is some question about exactly when, as the previous March 21 release date has been removed from online shops.

According to PCGamer, Amazon now lists the release as being May 31,  while Steam simply lists this year.

While waiting for The Sinking City to come out, you can get your horror game fix by checking out our list of the most anticipated horror games for 2019.