Having only revealed that it was in production a few weeks ago, today Frogwares has released The Sinking City Remastered on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC, not to be confused with the Redux that was released a few years back for legal reasons.
In a brilliant and lately unheard-of turn of events, the remaster is available for free to existing owners of the game, with Frogwares surely hoping to draw in new fans in anticipation for the upcoming crowdfunded sequel The Sinking City 2.
The footage of comparison released by Frogwares shows a tremendous added depth to the textures and environments encountered while the player explores the streets, buildings, and waterways of Oakmont, in contrast with the often washed out and somewhat lackluster visuals of the original release of the game back in 2019.
With remastered titles releasing in recent weeks and years like Days Gone Remastered and The Last of Us Part 1 (which was a remaster of the remaster of the original) often charging for the upgrades with each new iteration, it’s nice to see an indie studio lead the charge on delivering a quality experience to their fans to thank them for their continued support, whilst also drumming up new players to the franchise.
The Sinking City is a Lovecraftian Cthulhu mythos focused survival horror game set in a dreary run-down city full of all manner of death, deception, and detective work. The remaster brings modern enhancements to the original version by utilizing Unreal Engine 5 much like the recent Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion remaster.
These enhancements include the addition of 4K textures, improved reflections and lighting, as well as updated visuals for the environments and characters. The devs have also included a photo mode that will allow players to grab really cool screenshots to share, which is sure to hype up the sequel’s release even more.
Along with the updated visuals and graphical fidelity, are a handful of gameplay adjustments and improvements, as well as some added accessibility features. In a press release, Sergiy Oganesyan, the publishing director on the project, stated that Frogwares has big plans for The Sinking City IP.
He went on to thank the loyal fans and comment on the studio’s past roadblocks by saying;
“So, after our rather well-known struggles with the original, it feels amazing to have this positive moment be part of the game’s twisted history and for us to be the ones to fully decide it. Making it free to all our existing fans is our way of giving back to them for having supported us all this time through thick and thin.”
The Sinking City 2 has already enjoyed a successful Kickstarter campaign, earning nearly 6 times the amount they had asked for, hitting their original funding goal of $113,000 in under two hours, and gaining more than $625,000 by the end of the campaign.
The Sinking City is a dark and engaging detective story that throws the player into the grim and haunting world of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos, delivering a creepy and compelling experience that any survival horror fans should experience. Though the original game’s combat was lacking in comparison to triple A titles due to the indie nature of the studio and the very limited funding, the remaster seems to right some of those wrongs.
With the improvements in technology and the studio’s recent accrual of a much larger budget, the sequel is sure to be something special for fans of the original as well as newcomers to the series. If you like detective work similar to their Sherlock Holmes game series, historical fiction, third person combat, Lovecraftian tales, and survival horror, then it’s worth checking this series out.
